Acumen Atlas Peak spotlight
Cellar Angels films Acumen on Atlas Peak with consulting winemaker Henrik Poulsen, walking the organic estate vineyards behind this Peak Cabernet from Edcora and Attelas.
2021 Acumen Peak Vineyard Cabernet, Napa Valley
Phillip Titus's Atlas Peak flagship Cabernet, cassis and crushed rock from Edcora and Attelas, a 97-point 2021 you can open at seventy-five dollars.
The 2021 Peak is 95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 percent Merlot from Edcora and Attelas: blackcurrant jelly, black cherry, licorice, tar, and crushed rock after time in mostly new French oak, now $75.
Atlas Peak flagship Cabernet, not a leftover valley-floor blend
Peak is Acumen's flagship red: the best blocks and barrels from Edcora and Attelas on Atlas Peak. Phillip Titus, long of Chappellet, made the 2021 as 95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 percent Merlot. The Wine Independent 97: blackcurrant jelly, black cherry, mulberry, licorice, tar, crushed rocks, dense muscular black fruit, drink 2026 to 2048. Wine Review Online 100, Rich Cook: blackberry, cassis, oak spice, crushed rock, an Atlas Peak signature. About 1,033 cases. This is the bottle that puts mountain Napa Cabernet on a table at seventy-five dollars.
The house
Eric Yuan bought Atlas Peak ground in 2012. Attelas was Jan Krupp's home vineyard. Phillip Titus now leads the cellar. Michael Wolf farms the mountain.
The wine
95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot. Edcora for power, Attelas for acidity. Mostly new French oak. 14.5% ABV.
The scores
The Wine Independent 97. Wine Review Online 100. Crushed rock, cassis, mountain tannin.
The drinker
Cassis and stone first. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Steak or mushroom risotto.
Cassis and black cherry, then tar, coffee, and crushed rock
The house Peak note is sweet and spicy cassis, black currant, flashy oak spice, cedar, roasted coffee, and anise, then lush dark berry, clove, cinnamon, and vanilla bean on fine-grained tannin. The Wine Independent found blackcurrant jelly, black cherry, and mulberry, then licorice, tar, and crushed rocks on a taut, muscular frame. Cook found lively blackberry and cassis with rich oak spice and Atlas Peak earth.
A dry, cool start kept vines dormant until mid-April. Then a long, even hang time. Smaller berries, ripe tannin, excellent concentration. Titus kept 14.5% alcohol and a mountain frame instead of valley-floor jam.
Blackcurrant, black cherry, mulberry, cassis, licorice, cedar, coffee, anise.
Full, 14.5% ABV, firm grainy tannin, mostly new French oak, 5% Merlot.
Crushed rock, tar, earth, length. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Edcora power, Attelas acidity, then mostly new French oak
Attelas sits at about 1,300 feet on volcanic gravelly loam and gives higher natural acidity. Edcora sits about 350 feet higher and supplies tannic structure. Peak is a selection of the best blocks, including Cabernet from AV2, AV7, AV16, and EV5, plus Merlot from AV9. Titus gave the 2021 more than a year and a half in about 75 percent new oak to polish mountain tannin without burying crushed rock.
Organic estate farming. Cooler than the valley floor on a hot afternoon. 1,033 cases.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. The Wine Independent wants 2026. Air helps if opening now.
A Peak Cabernet from a vineyard that predates Stagecoach
Attelas was Jan Krupp's home vineyard three years before Stagecoach. Acumen kept Cabernet on the mountain on purpose.
Eric Yuan founded Acumen in 2012. Denis Malbec helped set the first vintages. Phillip Titus now makes the wines with Michael Wolf in the vines.
Peak is the direct-to-collector tier. Mountainside is the broader door. This bottle is Peak.
The 2021 is that Peak idea after a concentrated Napa year: cassis, crushed rock, and a tannin that wants a decade.
Char on steak, earth on a risotto
Mountain Cabernet wants browned beef and a savory mushroom plate. Cassis meets char. Crushed rock keeps the risotto lifted.
Two plates. One butter-basted steak. One wild-mushroom risotto. Both can take Peak tannin and cassis.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Wide Cabernet bowls.
Butter-Basted Ribeye
A hard crust, butter, and thyme. Acumen Peak's steakhouse landing.
Why it works: Fat and char cushion mountain tannin while browned beef pulls cassis, cedar, and coffee through the glass.
View Recipe for butter-basted ribeye (opens in a new tab)
Wild Mushroom and Red Wine Risotto
Earth, reduction, and a long-stirred risotto for Atlas Peak Cabernet.
Why it works: Mushroom umami meets crushed rock and tar. The wine's acidity keeps the rice from going heavy.
View Recipe for wild mushroom and red wine risotto (opens in a new tab)Put this Acumen Peak Cabernet in the cart
Phillip Titus, Atlas Peak, The Wine Independent 97. Seventy-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Peak Cabernet for a table that wants mountain Napa, not a valley-floor slogan.
