For quite a while, now, we’ve been meaning to review all the vintages of Dyer Vineyards Cabernet – we’re amazed to realize there are fifteen vintages now (seventeen if you count the two in barrels!) But, we just hadn’t gotten to it.
In a recent moment of serendipity, Bill was talking to Doug Wilder, the Publisher of Purely Domestic Wine Report, who was wondering aloud about the age-ability of Napa Valley Cabernet. The conversation evolved into setting up a fifteen-year vertical tasting of our wine with Doug, who suggested we also invite a couple of his fellow wine writers.
There’s been a long-running debate on the age-ability of Napa Valley Cabernet because of our lovely, warm climate. The warm growing season is responsible for the generously fruity nature of the wines but it also tends to soften the natural grape acidity. This makes the wines easy to enjoy when they’re young but may take away from their longevity in some cases.
What an exciting opportunity! We taste our older vintages from time to time, but to sit down to a complete vertical with critics we respect is really a very momentous occasion.
We are so pleased that Doug found a “consistent aroma and flavor profile unique to the vineyard” and that that all of the wines, even the first few vintages, are still full of life.
He has just published his thoughts on the tasting along with notes on each vintage and comments on the role that terroir plays in our Diamond Mountain wines. We’ll post his notes on the website page for each vintage (Our Wine/Library.) Those of you who have older vintages in your cellar may find it useful. But until we do, you can link to the entire article here. You may just want to subscribe!