Brounstein and his wife, Boots, closed on the property in 1967 and planted in 1968... Phil Steinschriber, has managed the vineyards and made wine here since 1991. "Al still has not told me where the original vines came from." Al Brounstein must have promised not to tell when he arranged to take cut- tings from two of the first-growth properties in Bordeaux. And knowing he'd never get them past US customs, he brought them in through Mexico, then piloted them himself across the border in a small plane...

...Brounstein originally selected three parcels out of his 70 acres to plant, focusing on the soil type in each: Red Rock Terrace (Seven acres of reddish- brown soil facing north), Gravelly Meadow (five relatively flat acres with a gravelly, sandy soil) and Volcanic Hill (eight acres of compressed white volcanic ash on a hillside facing south)...

...Of Diamond Creek's 2002s..., I found that each responded differently to the vintage, but all responded with more elegance than any new vintage I've ever tasted from these vineyards: more cool, fresh fruit, more plumpness to fill out the relatively softer tannins, more length of flavor based on distinctive earthiness and fruit combined...

...Diamond Creek's 2001s, which I reviewed last December, bear more of the classical Diamond Mountain tannin... Gravelly Meadow is earthiest; the black fruit and gritty power of the tannic structure combine to make the wine feel austere. Red Rock Terrace is the leanest, and yet the most luscious, of the three cabernets. The tannins here feel more mineral, the wine yielding a beautiful violet perfume with air. Volcanic Hill, from the white tuff soil that Brounstein believes makes his longest-lived wine, is the richest, the most immediately opulent of the 2001s...

...The fruit shows clarity, even with the opaque tannins, and together they provide a succulence in the texture that makes the wine seem accessible. In fact, the greatness of this wine will develop over time... In a well-maintained cellar, Steinschriber is convinced, these less extracted, more balanced wines will age for two decades or more. "If somebody at thirty invests in our wine, " Steinschriber says, "we're going to hope that at sixty-five, he can open it up and enjoy it and remember something about the winery." - J.G.

WINE & SPIRITS BUYING GUIDE 2006