My Sincere Thanks to All for a Great 2009 Vintage!

As the 2009 vintage comes to an end, I want to thank everybody that helped make the Atlas Peak wines. It was a lot of hard work, but I think we had a lot of fun along the way, while making some fantastic wines!

Sixteen months ago, in August of 2008 Atlas Peak moved its winemaking operations from our home of 20 years in Napa, to the Buena Vista Carneros winery in Sonoma. It was difficult to leave the place were we made Atlas Peak wines for more than 20 years. However, I believe we made this decision putting quality first and getting an upgrade in winery facility and equipment.

The Buena Vista Carneros winery is a state of the art winemaking facility in the heart of Carneros. The "Open Top" room is lined with small fermenters that are perfectly suited for small lot Cabernet Sauvignon winemaking. In the 2009 vintage we fermented 20 % of our wine in 10-ton fermenters, and 80% of our wine was fermented in 7-ton fermenters or smaller; a luxury that we could have never achieved in the Napa winery.

A special thanks needs to go to the entire winemaking staff at Buena Vista Carneros for their contributions in making the Atlas Peak wines. Jeff (Winemaker for Buena Vista Carneros), Jaeson (Associate Winemaker for both BVC and AP), Sam (Production Manager), and Monica (Production Assistant). And to Nicole who sources amazing grapes from some of the best mountain top Napa Valley vineyards. From these grapes we craft our Napa Valley blend as well as individual bottlings from Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District, Howell Mountain, and Atlas Peak.

And finally to Anna (Assistant Winemaker), whom me missed this vintage as she filled in as associate winemaker at Geyser Peak Winery. We all look forward to your return. The vintage was just a little too quiet without you!



There are also many people to thank, so I am going to try to list them all. It is quite a big team that keeps the winery running. The cellar crew is led by Sam, Mario, and Eron. The cellar crew for 2009; Ray, Xochilt, Mario, Kris, Maria, Myra, Scott, Graham, Nick, Lisa, Jualberto, Sonia, Oscar, Rudy, Jose, Juan, Alfonso, and all the international interns, Viorel (Republic of Maldova), Radu (Republic of Maldova), Jon (New Zealand), Rodrigo (Chile). Thanks to Dick, Norm, Luis and Margarito, for keeping the place running. Thanks to Debby for keeping all the records in order and to the sorting crew that stood there hour after hour making sure that every leaf and every piece of stem are removed so that we have only the highest quality of grapes going into each fermenter. And to the lab with Jose, Daniela (Republic of Maldova), and Raj, who kept the lab analysis coming all season.


Cheers,

Darren C. Procsal


Winemaker


Atlas Peak

A is for Atlas Peak

It's springtime at the winery, and business as usual in the cellar.

If you've been following the blog, diligently I am sure, you saw in mid-February we were racking the 2008 wines; it's been nearly three months and the wines have been sleeping soundly and aging quite nicely, it would seem, in their casks.

While the cellar and lab staff tend to the wines back at the winery, our fearless leader, VP Winemaker Darren Procsal, and company, PR Director Tony Lombardi, hit the road to show off some current release wine and give a sneak peek at what we've been up to these past few months.

This past Monday the guys could be found at the San Francisco Bently Reserve for California Cabernet Society's Spring Barrel Tasting. They were on hand pouring the 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet, along with a 2008 barrel sample, for a capacity crowd of trade, media and consumers. The wines received numerous compliments from On/Off premise Sommeliers and wine buyers on the quality and value of our current vintage. And as if that wasn't enough to make us all proud, Drinkhacker.com blogged about the event and rates the Atlas Peak 2008 barrel sample of a single Cabernet Sauvignon block from Stagecoach Vineyard an A-.

Read the full recap at:

http://www.drinkhacker.com/2009/05/05/tasting-report-2008-california-cabernet-sauvignon-barrel-samples/

So, in short, I'd like to thank all the people who made this possible, good work team Atlas Peak!

I suggest we celebrate with a glass of Cabernet!

Cheers,

Anna Clifford
Assistant Winemaker
Atlas Peak

PS. To see more about this event and the organization that sponsored it, visit: http://www.californiacabernetsociety.com/.

Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignons garner great press in Wine Enthusiast Magazine!

Atlas Peak rings up three Cabernet Sauvignon's with stellar reviews and 90+ Points from Steve Heimoff and Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

The Atlas Peak 2004 Howell Mountain Cabernet with its "firm tannins, deep and lush flavors ...this beauty should blossom ..."

The Atlas Peak 2004 Spring Mountain Cabernet is called, "Elegant, lush, rich and refined"

And, the Atlas Peak 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet is called, "a beautiful Cabernet ... perfectly ripened fruit ... and balanced"


Congratulations team Atlas Peak on this fantastic endorsement!

The Atlas Peak 2004 Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon Scores Again!

Atlas Peak 2004 Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon scores again! This time in the December issue of Connoisseurs Guide to California Wine.

Charles Olken calls the wine “impressive” as it garners two stars as a “highly distinctive wine” in this influential trade newsletter.

Click here for PDF>> Connoisseurs Guide-Atlas Peak

Congratulations team Atlas Peak!

Atlas Peak Cabernets Score Big in Restaurant Wine!

The Atlas Peak Cabernets WOW Ronn Wiegand! Check out the stellar reviews of the mountain top Cabernets.

The very influential trade pub, Restaurant Wine, is published by Ronn Wiegand, one of a very few who holds both a Master Sommelier and Master of Wine accreditations. He goes on to say “These are very impressive wines!”

The 2004 Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon garners an Exceptional Five Star rating!

Click link for PDF>> Restaurant Wine-Atlas Peak

Congratulations team Atlas Peak!

Busy Times In The Cellar For Atlas Peak

There is a buzz in the cellar now as Atlas Peak has harvested 90 % of the grapes for the vintage. We currently have twenty tanks filled with grapes at one stage or another right now. Grapes are either cold soaking, just starting to ferment, fermenting happily, or finished with fermentation and spending some time on the skins in what is called extended maceration. Extended maceration is a winemaking term that means that the young wine is allowed to remain in contact with the skins. This time on the skins softens the wine, ensures that the fermentation is complete and allows a process called malolactic fermentation to get a begin.

We are also starting to drain and press tanks of Cabernet as we see fit. Tanks that are selected for draining are drained the night before to allow us to collect as much free run wine as possible. Then we dig the skins out of the tank and press out any remaing wine. For the first time Atlas Peak will begin using a basket press to gently press the red skins. Wine that has been drained and pressed off the skins has also started to go to barrels as well. The free run wine and the press wine are held in separate barrel lots. Atlas Peak wines will see a combination of new and one year old french oak. The wine will spend between 12 and 18 months as it matures into finished wine. We still have a long way to go before we make it to bottle.

This is my favorite time of the year. When you walk through the cellar it is filled with the sweet smell of fermneting juice and it is bustling with activity.


Darren Procsal

Winemaker

Atlas Peak

http://www.atlaspeak.com/

Atlas Peak Harvest Hits High Gear

The 2008 harvest for the Atlas Peak winery is in full gear. Last week at this time we were looking at blustery days and possible freezing cold nights. Well, we survived the wind, and the expected frost never materialized. Now the fall weather has turned again to warmer than expected days and cool pleasant nights.

Cabernet Sauvignon is scheduled for every day of the week except Wednesday, when we will harvest the Cabernet Franc and Malbec, and Saturday, when we will bring in the Merlot and Petite Verdot. Most of the wine produced from these four delicious varieties will be used in our Atlas Peak Claret. See our web site for further details on the Claret. The balance will find its way into our Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, blend, and maybe, just maybe, we will make a small amount of one of those wines on its own.

As I walked the vineyards this week it occurred to me that we are nearing the end of another vintage. A lot of work remains, but by October 25th I expect all of our grapes will be harvested. This is not to say that the work is over, far from it. The winery will be buzzing with activity. Pump overs and drain and returns will be top priority, and soon we will be pressing and filling our French oak barrels. These details will follow.



By the end of the year, all of the 2008 wine will be in barrels and we will again need to turn our attention to the 2007's. But for the time being it is harvest full speed ahead.

Until next time ...

Darren Procsal
Winemaker
Atlas Peak

Atlas Peak - Cabernet On Spring Mountain at 1750 ft. Looking North

This morning I started the day in the Spring Mountain District. We source from two vineyards up here. One vineyard sits at 1,750 ft elevation and the other at 1,050 ft. Both of these vineyards have east facing aspects, which means that they have good morning exposure as the sun rises and cooler evenings as the sun sets behind the Mayacamas range and Spring Mountain. Spring Mountain is where the vision for our label materialized. It was an early morning when I set out to walk the vineyards that day. I had arrived before daylight and sat in my truck to watch the sun rise over Atlas Peak. Napa Valley below was fogged in and there I sat above the fog line at the peak of the mountain which is the unique point of difference for our brand. Today you see this image of the mountain above the fog line captured on our label.

Today I started out walking through both Spring Mountain vineyards. As I walked through the vineyard I sampled grapes from many of the vines looking for the mature flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon. For me these flavors include blackberry, blueberry, ripe plum and cherry. Cabernet Sauvignon usually starts out with herbal and green flavor like green beans and bell pepper but as the flavors mature these green characters disappear and move towards more berry and red fruit flavors.

After walking the Spring Mountain District vineyards I decided that the grapes are very close to harvesting. We will pick the block at 1750 ft. on Monday first, and then possibly pick the grapes from the other block on Wednesday. I will be back to walk that vineyard on Monday to make that final call.

Monday we will visit our first wine lot of the year from the Atlas Peak Vineyards, block 65.

Until Monday…

Darren Procsal
Winemaker
Atlas Peak

Atlas Peak - Napa Valley Mountains - 2008 Harvest Update

Atlas Peak — Jan Krupp, Stagecoach Vineyards, “Atlas Peak has benefited from the recent spate of cooler weather. Flavors, anthocyanins and tannin maturity are all catching up with sugar accumulation. The merlot and white grape part of harvest is in full swing. Flavors and balance are great. The merlot crop is light. Only a few blocks of cab have been harvested in the Atlas Peak area. Most of our cab still requires several more weeks of ripening.”


Howell Mountain — Pat Stotesbery, Ladera Vineyards, “The harvest of fits and starts. After all the heat there was this feeling of surprise that is now replaced with a slow but steady picking regime. The normal suspects of zin and merlot are being picked from the top, including some from Sears, Summit Lake and Outpost down and through Ladera where we have actually started into the cabernet. Everyone wants to keep picking but the process is slowing as we approach more cool weather. Waiting for the next surprise.”


Spring Mountain District — Stuart Smith, Smith-Madrone, “Progress of the Spring Mt. harvest is quite varied — as might be expected from a group of strong-minded mountain folk. Some of us have picked most if not all of our merlot and others will be starting soon. Several of us have picked some blocks of cabernet sauvignon and others are still several weeks off. We all agree that the grapes have high acids, low pHs and yet have very good flavors for so early in the season. Whether it is the harvesting of merlot, cabernet franc or even cabernet sauvignon, the cooler weather is allowing all of us to pick the grapes at the peak of maturity — albeit a rather


Mount Veeder — Brian Nuss, Vinoce Vineyards, Over at Wing Canyon they finished picking all their cab on the 13th, two weeks earlier than ‘07 but down 33 percent. The fruit was clean and the bunches full. We picked some cabernet sauvignon again on Tuesday and all the cab in the lower vineyard will be in by the end of the week. The cab franc is still hanging on and hopefully bring it in next week. The upper elevations are still at least a week out. Everyone has been happy with the way things are right now.”

2008 Napa Valley Harvest Report brought to you by the: St. Helena Star

To learn more about the fabulous mountain Cabernets of Atlas Peak, visit: www.atlaspeak.com