2021 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District Napa Valley

Martin Ray wines consistently deliver impressive value—but their 97-point 2021 Diamond Mountain Cabernet takes things to another level. 

High up in the Mayacamas Range, the Diamond Mountain District is the most rugged and sparsely planted appellation in all of Napa Valley, producing wines that have a unique power that reflects their rocky upbringing. Diamond Mountain releases from names like Hall, Davies, and Wallis Family all sport triple-digit price tags, with Lokoya fetching $400 a pop!

This isn’t labeled as a single-vineyard wine, but it comes from just one Diamond Mountain site that we’re no longer allowed to name: a tiny 13-acre parcel perched 1800 feet up in the mountains. This vineyard supplies Lokoya’s Diamond Mountain Cabernet, and has a few other high-end clients: Cardinale, Haber Family…and Martin Ray, whose bottle brings everything we crave in a mountain-grown Cabernet—without the high-altitude price tag. 

Martin Ray was one of the original legends of California viticulture, alongside Don Chappellet and Robert Mondavi. He was motivated to craft wines that would rival Europe’s elites at a time when most would have found that notion laughable. He got the last laugh when his bottles ended up in the White House under multiple administrations.

Today, owner Courtney Benham has picked up the torch where Ray left off. Bringing on 100-point winemaker Keith Emerson was a huge move, especially when it comes to concocting super-premium Cabernet Sauvignon. Emerson’s experience as winemaker at Vineyard 29 and Robert Craig make him a Cab expert par excellence, and when he got a shot at a holy grail of Diamond Mountain vineyards—well, the result speaks for itself.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 15.20%
• 30 mins
• Now – 2037
• % Cabernet Sauvignon
• Serving temperature – 62°
• Cork