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Acumen, “Mountainside” Red Wine

California, United States 2014 (750mL)
$39.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Acumen, “Mountainside” Red Wine

For a Napa Valley wine that boasts not only premium mountain vineyard sourcing but an A-list roster of farming and winemaking talent, Acumen’s 2014 “Mountainside” red is very modestly priced. In my experience, it’s rare for such a ‘young’ operation to offer this kind of value for such a deep, pedigreed red; normally, the costs of entry into the often-inflated Napa wine scene result in vastly more expensive bottles.
Situated within the Atlas Peak AVA, Acumen was founded by Eric Yuan, who in 2012 purchased 32 acres of prime Atlas Peak vineyards from Dr. Jan Krupp (of Stagecoach Vineyards fame). Yuan acquired another, larger vineyard just up the road in 2013, and, with founding winemaker Denis Malbec, established Acumen not only as a red wine stylist to be reckoned with but a model of conscientious, sustainable farming. In relatively short order, they’ve obtained CCOF Organic Certification for their vineyards, and in 2014, Malbec and his team crafted a Napa Cabernet blend that shows both the mineral imprint of its volcanic soils and the power-meets-finesse character that mountain-grown fruit delivers. “Mountainside” is an extraordinary amount of wine for the money, from a property trying to do everything the right way. Their success thus far is impressive, to say the least!
As many California wine lovers know, Malbec died, tragically, in a 2016 car accident. He was a well-known-and-liked figure in Napa Valley wine scene: Malbec literally grew up at Bordeaux’s Château Latour (his father was the cellar master) and relocated to Napa in 2000 with his wife, a Swedish sommelier and restaurateur with whom he set up a consulting business. He garnered praise for his work with Charles Krug, Kapcsandy and Medlock Ames, as well as for the brand he helped create, Captûre, and at Acumen Yuan spared no expense in surrounding him with the best: rising-star viticulturist Steve Mathiasson (who ended up stepping into winemaking role after Malbec’s death) was brought in to consult with viticulturist Garrett Buckland (himself a veteran hand) on the vineyard work, and on the business side, he installed Steven Rea as the estate manager. While Mathiasson continues to consult on the agricultural side, the wines as of are today being made by Henrik Poulsen, who’d previously done lengthy stints at both Newton and Alpha Omega.

The two Acumen vineyards are in the Foss Valley, a small bowl-like valley high up on Atlas Peak, accessible only by a long, snaking drive up Soda Canyon Road. Soils are volcanic in origin and altitudes are high, ranging roughly from 1,300-1,600 feet. The Atlas Peak AVA is the highest-elevation appellation in the Napa Valley, and even the “floor” of the Foss Valley is above the fog line, resulting in superior sun exposure balanced by wide shifts in day/night temperatures. The combination of light intensity and cooler temperatures infuses the wines with a beguiling mix of power and balance, especially when the raw materials are tended to with as much care as at Acumen.

The 2014 “Mountainside” is a fitting homage to Malbec’s classical French training, combining all five of the traditional “Bordeaux” varieties into a dark-fruited, harmonious whole. The wine combines 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Malbec, 19% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in French oak barrels (72% of which were new). It’s a wine that combines density and considerable polish with a hearty, woodsy savor that showcases its mountain-grown origins.

In the glass, the 2014 Mountainside is an opaque ruby-purple in the glass with magenta highlights at the rim. The powerful aromas combine black plum, blueberry, cassis, dark chocolate, cigar box, dried herbs, and a hint of exotic oak spices. It is approachable in its youth but there is a tactile, framing quality to the tannins, which provide a mineral underpinning to the wine’s lush, palate-coating wave of dark fruit. It has the right amount of acidity to balance the weight of its extract, and to me this wine has 10+ years of graceful maturation ahead of it. If you are enjoying a bottle tonight, decant it about 45 minutes before service in large Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees. It will complement just about anything well-charred off the grill, from tomahawk ribeye to baby-back ribs. Keep the spice level moderate (so as not to clash with alcohol/tannin), and the attached recipe should make a great partner. Enjoy!
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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesNapa Valley
Soil
Volcanic
Farming
Certified Organic
Blend
42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Malbec, 19% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot
Alcohol
14.6
OAK
72% New French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
45-60 Minutes
Pairing
Baby Back Ribs

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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