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Feature Article
Atlas Peak winemakers look to the future with eyes
focused on Cabernet Sauvignon.
Atlas Peak ~ Napa Valley (AVA)
Atlas Peak producers try to shake the Sangiovese Blahs
Atlas Peak producers, saddled with a reputation for ‘less-than-stellar’ Sangiovese, are reinventing themselves, their vineyards, and their wines – and Cabernet is at the heart of the make-over.
by
Alan Goldfarb
May 30, 2006
When discussing the Atlas Peak American Viticulture Area (AVA) in the southeastern hills of the Napa Valley, any talk of it has to begin with Sangiovese. However, the folks involved with the dozen wineries and the approximately 15 growers now in the small region, would most likely want it to end there.
That’s because at about the time the area received its official designation in 1992, Piero Antinori, the well-respected Tuscan producer, came to Atlas Peak to help start Atlas Peak Vineyards, bringing with him Sangiovese. In so doing, the Chianti vintner, who was one of the earliest progenitors of his home’s most noble grape, believed that the variety would do well on Atlas Peak; and it caused others on the mountain to plant it, as well as prompted others around California to jump on Sangiovese’s thick back.
What resulted is for the most part mediocre California Sangiovese to the point where one has to search far to find it any longer. But Atlas Peak, the pioneer of California Sangiovese, has been saddled with the reputation of still being a proponent of the less-than-stellar variety as it has thus far performed here.
Now, the folks up on the slopes of the mountain struggle to eschew the Curse of Sangiovese by reinventing themselves, their vineyards, and their wines. Thus, they seem now to have thrown their lot in with the five red Bordeaux varieties, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon; and Chardonnay. The idea is to throw off the yolk that Sangiovese has wrapped around their necks, and to prove that great Cabernets and Chardonnays can indeed be grown and produced on Atlas Peak.
Atlas Peak Vineyards’ winemaker Darren Procsal, who wasn’t around at the time that his winery first brought Sangiovese to the Peak, is trying hard to get past the Sangiovese perception. He calls it “The Sangiovese Blahs.”
“There are other wines and when people begin to taste those wines, it will vindicate our winemaking abilities and we think we’ll begin to get there,” he told me in a recent conversation.
Atlas Peak Vineyards itself doesn’t even produce a Sangiovese any longer as it too disengages from Antinori; although it still grows about 125 acres of the variety, which is just about all that is left in the area’s almost 1,500 acres of planted land.
So, it is Cabernet – as is the case in most of the Napa Valley – that is also taking a foothold in Atlas Peak’s thin, well-drained, red-tinged volcanic soils that are planted above the fog line.
Even the region’s own press release describes Atlas Peak as “Not for the faint of heart, this immensely challenging and unadulterated region …” and calls it “This wine country outback.”
Aside from the fact that not one of its 12 wineries has a commercial tasting room, and its two main, but disconnected roads aren’t inviting enough to attract many tourists, wine enthusiasts are beginning to learn that the Cabernets produced on Atlas Peak, are to be acknowledged.
Since the first vineyard was planted in the appellation in 1870, local growers have faced the kinds of physical and viticulture challenges that deter all but the bravest of farmers. Simply put, this is not a user-friendly grape growing region. The lofty elevated area is located in the rugged eastern hills of Napa Valley and is known for its rocky, volcanic soil; rattlesnakes; massive boulder outcroppings; and, truly remote mountain terrain – all of which equates to inordinate amounts of time, patience and investment.
Much of the wines, by its dozen producers Astrale e Terra, Atlas Peak, Bialla, Cobblestone, Dominari, Elan, Hill Family, Jocelyn, Pahlmeyer, Rivera Vineyards, Stagecoach Vineyard, and Vin Roc, all of which make wines under 17 different labels, are just now coming to market.
And Atlas Peak’s fruit is sold to some of the most prestigious wineries in Napa Valley, including Cafaro, Cain, Caymus, Cardinale, Conn Creek, Darioush, Lokoya, Silver Oak, Stags’ Leap Winery, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and ZD.
The peak itself is located on the western slopes of the Vaca Range, separating the Napa and Sacramento valleys. At an elevation of 2,663 feet, Atlas Peak is the most prominent peak in the area and became the recognized name for the surrounding region in or around 1875, when A.V. Evans built and named his legendary hotel, the Atlas Peak Resort.
Vineyards were first planted in the region in 1870, when James Reed Harris planted 1,000 vines on his ranch property located one mile southeast of the peak and now owned by Elan Vineyards. By 1893, he had grown his original one-acre planting to 47 acres of wine grapes.
From 1880 to 1901, the area experienced a slow but steady growth in vineyard acreage which surprised many – this was the first era of phylloxera – a deadly louse that attacks the root system of grapevines and which ultimately wiped out most of California’s vineyards the first time. Amazingly, Atlas Peak historical records show that the area was virtually immune to the disease, due perhaps to a combination of its remote location, high elevation and climate.
During this era, oral history and diary entries indicate that wine grapes grown in Atlas Peak were hauled by wagon to wineries in or near the town of Napa or to the old Borreo winery in Soda Canyon – an area now within the Atlas Peak appellation. At that time, variety plantings included Chasselas, Malvoisie, “Burgundy” (aka. Abouriou), Zinfandel, Muscat, Flame Tokay, Mission and Riesling.
When Prohibition was enacted in 1920, records show that virtually all of the Atlas Peak area vineyards subsequently died from lack of care and old age or were replanted to alternative crops. After Prohibition was repealed, the first new vineyard planted in Atlas Peak was in 1940 on Mead Ranch, one mile west of Milliken Canyon. However, it was not until 1981 that large plantings began in earnest, along with the establishment of the first winery – Atlas Peak Vineyards – in 1985. A renaissance of the once well-established grape growing tradition had begun.
Roughly rectangular in shape, all 11,400 acres of the Atlas Peak appellation rise above sea level at elevations ranging from 760 to 2,663 feet. All vineyards are higher than 900 feet and most grapes are grown at upwards of 2,000 feet.
Unlike some other appellations in the Napa Valley which experience regular amounts of coastal fog in the evenings, Atlas Peak does not, despite the fact that its location suggests that the region should experience the same temperature inversions. The area is designated a Low Region 2 or cool. Temperatures can be 15 degrees cooler than in Yountville below on the valley floor and 10 miles to the west. Atlas Peak often sees a 20-25 degree difference between night and day.
High elevation and ridge-top terrain contribute to this aberration, as does the fact that only narrow canyons connect Atlas Peak to the Napa Valley. Though most of the appellation lies well above the fog line, it does reap the cooling benefits of the fog that creeps in from San Pablo Bay, often blanketing the valley and its lower elevations.
Temperatures drop dramatically at night, helping to maintain a natural balance to the fruit and ultimately, to create an elegant, balanced style of wine. And since the Atlas Peak microclimate is more temperate than upper Napa Valley vineyards and mountain appellations, the growing season is long, sometimes two to three weeks longer than harvest time on the floor below.
Several million years ago, the volcanic activity that created the Vaca Mountain Range and the Napa Valley left a distinct legacy for the Atlas Peak appellation – shallow, well-drained red-tinted volcanic soil that sees up to 40 inches of rain a year.
Of the 11 different soil series identified in the Atlas Peak appellation by the USDA Soil Conservation Services, virtually all are derived from ancient volcanic material, unlike the soil of other Napa Valley appellations where a blend of both sedimentary and volcanic materials are common.
Soil depth to bedrock varies from a low of six inches to a high of 40-plus inches. Most of the soils are extremely well drained and of fairly poor quality, hosting native vegetation such as scattered oaks, digger pines, manzanita and small shrubs.
In some areas the terrain seems moonlike, with boulders the size of cars. Grapevines struggle in this inhospitable landscape and yields are small. But in this case, stress to the vine is positive as it helps to create fruit of exceptional varietal intensity.
Once known primarily for Zinfandel, and then Sangiovese, the appellation is now producing varietals used to create red Bordeaux-style wines – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Merlot; in addition to others including Syrah, Marsanne, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, as well as Sangiovese.
But it’s Cabernet that will most likely prove to be king of the Peak.
“We have a lot to offer in terms of Cabernet,” indicates Atlas Peak Vineyards’ Procsal. “Where the vineyards are located above 1,000 feet, it’s showing itself to be a very good place to grow Cabernet.”
See the results of AppellationAmerica’s Appellation Discovery tasting of 2002 Atlas Peak Cabernets
~ Alan Goldfarb, Napa Editor
To comment on Alan Goldfarb’s writings and thoughts, contact him at a.goldfarb@appellationamerica.com
That’s because at about the time the area received its official designation in 1992, Piero Antinori, the well-respected Tuscan producer, came to Atlas Peak to help start Atlas Peak Vineyards, bringing with him Sangiovese. In so doing, the Chianti vintner, who was one of the earliest progenitors of his home’s most noble grape, believed that the variety would do well on Atlas Peak; and it caused others on the mountain to plant it, as well as prompted others around California to jump on Sangiovese’s thick back.
What resulted is for the most part mediocre California Sangiovese to the point where one has to search far to find it any longer. But Atlas Peak, the pioneer of California Sangiovese, has been saddled with the reputation of still being a proponent of the less-than-stellar variety as it has thus far performed here.
Now, the folks up on the slopes of the mountain struggle to eschew the Curse of Sangiovese by reinventing themselves, their vineyards, and their wines. Thus, they seem now to have thrown their lot in with the five red Bordeaux varieties, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon; and Chardonnay. The idea is to throw off the yolk that Sangiovese has wrapped around their necks, and to prove that great Cabernets and Chardonnays can indeed be grown and produced on Atlas Peak.
Atlas Peak Vineyards’ winemaker Darren Procsal, who wasn’t around at the time that his winery first brought Sangiovese to the Peak, is trying hard to get past the Sangiovese perception. He calls it “The Sangiovese Blahs.”
“There are other wines and when people begin to taste those wines, it will vindicate our winemaking abilities and we think we’ll begin to get there,” he told me in a recent conversation.
Atlas Peak Vineyards itself doesn’t even produce a Sangiovese any longer as it too disengages from Antinori; although it still grows about 125 acres of the variety, which is just about all that is left in the area’s almost 1,500 acres of planted land.
So, it is Cabernet – as is the case in most of the Napa Valley – that is also taking a foothold in Atlas Peak’s thin, well-drained, red-tinged volcanic soils that are planted above the fog line.
-
“The more boulders we cleared with the D-8 tractor, the more they
seemed to appear. It was like a modern day myth of Sisyphus.”
Even the region’s own press release describes Atlas Peak as “Not for the faint of heart, this immensely challenging and unadulterated region …” and calls it “This wine country outback.”
Aside from the fact that not one of its 12 wineries has a commercial tasting room, and its two main, but disconnected roads aren’t inviting enough to attract many tourists, wine enthusiasts are beginning to learn that the Cabernets produced on Atlas Peak, are to be acknowledged.
Since the first vineyard was planted in the appellation in 1870, local growers have faced the kinds of physical and viticulture challenges that deter all but the bravest of farmers. Simply put, this is not a user-friendly grape growing region. The lofty elevated area is located in the rugged eastern hills of Napa Valley and is known for its rocky, volcanic soil; rattlesnakes; massive boulder outcroppings; and, truly remote mountain terrain – all of which equates to inordinate amounts of time, patience and investment.
Much of the wines, by its dozen producers Astrale e Terra, Atlas Peak, Bialla, Cobblestone, Dominari, Elan, Hill Family, Jocelyn, Pahlmeyer, Rivera Vineyards, Stagecoach Vineyard, and Vin Roc, all of which make wines under 17 different labels, are just now coming to market.
And Atlas Peak’s fruit is sold to some of the most prestigious wineries in Napa Valley, including Cafaro, Cain, Caymus, Cardinale, Conn Creek, Darioush, Lokoya, Silver Oak, Stags’ Leap Winery, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and ZD.
The peak itself is located on the western slopes of the Vaca Range, separating the Napa and Sacramento valleys. At an elevation of 2,663 feet, Atlas Peak is the most prominent peak in the area and became the recognized name for the surrounding region in or around 1875, when A.V. Evans built and named his legendary hotel, the Atlas Peak Resort.
Vineyards were first planted in the region in 1870, when James Reed Harris planted 1,000 vines on his ranch property located one mile southeast of the peak and now owned by Elan Vineyards. By 1893, he had grown his original one-acre planting to 47 acres of wine grapes.
From 1880 to 1901, the area experienced a slow but steady growth in vineyard acreage which surprised many – this was the first era of phylloxera – a deadly louse that attacks the root system of grapevines and which ultimately wiped out most of California’s vineyards the first time. Amazingly, Atlas Peak historical records show that the area was virtually immune to the disease, due perhaps to a combination of its remote location, high elevation and climate.
During this era, oral history and diary entries indicate that wine grapes grown in Atlas Peak were hauled by wagon to wineries in or near the town of Napa or to the old Borreo winery in Soda Canyon – an area now within the Atlas Peak appellation. At that time, variety plantings included Chasselas, Malvoisie, “Burgundy” (aka. Abouriou), Zinfandel, Muscat, Flame Tokay, Mission and Riesling.
When Prohibition was enacted in 1920, records show that virtually all of the Atlas Peak area vineyards subsequently died from lack of care and old age or were replanted to alternative crops. After Prohibition was repealed, the first new vineyard planted in Atlas Peak was in 1940 on Mead Ranch, one mile west of Milliken Canyon. However, it was not until 1981 that large plantings began in earnest, along with the establishment of the first winery – Atlas Peak Vineyards – in 1985. A renaissance of the once well-established grape growing tradition had begun.
Roughly rectangular in shape, all 11,400 acres of the Atlas Peak appellation rise above sea level at elevations ranging from 760 to 2,663 feet. All vineyards are higher than 900 feet and most grapes are grown at upwards of 2,000 feet.
Unlike some other appellations in the Napa Valley which experience regular amounts of coastal fog in the evenings, Atlas Peak does not, despite the fact that its location suggests that the region should experience the same temperature inversions. The area is designated a Low Region 2 or cool. Temperatures can be 15 degrees cooler than in Yountville below on the valley floor and 10 miles to the west. Atlas Peak often sees a 20-25 degree difference between night and day.
High elevation and ridge-top terrain contribute to this aberration, as does the fact that only narrow canyons connect Atlas Peak to the Napa Valley. Though most of the appellation lies well above the fog line, it does reap the cooling benefits of the fog that creeps in from San Pablo Bay, often blanketing the valley and its lower elevations.
Temperatures drop dramatically at night, helping to maintain a natural balance to the fruit and ultimately, to create an elegant, balanced style of wine. And since the Atlas Peak microclimate is more temperate than upper Napa Valley vineyards and mountain appellations, the growing season is long, sometimes two to three weeks longer than harvest time on the floor below.
Several million years ago, the volcanic activity that created the Vaca Mountain Range and the Napa Valley left a distinct legacy for the Atlas Peak appellation – shallow, well-drained red-tinted volcanic soil that sees up to 40 inches of rain a year.
Of the 11 different soil series identified in the Atlas Peak appellation by the USDA Soil Conservation Services, virtually all are derived from ancient volcanic material, unlike the soil of other Napa Valley appellations where a blend of both sedimentary and volcanic materials are common.
Soil depth to bedrock varies from a low of six inches to a high of 40-plus inches. Most of the soils are extremely well drained and of fairly poor quality, hosting native vegetation such as scattered oaks, digger pines, manzanita and small shrubs.
In some areas the terrain seems moonlike, with boulders the size of cars. Grapevines struggle in this inhospitable landscape and yields are small. But in this case, stress to the vine is positive as it helps to create fruit of exceptional varietal intensity.
Once known primarily for Zinfandel, and then Sangiovese, the appellation is now producing varietals used to create red Bordeaux-style wines – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Merlot; in addition to others including Syrah, Marsanne, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, as well as Sangiovese.
But it’s Cabernet that will most likely prove to be king of the Peak.
“We have a lot to offer in terms of Cabernet,” indicates Atlas Peak Vineyards’ Procsal. “Where the vineyards are located above 1,000 feet, it’s showing itself to be a very good place to grow Cabernet.”
See the results of AppellationAmerica’s Appellation Discovery tasting of 2002 Atlas Peak Cabernets
~ Alan Goldfarb, Napa Editor
To comment on Alan Goldfarb’s writings and thoughts, contact him at a.goldfarb@appellationamerica.com
