Glorious Revolution Morris Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain 2021

Many AVAs here are so small and sparsely planted that newcomers rarely come around. Such is the case up on Diamond Mountain. The terrain there is rugged and even inhospitable in some areas, and it's been a few years since we've heard of a new brand moving to the neighborhood. Buying property on Diamond Mountain is like jumping into the deep end of an Olympic swimming pool. With epic neighbors like Memento Mori, Checkerboard, The Vineyardist, and Diamond Creek, you better not show up with your floaties. Proprietors Billy and Beth Morris knew the waters that they were entering when they acquired their 80-acre property and have delivered an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon that, in our opinion, anchors them into those rocky, volcanic soils with the best of them. 

When Billy and Beth purchased their estate in 2012, they inherited a few acres of Cabernet Sauvignon that had been planted in 2002.  All the fruit was sold to prestigious producers throughout Napa until 2018, when the Morris Family set their sights on creating a personal label.  They brought on Mike Smith (known for his work with Myriad, Becklyn, Carter, Scarlett, and Maybach) as Winemaker to craft their first two vintages, and Thomas Rivers Brown has since taken over with the 2021 vintage.  They elected to utilize Block 1 from the family’s estate, a parcel that lies 1,200 feet above sea level and is tucked into a little valley midway up the mountain.  The two acres of Cabernet Sauvignon benefit from nutrient-dense, volcanic soils and even exposure from the sun traveling East to West across the vines each day.  

The stellar 2021 vintage was generous to the Morris Family estate, where just enough rain fell in late Winter, and the sunshine was plentiful with no significant heat spikes to knock ripening off its steady course.  Harvest by hand began in the early morning hours, and the fruit fermented in stainless steel for 21 days with gentle pumpovers. The wine went on to age 20 months in French oak barrels from a mix of three cooperages. This is the second vintage of Glorious Revolution that we have worked with, and their sophomore release is everything but a slump! Richly elegant Cabernet celebrates all the beauty in the darker classic Cab aromatics like black plums, tobacco, chocolate shavings, and stemmy herbs.  The tannins are graceful and refined, which is no easy feat when working with Diamond Mountain fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, with a layered, elegant, and lengthy finish, delivering everything we look for in a great Napa Cabernet. This wine has a sense of timelessness, similar to the epic land it embodies, and will age smoothly for the next two decades.