86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot; 525 cases

Tasting Notes

With every vintage our goal is to craft the finest wine that expresses the true heart of our 116 acre, organically farmed Estate on Atlas Peak. Our PEAK Cabernet Sauvignon is a selection of the very best blocks, barrel lots, and varietals from our two mountain vineyards, marrying the grace of Attelas and the power of Edcora. For optimal quality each vineyard block is picked and fermented separately in small tanks, then aged over 22 months in 85% new French Oak barrels. During this time our wine-making team tastes regularly, selecting unique and expressive components for the final blend.

2015 Vintage Notes

Whenever we taste through our wines, we always find echoes of the local fruits, plants, rocks, and soil that surround us, the deep and personal expression of our terroir. For the 2015 vintage there are aromas and fruit flavors of the Santa Rosa plums, black cherries,pomegranates, and fresh mountain blueberries that grow on the hillsides. The rugged landscape of our vineyards is reflected in the savory flavors of wild fennel and violets, sweet earth, flint, and the native chaparral. The concentration, deep complexity and inherently powerful structure of the PEAK wines reflect our unique growing conditions at high elevation, with longer growing days at slightly cooler temperatures. The extremely long and pure finish shows hints of Tahitian vanilla, black licorice, and rich drinking chocolate, leading to notes of flint and wet rocks inspiring quiet images of our rocky creek beds.

With a compelling balance of complex flavors framed by ripe, mouth-coating tannins, we feel the 2015 PEAK Cabernet Sauvignon will continue to evolve beautifully for the next 20+ years.

Reviews

Wine & Spirits 
“Year's Best US Cabernets & Blends”

“After seven years at Alpha Omega, Henrik Poulsen joined Denis Malbec on this project in 2013. Acumen focuses on two organically farmed vineyards, 116 acres in all, that Malbec and viticulturist Garrett Buckland helped founder Eric Yuan locate when he was looking to establish a winery in Napa Valley. This is the first vintage Poulsen made on his own, a powerful mountain wine, with black fruit that completely fills the mineral-driven tannins, even as that austere structure holds it tight, without any trace of harshness. A grand wine, delivering rose scents in the midst of its power, this is built to last.” 93 Points: Exciting, distinctive; a wine that transcends simple typicity to its region or variety; a vivid, singular expression of place. -Josh Greene, December 2019

Wine Spectator
“This sports a grippy charcoal feel along the edges, with dark currant and fig paste flavors at the core. Espresso and baker's chocolate notes fill in on the dark finish. A square-jawed wine that should hold in place for a bit.” 91 Points: Outstanding; a wine of superior character and style -James Molesworth, August 2019

Wine Enthusiast
“Made from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Merlot, this is an herbal and smoky wine, earthy in sage and flint. Thick leathery tannins grip the palate with force as a touch of cherry and vanilla wind around a deep lasting finish.” 90 Points: Excellent; highly recommended -Virginie Boone, June 2019

Vinography
“I'm pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week included a bunch of fun wines from near and far. Finally, I've got a couple more wines from Atlas Peak superstar Acumen wines – their flagship ‘PEAK’ bottling, and their less expensive ‘Mountainside’ bottling. Both utterly delicious, slightly lower alcohol Cabernets made with finesse and restraint. Go get 'em!

Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of cherry and dark-chocolate-covered almonds. In the mouth, cherry and tobacco and cola flavors are draped in a heavy blanket of suede tannins. Excellent acidity and a nice deep fruit depth. Will reward a few years in the cellar.” Between 9 and 9.5 Points out of 10 -Alder Yarrow, March 2019

Restaurant Wine
“Acumen is an Atlas Peak Cabernet specialist, founded in 2012. The winery owns 116 acres of certified organically farmed grapes in two vineyards: Attelas (32 acres) and Edcora (84 acres); the latter is situated 350 feet higher that Attelas, in a lightly warmer site. The wines are intensely flavored, and structured, capable of long-term aging.

Here, the PEAK 2015 is a concentrated, toasty wine that is full bodied and complex in flavor (cherry, boysenberry, spicy oak, herb, pepper), with a very long, mildly tannic finish...” 3+ stars out of 5: Very good quality for its type, style, and price. Has distinctive character and positive attributes. Recommended -Ronn Wiegand, January 2019

North Bay Voyager
“Cabernet Lovers: It's worth the trip to downtown Napa to taste Acumen's estate cabernet sauvignon.”
“The 2015 Acumen PEAK Cabernet Sauvignon blends the best from both vineyards and is a cellar friendly, stunner of a cab rich with berries, plum and an earthy flintiness that truly represents the Atlas Peak AVA.” -Sarah Stierch, August 2019

JancisRobinson.com
“I prefer not to score barrel samples but I did taste the 2015 assemblage for each of the three Peak reds – Peak, Peak Attelas and Peak Edcora. They are showing very well with quality levels at least comparable to the 2013 wines. They also give interesting insight into the character of the two sites, so I am sharing my brief notes on each of them.

Savoury and fresh with notes of sage and chapparal showing both red fruits as well as blue-black notes but all from fresh fruits rather than any dried or pruned. A savoury accent of the salt-pepper carmelised crust of a roast just from the oven with just a touch of coffee flavour. Nice integration of both sites with the high-tone notes of Attelas and the structural intensity of Edcora.” -Elaine Chukan Brown, April 2017