Mountainside

About this wine

This Mountainside Cabernet Sauvignon is pure Cabernet from Napa Valley showing ripe black cherry and cassis on the nose with violet and espresso accents. The palate brings concentrated dark fruit, a savory streak of dried herbs and a mineral earthiness, with cocoa and tobacco drifting through the mid palate. The wine is structured with medium plus acidity and firm tannins that are long and mouth coating, while oak is present but well integrated after aging in French oak. Acumen sources fruit from mountain and hillside sites which give the wine lifted floral notes and tensile structure, and recent releases spent around eight to eighteen months in French oak depending on the vintage. Critics and tasting notes describe it as generous in fruit yet structured for aging, showing both immediate appeal and the ability to develop over a decade or more.

About the grape

Cabernet Sauvignon originated in Bordeaux as a natural crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc and has become the backbone of Napa Valley red wine due to its thick skins, firmness of tannin, and capacity to age. In this Mountainside bottling the variety is grown on Acumen estate sites on Atlas Peak, where volcanic soils and elevations above the fog line force the vines to struggle and concentrate flavors. The vineyards were planted in the early 1990s and are farmed with a focus on balanced ripeness rather than excessive sugars, using mountain site selection and canopy management to retain acidity and structure. The estate fruit is often blended and handled in a Bordeaux minded way in the cellar, with experienced winemaking to preserve Cabernet Sauvignons structure and longevity.

Quick facts

• ⛰️ Mountainside bottles are sourced from high elevation Atlas Peak vineyards, so the fruit comes from vines that live above the fog line.
• 🍇 The Mountainside label is made by winmaker Phillip Corallo Titus, who also helped craft celebrated Chappellet wines, giving it a mountain Cabernet pedigree.
• 🏡 Acumen releases Mountainside wines as estate driven small batch bottlings, which means most of the grapes come from vineyards the winery manages.
• 🍾 Besides Cabernet Sauvignon the Mountainside family includes a sparkling rosé and a Sauvignon Blanc, so Mountainside is a mini lineup not just a single red.
• 🏅 Critics awarded recent Mountainside Cabernet vintages high scores, which helped turn this approachable Napa label into a collectors favorite quickly.

Palate profile

Producer

Acumen was founded in 2012 by Eric Yuan with the goal of producing exceptional estate-grown wines on Napa Valley's Atlas Peak. The winery farms 116 acres of organically certified vineyards across two sites: Attelas and Edcora. Acumen's downtown Napa Wine Gallery combines wine tasting with art exhibitions and live music events, offering a unique cultural experience. In 2021, they introduced the PEAKeasy, Napa Valley's first lounge dedicated to Champagne, featuring a curated selection of fine Champagnes in a stylish setting.