Dyer: The Soul of a Mountain

Dyer Wines Give a Mountain a Voice

Friends,

We recently visited Bill and Dawnine Dyer at their tiny mountain vineyard and tasted through some library vintages. This feels like a big statement, but I’ll stand by it: I have never tasted a Napa wine with such a distinctive, honest sense of place. Frankly, we were floored by the older vintages we tasted, and it is our special privilege to be the only shop in the country able to present a library offering like this.

If you’ll allow a bit of poetic license, it feels like the Dyers have given Diamond Mountain a voice. Their singular achievement is actually getting blood from a stone, in the form of these beguiling, complex wines.

The Back Story

Bill and Dawnine Dyer had both worked 25 year careers as head winemakers (Bill for Sterling, Dawnine for Chandon) when they decided to strike out on their own and plant a tiny, 2 acre vineyard on Diamond Mountain in the early 90s. Since then, the two of them have painstakingly planted and tended the vineyard, and made a scant 300 cases a year of their Diamond Mountain Cabernet. Other than bringing in a crew to help them on harvest day, the couple does all of the work themselves. If you met them, your impression might be of a retirement age couple living a charming, bucolic life. But, I think that is an oversimplification, as it must be a massive amount of work to wring those 300 cases out of their boulder-strewn mountainside. It is an impressive achievement.

The Wines

Quite simply, when you hear “old-school mountain cabernet” this is what you hope it tastes like. After tasting through 8 vintages, I am convinced that you could lock me in a dark room with 100 wines and I could pick out the Dyer—they are that distinctive and consistent.

While each vintage is different, they all share a hallmark: a nose that is stuffed with truffle, cedar, eucalyptus, and anise; and, despite the tertiary nose, a mouthfeel that is both satiny and remarkably fresh and lifted. These wines are pure elegance, but are structured with an honest sense of place: chiseled from a mountainside. They can go forever. Even the ‘96, their first vintage, feels like it has decades ahead of it. It is worth noting that their vineyard is directly adjacent to Diamond Creek, which has an exceptional aging track record, but the wines here are a fraction of the price.

2019 Dyer Diamond Mountain ($105)
Sappy redwood and calamint dominate the nose. With some plum, cherry, cranberry, and chocolate, this is the most primary of the lineup. Towering structure that feels dark and layered but still very elegant. With air, this opens and becomes more friendly. Really lovely, and able to age a very long time.

2018 Dyer Diamond Mountain ($105)
Antonio Galloni of Vinous (96 points): The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a bold, pungent wine…The aromatics alone are beguiling. Lavender, sage, licorice and inky blue/purplish fruit all come alive in the glass. Readers will find a beautifully complex, savory Cabernet full of character.

2009 Dyer Diamond Mountain ($165)
Their signature truffle scent emerges here, along with cedar, pine, juniper, and licorice. Maybe even ginger and molasses. This is so pretty. A little higher acid, a little brighter, a little less structured than the others, with so much lift and liveliness. This might be my favorite.

2008 Dyer Diamond Mountain ($165)
Truffle, mushroom, damp leaves, but again, so much brightness and lift on the palate. Pardon that this is getting a bit too out there, but this wine reminds me of old books and passing seasons, and I want to sit by a fire and nurse a sense of melancholy with it. Walnut skins and cocoa nib frame the finish—this is likely the most elegant of the bunch.

2004 Dyer Diamond Mountain ($165)
Truffle, redwood, cedar, mushroom, soy, and a deep, herbal undertone. Olives and roses. This is the biggest and broadest of the bunch, and maybe the friendliest.  This is the most chocolatey, and the acid the most restrained. Simply, this wine is the easiest to love.

1996 Dyer Diamond Mountain ($200)
Their very first vintage. The name of the game is Truffle & Cedar, and that’s what’s dominant here. Deep, umami, tertiary notes, structure, and an elegant lift—this one has all of the trademark characteristics, but rather than the age dampening them, it has turned them up to full volume. Elegant, graceful, distinctive. This is a stunning wine.

In case you can’t tell, we absolutely love these wines. They are unlike anything we have ever had, and we are thrilled to be able to offer such a rare vertical of unique wines.

Also, we’re offering a special 6 pack bundle for those that want to go deep down the rabbit hole. These wines are exceptional and I am a bit reticent to discount them, because I don’t want to take away from any single bottle’s value. But, if you’re going to build your cellar (or a really fun vertical tasting) around Dyer, we’ll make it a bit easier for you.

Dyer 6 pack: $905 $805

Thanks for reading this long email. If you made it all the way here, then you deserve that special 6 pack pricing!

Looking forward to drinking something good with you soon!
Thad & Emily

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