As good as the winery’s other 2008s are, this wine raises the stakes. It’s bone dry, deeply tannic and marked by classic varietal flavors of blackberries, cassis and dark chocolate, with sweet, smoky oak. Almost a food group in itself for its complexity, it’s dazzling now for its sheer luxurious deliciousness, yet is guaranteed to develop over at least the next 10 years.
— S.H.
(11/1/2011)
So enormously delicious, it will be hard to keep from drinking this gorgeous Cabernet right away, and that’s just fine. It’s composed of the most intensly concentrated flavors of blueberries and blackberries—dense, pure and slightly heady with a liqueur-like alcohol. The tannins are classic Diamond Mountain, firm and minerally, while oak plays the perfect role of…
— S.H.
(10/1/2012)
Some great Cabs are drinkable when young, while others require patience. This is the latter sort. It’s a tough, young wine, dominated by dusty tannins leading to an astringent finish. But it’s incredibly fine, showing a balance and grace rare even in Napa Valley. As it warms up and breathes in the glass, it gets even better, giving tantalizing hints of ripe cassis…
— S.H.
(9/1/2006)
Napa Bordeaux-style wines don’t get much richer than this. It is, extraordinary, in large part due to the perfect vintage. So rich, so ripe in fruit, and yet so brilliantly balanced in tannins and acidity. Really world-class. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec, it offers dazzlingly complex waves of blackberry and black currant fruit, with…
— S.H.
(11/1/2010)
An awesome wine—this is so massively intense in blackberry, blueberry and cassis flavors, it’s hard to believe. From the first sip though the middle palate, it’s seemingly sweet with a fruity essence, but the finish is dry and firm. Drink now and for 8–10 years, at the very least.
— S.H.
(10/1/2012)
From one of the oldest vineyards on Diamond Mountain, this Bordeaux blend is impressively powerful and balanced. Based on Cabernet, with small quantities of Merlot, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, it has oak-influenced black and red currant, cassis, cherry, spicy plum pudding and sweet, smoky vanilla flavors, with a cedar, pencil-lead note reminiscent of a fine…
— S.H.
(5/1/2008)
This portion of the winery’s vineyard always yields Cabernets of enormous concentration with hard tannins. The 2009 is a classic, detonating in the mouth with laserlike blackberry and cassis flavors, to which new oak brings additional richness of smoky cedar. It’s really a beautiful wine, but very tannic, even by Von Strasser standards. Give it at least eight years…
— S.H.
(10/1/2012)
This has so much rich earth and minerality, it’s like a journey deep into a mine. It’s noted the vines were planted in 1970, and the wine does have that old-vine concentration of fruit in the form of massively intense blackberries. Then there’s the smoky new oak, which adds such a lusciously sweet jacket of buttered toast. Tannic and tight in the way of Diamond…
— S.H.
(10/1/2012)