2010 Hall Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon

Hall is a 500-hundred acre estate in the Rutherford Hills of Napa Valley. It was established in 2003 when Craig and Kathryn Hall acquired the historic Bergfeld Winery and then remade it into a state-of-the-art facility certified by LEED, of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a national green building program. Before getting into the wine business, Craig Hall founded the Dallas-based Hall Financial Group and was a part-owner in the Dallas Cowboys. Kathryn Hall comes from a Mendocino grape growing family and served as U.S. Ambassador to Austria from 1997 to 2001. Winemaker is Steve Leveque, who was previously winemaker at Chalk Hill Estate in Sonoma. The estate makes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Robert M. Parker Jr. has complimented the estate’s wines, noting that “this is definitely another serious player in the Napa Valley.”

Diamond Mountain District AVA is in the Mayacamas Mountains at the northwestern end of Napa Valley. The appellation is relatively high and the entire district is more than 400 feet above sea level. Some vineyards are as high as 2,200 feet above sea level. Because of their altitude, Diamond Mountain vineyards experience warmer days but colder nights than vineyards on the valley floor. Once volcanic soil, the terrain in the appellation has over time become less fertile, making grape growing particularly challenging. Nevertheless the district has attracted wine producers for more than a century. There are 500 vineyard acres out of a total of 5,000 acres. Among the highly regarded wineries here are Lokoya Winery, Diamond Creek Vineyards and Schramsberg Vineyards. Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are generally firmly structured, rich and quite tannic. Chardonnay is full-bodied with apple and peach aromas and firm acidity.

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.