It’s not a secret to everyone, but most mainstream California Cabernet lovers have never heard of them. This is beyond the level of Caymus, Cakebread, or Stag’s Leap. Stylistically Diamond Creek is in the traditional more Bordeaux-esque realm of Heitz Cellars or Dunn from Howell Mountain. They’re the OG California ‘Cult Cabernet’ and they’re one of my two favourite wineries overall in all the US. They’ve flown a little below the radar over the decades vs the mainstream big names in the cult cab world (Screaming Eagle, Harlan, etc). But Diamond Creek was the first exclusively Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in California, stared in 1968. They were always super refined, very Bordeaux-like. They never changed their profile or slipped into that jammy over-the-top style of the 90’s and 2000’s that Robert Parker loved at the time, which he made super famous by awarding wineries like Screaming Eagle his first 100 points ever.

But even with these monstrous wines from winemakers like Helen Turley and the other cult producers, Diamond Creek remained the original, old school, cult cab for those-in-the-know. And now that tastes have slid back toward more classic styles, they've become one of the most sought after. Even by Robert Parker now too, as his tastes have also changed. He used to rate Diamond Creek low at just 80 points and many of his more recent ratings are 98 or even 100.

At the Lake Vineyard, visiting Diamond Creek with my wife in 2017.

This is one of my favourite wine write-ups by any writer about any winery ever. I saved it from an online article years ago, and I’m glad I did because I can’t seem to find it online or on The Wine Advocate anymore. I think he does a better job of making the case for Diamond Creek than I could, so I’m going quote the entire article by Neil Martin of The Wine Advocate here. The original pictures had not saved, so I’ve added different ones in. I particularly love his last paragraph about The Wines and his talk of demonstrating terroir:

Diamond Creek - Producer Profile

By Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

A few years ago, I was attending the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter, rather fatigued having tasted a gamut of Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. "Must venture over to the New World" I thought to myself as I entered a different chamber, chock full of growers from the Antipodes, South Africa and of course, California.

I chanced upon one stand called "Diamond Creek" where a man is his latter years, a little frail and hunched, with wispy white hair and Napa-tanned skin was taking a well-earned rest. I procrastinated as to whether I should disturb him, but his wines intrigued me: "Volcanic Hill", "Gravelly Meadow" and "Red Rock Terrace". So I engaged proprietor the late Al Brounstein in conversation and he sprung to life as he poured the wines. Within ten or fifteen minutes I could have given him a hug and said: "You are my new favourite New World wine producer."

I did not go that far, but since that epiphanal encounter things have not changed and Diamond Creek is still a winery that I truly believe competes with the iconic names in the Old World. Last November I had the pleasure of meeting Al`s "better half", the indefatigable Boots Brounstein (what a fabulous name.) Like her husband, Boots (pictured right) welcomed anyone gracing her stand as if they were a long-lost member of the family, with a hollering "Hi there" that was in stark contrast to some of the more introverted Burgundian growers who fidgeted awkwardly when I approached their stands. Having adopted me as one of her grandchildren Boots served the 2001 vintage of Diamond Creek and we chatted about the vineyard.

History

Saskatchewan-born Al Brounstein is a self-made millionaire who had worked his way up from scratch in the pharmaceutical business in Los Angeles. He had a comfortable lifestyle, by comfortable I mean he had his own plane rather than a Lexus. Seeking something more rewarding than selling drugs, he enrolled at a French course at UCLA followed by a course in wine tasting where epiphanies with Latour and Lafite-Rothschild inspired him to forge a new career as a vineyard owner.

He purchased a 20-acre plot of land in 1966, planting vines two years later. It was only after clearing it of wild bush, that he realized he had serendipitously discovered a geologically and topographically diverse parcel of land. The first cuttings were smuggled in by Brounstein from Bordeaux, the region that provides the inspiration for his winemaking. Apparently the asking price for the land was a paltry 1,400 dollars per acre (I hazard a guess that it has increased since then) but winemaking is a romantic pursuit, not necessarily an economically rewarding one and for the first dozen years he made a financial loss.

Initially Brounstein was aided by Jerry Luper who together formulated the artisan techniques that remain at the heart of Diamond Creek. The vineyard has not expanded in that time, the only appendage being the 0.75-acre "Lake Vineyard" whose wines are impossibly rare (never tasted by myself unfortunately.) Since 1991 the winemaker has been Phil Steinschriber, who introduced vertical training for the less vigorous vines (Geneva double-curtain elsewhere) and stainless steel fermenting.

Sadly, Al Brounstein passed away in 2006.

The Vineyard

The simplest way to illustrate the vineyard is through a map, which is reproduced with kind permission from their website whose link you will fine below. Diamond Creek lies in a topographical "bowl" and is so called because of the stream the divides the estate into its different soils that elevate steeply from the man-made lake at the centre. A geologist would have a field day here: a terroir sceptic a nightmare, for just like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti the nuances in soil profile make tangible differences in the wines, despite the vines planted within shouting distance of each other.

*The three soil types that influence the character of Diamond Creek's wines*

Each vineyard has its own unique microclimate, for example the Volcanic Hill attracts more heat and lies on ancient volcanic ash from Mount Konocti. Red Rock Terrace is slightly cooler as it is has a northern rather than southern exposure with a higher iron content in the soil. Gravelly Meadow is the cooler still, lying on a preternatural riverbed whose gravelly soil make it the least water retentative, ergo the vines are the lowest yielding. The Lake Vineyard is the coolest, thanks to the prevailing Pacific breezes. Al Brounstein believes in the Cabernet Sauvignon grape and has no wish to diversify into other varieties. It accounts for 88% of his planting, augmented by 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that finds its way into Volcanic Hill and Lake bottling.

The nuances in microclimate and temperature mean that it takes one month of 15 to 20 tries to handpick the entire vineyard as grapes ripen at different intervals. That is vital for Diamond Creek, since the fermentation tanks have the capacity to ferment only one-third of the crop. Upon the advice of André Tchelistcheff, Diamond Creek is installed with 500-gallon open-top vessels, which are "punched-down" four times a day to maximize extraction.

The Wines

If somebody asked me to demonstrate terroir then I would chose Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from the Old World and Diamond Creek from the new. Having tasted all three side-by-side on several occasions, their individuality could be discerned in appearance, nose and taste. What I adore about the wines is their purity and honesty. Even though they attract prohibitive prices, for once there is substance behind the price tag. Diamond Creek has the poise and refinement borrowed from Bordeaux, though paradoxically in my experience their texture echoes more Burgundy. There is no hankering for power, richness and lashings of new oak: Al Brounstein was wise enough to allow the terroir of his vineyards to shine through. If you can afford them, the wines of Diamond Creek are highly recommended.

— Neal Martin

When we have them in stock, their wines are $450 for the 3 single vineyards. And if you’re luck enough to get the 1 bottle of Lake Vineyard we sometimes get allocated for Ontario, it would run upwards of $900 per bottle. For more info on Diamond Creek, check out their website and instagram page:

http://www.diamondcreekvineyards.com/
https://www.instagram.com/diamond_creek_vineyards