Atlas Peak and Objectivity
By: Jim Silver
Read full article here.
Ayn Rand described her notion of objectivity as “the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, and productive achievement as his noblest activity…” and blah blah blah…I don’t subscribe to Ayn Rand, actually. Claptrap, he shrugged.
But I do admit, fully, to admiring the heroism inherent in the tiny winemakers, with their tiny vineyards, and their grand, truly grand passion for producing fine wine from small places. I hope it brings them happiness – how could it not? The achievement is not so dissimilar to baking your first loaf of sourdough, but it takes so much longer. And costs a lot more.
One of my earlier articles on small wines from small wineries attracted the attention of the Atlas Peak growers, and I was certainly not going to turn down an invitation to a tasting like this, just eight minutes from my house. It was lovely, even with the 25-30 mile per hour winds blowing constantly, knocking over all the umbrellas. They did a marvelous job organizing, actually – it was a great time.
Atlas Peak is that particularly lovely outcropping of rocks you see as your distant view, high above the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, looking east, but it is facing west. Atlas Peak’s AVA relies on its elevation – a lot of the wines I tasted came from 1200 or 1300 feet high. There’s a major influence of well-drained volcanic soils and big diurnal shifts in temperature, both of which contribute to the fascinating development of complex aromas and flavors.
This AVA is seemingly a patchwork of lots of small vineyards, but the one that looms large over all of them is the Stagecoach vineyard - one that requires an entire book to properly illustrate – and a historic, iconic, and deservedly famous landmark. I think a lot of fear overcame the small producers who relied on Stagecoach for excellent fruit when Gallo bought the massive property, but so far, the grapes are still within the grasp of the smaller Atlas Peak wineries, and that is great news. There are a lot of notable wines at this tasting, and I will highlight my favorites, but note that everything I tried from Stagecoach was truly excellent.
Not everything was photographed, of course, and I wasn’t taking notes – just too much there, so what I give you here are my impressions, some of which are rather emotional:
Pahlmeyer’s 2022 Chardonnay is, as you might expect, spectacular. No surprise there. Also, that my old friend Randy Bennett’s brilliant Durell Vineyard Chardonnay (not Atlas, but whatever) was, as usual, a killer SOJOURN Cellars offering. Also, a vintage 2022. Everything from this winery is terrific, especially their Pinots, in my opinion. Always, always have been.
I loved the blended KARIA Chardonnay from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, for its freshness and elegance, a new 2023 bottling. Nearby, there was an especially complex and beautiful kind of smashing back-patio white wine, the Buonchristiani “Triad Blanc,” featuring a little Viognier with the Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Sounds strange, but it isn’t at all. It’s totally delicious. I expected his reds to be great too, and they were, with the “OPC” delivering everything you want in a Napa blend, and his Malbec was unbelievable. (Yeah, Malbec, from Stagecoach. Very, truly great winemaking happening here, among the best.)
A favorite, again and again, was Eric Felton’s SOMMRAS, which you‘ve seen in these pages before. The Sauvignon Blanc was serious, dense, and beautiful, and its ‘21 Cabernet Sauvignon was wonderfully aromatic, balanced, complex, and possessed a gorgeous fine finish.
Ultra-small and ultra-interesting is the brand new project from VINDICTA. This new project, I joked, started their wine journey at exactly the wrong time in the wine business. C’est la vie, right? Their Sauvignon Blanc was from young vines and had a completeness that said this was a compelling new project, and their 2023 and 2024 (barrel sample) Cabernets are just splendid now and will be better when they are finished. Smart, brave, and excellent. Bravo.
I had fun talking and tasting with the terrific winemaker David Grega, who was showing his VinRoc Atlas Peak Cabernet from the 2022 vintage – fresh, lively, rambunctious, and immature, it was a “kids on bikes” wine that I enjoyed very much. Also, Steve from LEVENDI demonstrated the real power of the appellation with magnums of 2019 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon and the ‘21 too. As did the White Rabbit Vineyard Atlas Peak Merlot, which was a strawberry bouquet of gorgeous floral, red fruits, and positive structure. Speaking of Merlot, the Hill Family version of this variety was lovely, elegant, and complex, too.
A special shout-out for Arrow and Branch, who are quietly, but definitely producing some of the finest wines in the entire Napa Valley - their dazzling Sauvignon Blanc a particular highlight, but so is the bombshell Cabernet Franc. These are complex, compelling, professional-grade (nay, “weapons-grade’!) Napa wines. The kind you buy for your boss. Pictured here with my friend Michael Ploetz, General Manager of the Estate. I think it would be a great place for a visit too.
The two episodes that were the most fun for me were intellectual deep dives into terroir and winemaking. On the terroir side, I was able to try the vertical of 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 wines from a 1.5-acre mini-estate vineyard the family calls “Above the Valley.” Stating that they made far more wine than they could consume, or even give away (clearly they haven’t met me yet), the family is now selling a little of this micro-production Cabernet. I have to tell you fairly that going from vintage to vintage, the wine is just so pretty, so complete, and utterly honest. If you wanted to enjoy something, I’m sure NO ONE else is, but you will surely impress, try to find this diamond of a wine. (https://www.abovethevalley.com/) I recommend 2021, but all of them are quite good. Extremely reasonably priced too!
Now, listen up, people. I’m speaking directly to all 300 of my dear followers here – you’re going to have to trust me on this. Winemaker Victoria Coleman made the most beautiful wine in 2022 that I’m sure few will totally understand, unless they're an old hat like me. Her new project, called JOVIAH (which has a website but it doesn’t work yet, so don’t bother), is from an Atlas Peak vineyard she’s been working with since 2009. Her 2022 Cabernet (blend) is, to me, a masterpiece. I tried it twice because I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. Now, maybe it’s the wine talking, but this absolutely lovely wine, which still isn’t labeled, tasted to me like an amalgamation of 1966 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, 1978 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, and/or a minor vintage of Mouton-Rothschild, like 2002. But also like 1984 Stag’s Leap SLV and Robert Mondavi’s 1977, or a Dominus Cabernet from the 90s. I want to include other truly elegant Cab expressions like Corison, but I can’t because this was just too musically light on its feet, deft, controlled, lilting, floral, layered, pretty. Surely there will be wines from Napa AVAs all over the area, from 2022, that are impressive, bold, balanced and exceptionally well made – but I doubt they would inspire a conversation as worthy as this rare, (to me) unknown bottling of JOVIAH. Wow. I can’t wait to own a bottle of it at least, and so should you. victoria@joviahwines.com If you don’t buy this from her, I’m going to be disappointed in you, dear reader.
Of course, you know I have a day job, as Chief Sales Officer of WineDirect Fulfillment in American Canyon. We are the most advanced, accurate, and cost-effective fulfillment solution in the wine industry, and I’m very proud to be a part of it. I just write this Substack for fun, and for my own entertainment, no other reason. I’m very glad that you might also be enjoying it. Of course, buy my book, which (at least my publisher keeps saying) will be out soon, like in a couple of weeks. You’ll know when that happens because I’ll be all over your inbox.
