Darioush Napa Valley Estate Winery Visit & Tasting

Darioush Napa Valley Estate Winery Visit & Tasting

During our recent 'Pour Boys'  Sonoma/NapaValley Wine Experience this month, we visited several longstanding favorite producers including Darioush. This was fitting since we first discovered and tasted Darioush at CCCC with Bill and Beth C on our first wine event together more than a decade ago. And, Dr Dan was our guest at a special Darioush wine dinner at Everest in Chicago, shortly after Linda and I visited the winery and did a barrel tasting with winemaker Steve Devitt during the construction of their magnificent hospitality center.

The Darioush facility sitting against the Vaca Moutain range on the east side of Silverado Trail in southeast Napa Valley, is one of the most architecturally unique, impressive and stylish wine facilities in the valley. The building design is a tribute to the history and culture of the ancient city of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the First Persian Empire which is situated near the Persian city of Shiraz, in southwestern Iran, which happens to be the birthplace of founder Khaledi Darioush. Persepolis is the Latinized version of the Old Persian name, "Parsa" which means the "city of Persians."

The striking architecture features a stand of columns from the great capital each featuring a pair of lamassus, bulls with the heads of bearded men and a pair with wings. Persepolis was discovered in the early 1930s. It is believed that king Darius I built the terrace and the palaces.

Darioush pay tribute to King Darius in their ultra-premium flagship label Cabernet which is packaged in stylish, ornate, elegant etched bottles (shown left in magnum and double-magnum).

The magnificent facility surrounded by fountains and grounds is filled with artwork and architectural artifacts attributable to Darioush's heritage, the Persian history, culture and architecture.

In retrospect, perhaps we should've scheduled a private tasting of Darioush wines since we're familiar with their wines that are found in distribution. Our history with Darius and Shahpar dessert wine date back to wines we acquired during a visit to the winery. Such a tasting would've been more comparable to some of the tastings we did at other producers during our trip this week. In any event, another key objective of our tours this week was to introduce Napa and some of the notable producers' and winery sites to members of our group who were new to the whole experience.

We tasted the Darioush Wine 'Portfolio Tasting' shown below, which featured an introduction to the
range of their popular labels and varietal offerings. We did discover a new here-to-fore unknown label "Duel", Darioush' unique proprietary blend of Cabernet and Shiraz.

2015 Signature Chardonnay, Napa Valley from the southern Napa Valley estate and renowned Chardonnay vineyards of the Los Carneros district where the Napa and Sonoma Valleys come meet. 

2014 Duel Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon

Grown from two distinct blocks on the Darioush estate in Napa Valley and the Oak Knoll appellations, Duel is the a unique proprietary blend of two distinguished varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

2014 Signature Shiraz, Napa Valley from Darioush Estate Vineyards in Napa Valley and the Oak Knoll District appellation.

2013 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

 More to follow ... 

Porter Creek Russian River Valley Estate Visit Tasting

Porter Creek Russian River Valley Estate Visit Tasting

While we focus on targeted producers' select private wine tastings on our wine country trips, one of the greatest joys is discovering a new producer. Typically, these discoveries are smaller producers whose labels are not in wide distribution back in our states. Invariably, they're discovered during a drive by pop in visit which we allow for once or maybe twice per day. In retrospect, these often turn out to be highlights of the trip, and become sources for small boutique wines that we continue to collect going forward.

Its a double edged sword serving and sharing undiscovered 'no-name' producers' labels with friends. While its fun to experience a new undiscovered wine, its dauntingly tempting serving a wine that is not available to acquire after discovery. While, one may not run out to the local wine shop to pick up a couple bottles, in the modern era, almost all producers are available and can be acquired on-line, (unless you're in one of the few states that prohibit importing wine into their bounds (such as Indiana)).

So it was, on our just completed 'Pour Boys'  Sonoma/NapaValley Wine Experience that we came upon Porter Creek Vineyards and Winery during our recent drive through the Sonoma County and the Russian River Valley.

Porter Creek is a small father-son operation run by George and Alex Davis, named for the Porter Creek tributary that runs down to the Russian River. They focus on organic hillside grown, single vineyard designate wines from varietals from Burgundy and the Rhone, those best suited to the terrior of the Russian River Valley, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Viognier. They also produce an estate Zinfandel and a Carignane sourced from Mendocino.

Quite different from the opulence and commercialization of Napa Valley, Sonoma's Russian River Valley is still idylic, laid back, hospitable, and enthusiastically energetic to showcase their high quality wines. Smaller, as yet undiscovered producers such as Porter Creek, represent significant value QPR (Quality Price Ratio) to the high end aggressively marketed

big-name branded labels from Napa producers which are sourced from the same appellations and terroir. Of course, many factors go into making wine, yield and viticulture, the wine making and blending, but small producers who exercise the same care and controls, can produce equally compelling wines as the premium labels.

Under the direction of owner/winemaker Alex Davis, Potter Creek strives to produce quality wines creatively and reasonably so as to maintain high QPR affordability. 

Porter Creek is as unpretentious as could be in their historic one room tasting hut built with hand made redwood beams, decorated with local artwork, with its colorful sweet scented wisteria covered trellis, up the gravel road, nestled between the cottage farm house and a free range egg chicken coop.

The Davis family acquired the Healdsburg estate and vineyards in the 1970's which already had vines on the property that were planted in the 'Old Vine Block' as early as 1974. They were early pioneers when they started producing Russian River Valley Pinot Noir in 1982, made still today in the old world classic Burgundian style.

Alex Davis was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle "Porter Creek's Alex Davis: Winemaker to watch in a 2011" in their WINEMAKERS TO WATCH 2011, by Jon Bonné, Chronicle Wine Editor in January of that year.

Alex spent his childhood in the vineyards and wine barn, earned a degree in Enology at Fresno U., and after college worked at producer Sonoma Cutrer.

His wine education for Pinot Noir was cast when he went to the home of Pinot, Burgundy in France, and worked the harvest at famous properties Domaine Georges Roumier, with its holdings in the grands crus Bonnes Mares and Musigny, and then spent time at Meursault's Domaine Michelot.

He studied viticulture at the University of Dijon for two years, where he met  Philippe Guigal, of the legendary Rhone producer. Alex was one of the first foreign interns to ever work a harvest at Guigal. He returned to California in 1997 to take over as winemaker of the family business at age 26.

Porter Creek sources fruit from their own vineyards and a couple neighboring growers - the vineyards forming a crescent around the wine estate property. Today, Davis focuses on the Porter Creek signature Estate Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, but he also produces some Rhone varietals, Syrah, Viognier and a Carignane sourced from a Mendocino vineyard planted in 1950. He also produces a Zinfandel that is sourced from the vineyard just across the road.

On our chance drive by pop in visit we were hosted by Jonathan Demichael, Tasting Room Manager (left). The tasting room was full of revelers and we almost moved on but Jonathan persisted and served us on the picturesque patio under the pleasant perfume of the wisteria covered trellis.

After initial introductions and overview of the property and wine selections, we learned Jonathan, a musician before turning Sommelier, was a fellow Hoosier and still had ties back to IU and Bloomington.

We stayed on and explored the Porter Creek portfolio and had a wonderful relaxing visit. We ended up acquiring several cases and are eager to re-visit and share our discovery back home.



Porter Creek Wines tasted:

Porter Creek "Haley Marie Cuvee" Russian River Valley Viognier - Timbervine Ranch 2014 

Winemaker's Notes: In the spirit of its northern Rhone counterparts in Condrieu, this wine possesses a weight and richness rarely found in New World Viogniers. Beautiful nuances of mango, pear and nectar. Balanced, round and capable of aging.

Porter Creek "George's Hill" Old Vine Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2014

Porter Creek "Fiona Hill Vineyard" Estate Bottled Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2014

Porter Creek "Old Vine" Mendocino County Carignane 2014

Porter Creek "Timbervine Ranch" Russian River Valley Syrah 2013

 Porter Creek Russian River Valley Zinfandel 2014

Highlights of the tasting for me were the Chardonnay, Pinot and the Syrah, (shown left) of which we acquired a mixed case with Dr Dan, who also acquired cases including some of the Viognier and the Carignane.

Diamond Creek Open House 2015 Release Tasting

Diamond Creek Open House 2015 Release Wine Tasting

We opened our 2017 Napa Valley Wine Experience with a visit to the iconic Diamond Creek Vineyards for their release tasting of the 2015 vintage Diamond Creek releases at an Open House held at the Estate. We were treated to a vineyards tour by second generation step-son general manager Phil Ross (left with Pour Boys, Bill, Dan, Rick) and his wife Mary, who shared stories of the legendary founder Al Brownstein and the history of the estate. We know Al was the visionary pioneer who brought Bordeaux varietals to Napa Valley but we learned the original vines were actual cuttings from the legendary Bordeaux first growth Chateau Latour, shared with Al during his visit there in the early seventies.

Phil shared stories of the development of the property and Al's passion for designing and building the eleven waterfalls and crafting the lake and parks by sculpting and managing the flow of Diamond Creek that winds through the property.

Diamond Creek is synonymous for terroir with their iconic vineyards named for and memorializing the three distinct soil types that comprise the three distinct vineyard sites on the property - Volcanic Hill with its lighter ash soil white slope facing south, Red Rock Terrace with its north-facing slope in red, iron-rich soil, and the pebble stone texture of the five acres at Gravelly Meadow, part of an ancient riverbed, the coolest site of Diamond Creek's three main vineyards.

Al was ahead of his time in developing, marketing and branding three different single vineyard designated wines devoted to the three vineyards. Today they are the quintessential example of the distinction afforded micro-climate and terroir based labels, based on their soil types, and angle and slope configuration to the daily sun.

We learned this day that there are 60 different soil types in Napa Valley, half of the soil types found in the entire world, and that Gravelly Meadow is composed of the same soil as found in the Rutherford appellation on the central valley floor, having been washed down from the slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains the form the western slope edge of the valley.

Actually, there are four vineyards and single vineyard designated wine labels if you count the 3/4 acre Lake Vineyard that is only produced and released in special vintages - sixteen times in the forty years of production on the property. Other years it is blended into the other wines.

We toured each of the four legendary vineyards and the gardens that Al crafted on the property with Phil sharing stories of their development and evolution over the years. Amazingly, the creek, dam and lake survived eighty inches of rainfall last winter, twice the norm for a season.

The day culminated in a tasting of the just bottled soon to be released 2015 vintage of the three vineyard designated wines. Hosting the event was Boots Brownstein (right), co-founder and matriarch of the family and the vineyards/winery. It was a pleasure meeting her again, having met her during our winery visit and private tasting during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2011.

The wines:

We continually debate which is our favorite which I akin to selecting your favorite of your kids ... In my case, probably like others, it changes from vintage to vintage, and over time as the wines evolve and mature, and under the circumstances, as the different profiles will pair differently with foods, cheeses and the like. Always a fun experience when you have the luxury or privilege to do a comparison tasting.

At these price points, for most of us, these are special occasion wines. We have many fond memories of previous tastings of Diamond Creek Cabernets.

Linda and I served a flight of Diamond Creek magnums at son Ryan's wedding to Michelle Diamond. In addition to the horizontal selection of each Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon from magnums we also served several birth year vintages.

Birth year wines - Bill and Beth C, served birth-year vintage 1982 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon from double magnum at the wedding of their son Will.

Then, they served Diamond Creek Napa Valley Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon 1984 from magnums at son Drew's wedding reception dinner. They featured 1989 vintage Diamond Creek Lake Vineyard for son Matt's wedding rehearsal dinner.


I opened Dan's daughter Hillary's birthyear labels when he announced her wedding engagement at one of our wine dinners.

Sis Jan and Bro-in-law Bill, who accompanied us to our Diamond Creek private tasting served Diamond Creek at Gala Wedding Celebration Dinner at niece Krista's wedding celebration.


The 2015 release tasting:

Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

The first of the three labels tasted, it immediately became my favorite, and the benchmark against which the others were compared. This was the most vibrant and expressive fruit of the three, although the others' fruit gave way to more complexity with layer of accent flavors.

Dark inky garnet colored, full boded, rich, concentrated black raspberry black berry fruits with notes of sweet clove spice, hints of floral and cassis and black pepper with a long pronounced finish of smooth well balanced tannins.

RM 93 points.

Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

This was more complex than RRT above as it added another layer of complexity with notes of smoke and cedar or camphor. Dark inky garnet colored,  full bodied, blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by tones of anise, graphite and camphor and cedar.

RM 94.

Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Like the Gravelly Meadow, this was also more complex than RRT above as it added another layer of complexity with notes of smoke and cedar or camphor. Dark inky garnet colored,  full bodied, blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by tones of smokey cedar and camphor turning to notes of anise and graphite on a long complex smooth tannin finish.

RM 94. 

Phil Ross and Boots Bournstein are in charge of managing Diamond creek today.
Read more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/california-wine/diamond-creek-california-wine-cabernet-sauvignon/

Phil Ross and Boots Bournstein are in charge of managing Diamond creek today.
Read more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/california-wine/diamond-creek-california-wine-cabernet-sauvignon/

Diamond Mountain Wine Experience - Constant Vineyards & Winery

Diamond Mountain Wine Experience - Constant Vineyards & Winery

Our visit to Diamond Mountain reached the 'summit' with a visit to CONSTANT Diamond Mountain Vineyard and winery at the top of the mountain, sitting at over 2100 feet elevation. It also is among the oldest wineries in the valley with history dating back to the late 1800's.

We visited on a completely overcast day and it was spectacular - one can only imagine the incredible vistas on a 'normal' sunny day. It will be worth a return trip to find out. 

 

Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon

Sitting at the top of the Mayacamas range, Freddy Constant grows Bordeaux varietals offered under his own Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyard label.  He also bottles Constant Diamond Mountain Queen of Diamonds Shiraz with grapes grown on the only Sonoma vineyard on Diamond Mountain.

Constant wines tasted:

• Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
• Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
• Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Franc 2006
• Constant Diamond Mountain Syrah 2006

 

 

 

Constant Diamond Mountain hillside vineyards
as seen from historic winery cottage.

Constant Diamond Mountain hilltop vista
with 'infinite' vineyard views

Freddie Constant telling the Constant
Diamond Mountain story.

 

 

 

Picturesque winter vineyard views
from tasting house

Constant mountaintop tasting house - cozy even
on an inclement day.

Diamond Mountain Wine Experience - Diamond Creek Vineyards

Diamond Mountain Wine  Experience - Diamond Creek Vineyards

A trip to Napa Valley Diamond Mountain by the serious wine enthusiast or collector would not be complete without a visit to the legendary Diamond Creek Vineyards. Founded in 1968 by the late Al Brounstein, a visionary pioneer who defied conventions of the time by planting Bordeaux varietals on secluded Diamond Mountain in the Mayacamas Range at the north remote end of Napa Valley.

Diamond Creek is a case study in terroir - each of its four vineyards with its own micro-climate, soil type and geography that are revealed in their single vineyard designated Cabernet Sauvignon wines - named for their four distinctly different origination vineyards. The vineyards of Diamond Creek are Gravelly Meadow (5 acres - center left), Red Rock Terrace (7 acres front), Volcanic Hill (8 acres opposite), and Lake (¾ acre), plus Petit Verdot (1 acre) to the left outside of frame. The vineyards as pictured below, are amazingly co-located close to each other yet have distinctive individual characteristics that are revealed in their wines.

The chateau and tasting room offer a magnificent setting and view of the vineyards on the slope and meadow below and of the opposing hillside.

Diamond Creek offers an elegant tasting experience showcasing their wines harmonized by Diamond Creek cabernet sauvignon reduction with petit beef tenderloin and artisanal cheeses.

Diamond Creek dinner tasting.
Thomas Arvid painting above fireplace in background.
(See below)

The limited production highly allocated wines amazingly reflect the character of their source site. Boots Brownstein carries on the Diamond Creek tradition.

Our tasting group with 'Boot's' Brownstein

Diamond Creek Wines Tasted -

Diamond Creek Tasting Flight

Wines tasted -

• Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
• Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
• Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
• Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

What a wonderful opportunity to do a horizontal tasting of Diamond Creek vineyard select wines. There really is unique character revealed in each wine. We each had our favorite - all were spectacular.

Diamond Creek Art - 

Another special treat of visiting the winery is to see the legend of Al Brownstein living on in the display of his original artwork (shown below) that was used in the Diamond Creek Thirtieth Anniversary commemorative labels for the 2002 vintage vineyard select cabernet sauvignons.

Diamond Creek wine painting montage by Thomas Arvid graces the fireplace in the tasting room.
More on Thomas Arvid art.

Special wines for special occasions -

We served a horizontal selection of each Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon from magnums at the wedding of our son Ryan to Michelle Diamond! Several magnums were birth year vintages.

Diamond Creek horizontal magnum tasting including birth year vintages served at Ryan and Michelle's wedding.

Bill and Beth Connolly shown above in attendance, served birth-year vintage 1982 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon from double magnum at the wedding of son Will and Kate Jandl.

Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon 1982 Double Magnum served by Connelly's at Will and Kate's wedding.

We featured Diamond Creek in a horizontal Napa cabernet tasting dinner held at the Fairmount Hotel in Chicago with Bill & Beth C, and California friends Gigi & Michael P, Andy & Liat, and Phil - who came in to town for the occasion. Also featured were Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon and Dominus Estate. 

 

Gala Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon dinner tasting - Diamond Creek, Dunn, and Dominus

And yes, there is the actual Diamond Creek. Spectacular settings and views on the vineyard grounds.

 

 Other vineyard views .....

Diamond Creek Lake Vineyard

Diamond Creek Lake Vineyard

Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace

Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace

More Diamond Creek Winery Pics on Rick's UnWindWine.com.

Also see other Diamond Mountain producer Constant Vineyards and Winery blog.

Mt Veeder Appellation Trail - Yates Mt Veeder Family Vineyards

Finally after more than a dozen years of wine trips visiting various wine regions, we learned the discipline and organization of focus! When we now visit Napa Valley, we focus on one appellation at a time. Recent Napa Valley trips focused on Howell Mtn, Spring Mtn, and Atlas Peak. This trip we dedicated to Mt Veeder, with a day also so dedicated to Diamond Mountain. We have long known and enjoyed Mt Veeder wines - notably the legendary Mayacamas, the popular Hess, the producer namesake Mt Veeder, and the popular Robert Craig Mt Veeder cabernet, one of his collection of single mountain designated cabs. According to my Cellartracker records, we hold Robert Craig Mt Veeder cabernet for every vintage from 1993 thru 2007 with the sole exception of 2003. Can you spell library? And this weekend we dropped in at Craig's tasting room and tasted the 2008 vintage!

We also visited Rubissow Vineyards and Winery high atop Mt Veeder.

If not for simplicity, from a logistical standpoint, we start at the top of the Mountain and work our way down. You can select the metaphor for this strategy. To that end, we started our assault of Mt Veeder at the top at Yates Family Vineyard. Note the designation Vineyard, over Winery, as the Yates family have been farming the property for sixty years producing and selling top quality fruit to producers who bottle under their own label - no doubt popular producers we know, and others. Due to the heritage of the original developers from Europe back in the 1800's, the property was originally planted in German and Alsatian varietals. Over time these have been replaced with the traditional Bordeaux varietals that are now most popular on Mt Veeder - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,and some Cabernet Franc.

Yates Family Mt Veeder Vineyard

In recent years, Proprietor Mike Yates aided by his daughter Whitney Yates Hanes have worked together as Co-Winemakers to produce wines under the Yates label. They estate bottle under a standard varietal designate labels as well as a Reserve. They also produce a St Emilion style blend and a left bank Bordeaux blend Alden Perry Reserve named for family patriarch Mike's grandfather, Perry and father Alden, who shifted to the Bordeaux varietals in the early fifties, (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc). Produced in small quantity of less about 200 cases, we tasted from a 375 as this was SOLD OUT in standard bottles. We also tasted their Viognier 2009.

Yates Family Vineyards historic wine-house.

We were greeted by Mary Yates who otherwise handles the books, and her husband Todd Jones who has taken over sales and marketing duties. On the property still sits the historic ghost winery built back in the 1800’s and operated then as “Castle Rock Vineyard”, which we toured. Ironically, early product was shipped in barrel to Chicago where it was then bottled and sold as Claret from a retail store on Wells Street, although its not known whether that was North or South Wells.

W/ Mary Yates Jones and Todd Jones of Yates Family Winery and Vineyards.

Mike Yates of Mt Veeder Yates Family Vineyards

Yates Family Wines tasted:

Recommended Wines - 

Yates Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 

Dark deep inky purple color - complex and full bodied, the black berry and black cherry fruits were accented by dusty rose petals, tones of dark bittersweet chocolate, spice, and a layer of leather on a smooth tannin finish. This should integrate and gain polish over five years and last ten more. RM 91 points.

Yates Family Vineyard Cheval Cabernet Franc 2007

Spicy black berry, clove and cassis. Winemaker Tasting Notes - A deep, dark ruby appearance with hints of graphite and toast on the nose that finish with dry rocks and cigar tobacco. Strong flavors of espresso with small splashes of clove and cardamom. Dark chocolate covered cherries with cassis. Intense mountain fruit lingers on the palate and finished with supple tannins. RM 91 points.

Yates Family Vineyard Fleur de Veeder Merlot 2007

Winemaker notes - Nicely balanced and plush Merlot, beautifully exhibits the quality we’ve come to expect from Mount Veeder. The enticing bouquet of red berries, smoldering spices and mint lead to intense flavors of crushed raspberry and black cherry. Dark chocolate and a hint of anise add to the complexity. Round and full mouth tannins complete the smooth and lingering finish. 202 Cases Produced - RM 90 points.

Tasting Yates Family Wines

Check out Yates Family wines - small production crafted wines that reflect the true terrior of Mt Veeder. We look forward to receiving our Yates wines and trying upcoming vintages and offerings to come.

Our Mt Veeder Tasting Group at historic and picturesque Yates Family Vineyards