2022 Acumen PEAK Cabernet Franc estate spotlight
Acumen's organic estate vineyards on Atlas Peak. The mountain, the vines, the house.
The market on this bottle
Top score is The Tasting Panel on this vintage, never a Wine-Searcher aggregate.
2022 Acumen PEAK Atlas Peak Estate Cabernet Franc
Phillip Titus. Organic Atlas Peak fruit above 1,000 feet. Double 95. Forty-nine on two or more.
Acumen's PEAK Cabernet Franc, 100 percent estate, Attelas and Edcora, organic, both above 1,000 feet. Phillip Titus, 35 years at Chappellet. The Tasting Panel 95 and Owen Bargreen 95. Two or more are $49 a bottle. A single bottle is $110.
Mountain Cabernet Franc. Double 95. Forty-nine on two.
Eric Yuan founded Acumen in 2012 as a mountain estate on Atlas Peak. Founding winemaker Denis Malbec came from Chateau Latour. Phillip Titus took the chair after 35 years at Chappellet on Pritchard Hill. The fruit is 100 percent estate, organic certified, above 1,000 feet. The Tasting Panel 95, Owen Bargreen 95. Two or more are $49.
Less than 3 percent of California grapes come from above 1,000 feet. Atlas Peak is 2,663 feet at the summit. Acumen bought its first vineyard here in 2012, Dr. Jan Krupp's home vineyard, planted 1992, three years before Stagecoach. Attelas and Edcora, 116 organic acres. Phillip Titus after 35 years at Chappellet. 130 cases of this 2022 PEAK Cabernet Franc.
The house
Phillip Titus. Acumen, Atlas Peak.
The wine
77% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet, 6% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. 18 months, 60% new French oak. 14.5%.
The score
The Tasting Panel 95. Owen Bargreen 95.
The table
Duck, herb lamb, aged gouda.
95 points, The Tasting Panel
Named critics only. No shop names. No aggregate score in the corner.
Blackberry, red pepper, then cocoa.
Give it a minute and several swirls. It is shy out of the bottle, then blackberry, black raspberry, red pepper, thyme. Full-bodied, round tannins, real structure. Toasty oak, dark cocoa, vanilla through a long finish. The Tasting Panel called it a textural dream. Owen Bargreen: red bell pepper, creosote, garrigue, dark currants, drink to 2040.
18 months in 60% new French oak. 14.5% alcohol.
Ripe blackberry, black raspberry, red pepper, thyme. Toasty oak, dark cocoa, warm vanilla. Melting dark chocolate, creamy violets, plum pudding, sage, tobacco, cedar.
Give it a minute and several swirls. It is shy out of the bottle, then blackberry, black raspberry, red pepper, thyme. Full-bodied, round tannins, real structure. Toasty oak, dark cocoa, vanilla through a long finish. The Tasting Panel called it a textural dream. Owen Bargreen: red bell pepper, creosote, garrigue, dark currants, drink to 2040.
Serve near 62 F for reds, colder for whites. A short decant if the note asks for air.
Phillip Titus
100 percent estate, Edcora and Attelas, organic, Atlas Peak, above 1,000 feet. Harvest October 10 to 24, 2022. Eighteen months, 60 percent new French oak. 14.5 percent alcohol. Phillip Titus.
2022 Acumen PEAK Cabernet Franc
Acumen is an Atlas Peak mountain estate founded in 2012. The PEAK line is the estate bottling. This 2022 is Cabernet Franc, labeled PEAK, vintage 2022 on the glass.
Eric Yuan founded the house. Denis Malbec, a Latour veteran, set the style. Charles McKahn joined as associate winemaker in 2022. The vineyard is not open to the public.
What to put on the table
Food only. No bottles on the plate.
Reds near 62 F in a proper glass. Whites colder. A 20 to 40 minute decant when the tannins ask for it.
Gordon Ramsay cooks duck breast. A cooking video for the pairing, not a winery film.
Duck with cherries
Right Bank-styled Franc and a plate with fat and fruit.
View Recipe for Pan-seared duck breast (opens in a new tab)
Aged gouda
Dark cocoa in the glass. A hard cheese that can keep up.
View Recipe for Cheese board (opens in a new tab)The Tasting Panel 95. Owen Bargreen 95. Atlas Peak Cabernet Franc. $49 when you take two.
Phillip Titus. Organic Atlas Peak fruit above 1,000 feet. Double 95. Forty-nine on two or more.
Two or more are $49 each. A single bottle is $110. Twelve bottles ship free.
