Nichols - Diamond Mountain Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Price: $60.00

Sale Price: $49.99

Qty:   Add to Cart

* Not eligible for case discounts

Producer	Nichols
Country	United States
Region	California
Subregion	Napa Valley
Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage	2021
Sku	12017409
Size	750ml

 

CAC

98

This is rich, powerful Cabernet, just jammed with black-cherry and blackberry fruit, tightly framed by firm tannins. This wine is structured to last but has a fruit quality to it that will make it hard not to drink this holiday season with any type of roasted meat.

On Diamond Mountain, in the northwest corner of the Napa Valley, there are no giant estates. The landscape, craggy, volcanic, and incredibly hard to work: the rugged terrain requires hand harvesting, and the volcanic soils and water-stressed vines naturally produce low yields…it’s just too damn expensive to farm the land.

But the wine that can come from Diamond Mountain can be stunningly good, powerful, with a unique intensity, complex aromatics, and concentrated blackberry fruit. Collectors love them as they age gracefully and are extremely limited in supply. Nichols 2021 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon came from a tiny parcel of old-vine vineyards whose roots have dug deep into the rocky, volcanic soil. The parcel only gave up a meager 60 cases of finished wine, but my, those tiny berries were ultra-concentrated with flavor.

Britt (Nichols) Richardson

Calling all Napa Cabernet lovers - this is a wine not to be missed! The latest release from one of our best sources for value priced Napa Cabernet comes from grapes grown in a very prestigious vineyard on the steep hillsides in Napa Valley’s Diamond Mountain AVA - but we can't say whose they are as their wines sell for more than twice as much!

Why would they sell their fruit for so little? Well, the wine business is a business after all, and even established wineries have financial needs. It’s not unusual for them to sell a few barrels, confidentially, for quick cash rather than waiting the 18-24 months and more to get paid for the finished wine in bottle.

Enter winemaker Britt (Nichols) Richards, Napa native and one of the hottest winemakers on the Napa scene. She has worked with some of the best in the business, starting with an internship at Chappellet Winery, then stints at Jordan Winery, Keller Estate, legendary Peter Michael Winery, St. Clement, Ledson Winery, and more, as well as with with acclaimed consulting winemaker Philippe Melka.

Her longtime contacts in the Napa wine biz has provided her with a rolodex of who’s who in wineries, a source she uses to put together her outstanding wines under the Nichols label. Wineries know she can be trusted to not reveal her sources, and she gets first crack at the wines!

The result is a beautiful, deep, dark structured wine with the power in depth of Diamond Mountain without the high price tag! The vineyard is very rocky, with fine volcanic soil and gravel ranging from ashy to rich red soils. Vines are 40 years old, north and west facing, on steep slopes at 600-800 feet in elevation. Hand harvested, aged 20 months in French oak barrels, 10% new, and only a minuscule 75 cases were produced. Our longtime connection to Britt and her wines allowed us to scoop up before they disappeared.

The sum of all the parts here - great grape source, fantastic vintage, and uber talented winemaker add up to a wine that should sell for 2x the price. But we are selling it for half that - Cheers! Chris