Au Sommet

From Au Sommet's website:

"When we purchased the 7-acre vineyard on Atlas Peak in the Western Vaca Mountain Range in Napa Valley, we knew that great mountain fruit would come from its volcanic soils.

The vineyard, part of the 45-acre property perched atop Atlas Peak, is one of the highest vineyard sites in Napa Valley, rising 2,100 feet above sea level. The eleven year old Cabernet Sauvignon (clones 7 and 337) and Petit Verdot (clone 400) vines are exposed to a unique microclimate and soil.

Unlike the Napa Valley floor, which is often covered in morning fog, the mountain vineyard is exposed to more sun during the growing season. Refreshing mountain breezes cool hot summer days, protecting the fruit from overheating. The nights are much cooler than other areas and can sometimes experience a 20-degree drop in temperature. These cool nights allow for slower maturation of the fruit, resulting in well-balanced, complex wine.

The shallow volcanic soils limit vine growth, producing small amounts of fruit with exceptional, intense varietal character."

 

Press:

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"Wine is art. John Schwartz has lived and worked by this credo throughout his career as a restaurateur and vintner. And so it was natural that, when he acquired a 45-acre vineyard property at the top of Atlas Peak in Napa Valley’s Vaca Mountains, he turned to Heidi P. Barrett (pictured), California’s foremost oenological artist, to create from its raw elements a new masterpiece...The wine’s name, Au Sommet (“to the top”), suggests more than the vineyard’s topography: It reflects Barrett’s unrivaled winemaking talents at their peak...As is often the case with hillside fruit, its flavor components are explosively dense, dark, and wild, filled with earthy aromas and lusciously concentrated brambleberry fruit. To this lush raw beauty, Barrett brings her civilizing touch."
- The Robb Report, May 2009