2018 von Strasser Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District Napa Valley 750 ml

No list of mountain Cabernets is complete without von Strasser. 

The 14-time Wine & Spirits Winery of the Year stands alongside Diamond Mountain District’s finest, like Lokoya, Diamond Creek, Checkerboard, and The Vineyardist. But while those skyscraping Cabernets start at $170, soaring to heights topped only by the volcanic peaks of the Mayacamas Mountains, von Strasser’s seething blackberry heavyweight is here for much less.

By definition, mountain Cabernet is extremely limited, so enthusiasts of richly textured, dark chocolate- and graphite-tinged powerhouses should move quickly. Only a few will be lucky enough to lock these in. 

The legacy of von Strasser as a world-class mountain Cabernet producer begins with its founder and namesake, Rudy von Strasser, who distinguished himself early in his career by becoming the first-ever American to earn an internship at Bordeaux’s legendary Château Lafite-Rothschild. With First Growth experience on his résumé, von Strasser came back to Napa and landed a job with the New World equivalent, working under John Kongsgaard at Newton.

By 1990, his sights were set high on Diamond Mountain, where volcanic soils yield fabulously opulent and staggeringly age-worthy Cabernet. The wine he made that year, his first vintage, would go on to beat 54 Napa Valley Cabs in a New York Times competition, setting the tone for a prolific portfolio that has earned countless accolades, but more importantly, has become synonymous with quality, pedigree, and collectibility. 

The 2018 Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon delivers all of the above. Like its high-priced neighbors, the 2018 was grown from tight-fisted, small-berry clusters of Cabernet Sauvignon, coveted by winemakers for their low skin-to-juice ratios, and ultimately, the deep-fruited concentration, powerful structure, and wild complexity they produce in a wine. 

The 2018 is incredibly generous, ready to offer handfuls of ripe blueberry, cassis, and blackberry, but its muscled mountain structure will allow anyone with the patience to lay it down for another decade. 

This is the kind of versatility and depth we’d expect from von Strasser, at a price we’d normally only dream of. But today, while our cases last, it’s a new Cabernet reality.