Atlas Peak 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - 2 Pack
$64.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Red
PRODUCTS:
1 2004 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
1 2004 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
CT links above

Winery website

Atlas Peak on Facebook

I thought I was paying attention - I understand what ph is and what that scale means, but can someone enlighten me as to the scale / information the "Acid 6.1/ 6.2" brings?

Can't resist. In for one!

It appears that both of these wines are $85 each on the winery's website. Which means this deal is far better than 50% off.
There also seem to be lots of info from the winemaker on each wine. I might have to jump on this one.

Atlas Peak Spring Mt. Cabernet 2004 at Snooth

Atlas Peak Mount Veeder Cabernet 2004 at Snooth

Atlas Peak at Yelp

Atlas Peak Winemaker Darren Procsal grilling rib-eye steaks

Winery claims good reviews for Spring Mountain:

92 Points, Wine Enthusiast February 2009
**** 4 Stars in Decanter
***** 5 Stars in Restaurant Wine
91 points in Connoisseur's Guide to CA Wine

IIRC, Wine Enthusiast is supposed to know what they're talking about?

One of the CT notes on the Mt Veeder, "A napa cab this well crafted for less than $70 is a steal." Not that CT users are always right.

Those poor ribeyes! Looks like some of them made it out decently, but it looks like the middle ones came out WELL... *mourn*

kgw7208 wrote:I thought I was paying attention - I understand what ph is and what that scale means, but can someone enlighten me as to the scale / information the "Acid 6.1/ 6.2" brings?

I think I have seen it referred to as "titratable acid" in mass/volume term. If so, that would mean the higher the value, the lower the pH, all else being equal. Because it's a linear scale, where pH is logarithmic, titratable acid will show a bigger range in values vs. the corresponding range in pH.

Here's some more detail.

http://www.wineperspective.com/the_acidity_of_wine.htm

in for 2!

kgw7208 wrote:I thought I was paying attention - I understand what ph is and what that scale means, but can someone enlighten me as to the scale / information the "Acid 6.1/ 6.2" brings?

The Acidity of Wine

Total acidity is reported as grams of tartaric acid per 100 mL of wine.

In the U.S., the total acidity (TA) of a wine is measured assuming all the acid is tartaric. This allows one to determine a value for total acidity that is consistent. A high TA is 1.0%. Most people would find this level of acidity too tart and too sour for consumption. A low TA, say 0.4%, results in flat tasting wine that is more susceptible to infection and spoilage by microorganisms. Most red table wines are about 0.6% total acid. White wines are usually a little higher.

A typical premium California Chardonnay has a total acidity of 0.58 grams per 100 mL (0.58%) and a pH of 3.4. It is interesting to compare these values with a total acidity of 1.10 grams per 100 mL (1.10%) and a pH of 2.91 found in a late harvest Johannisberg Riesling with 21% residual sugar. Generally speaking, sweet wines require a higher acidity than table wines to balance the high sugar.

2004 I assume is drinking well now, how will this develop in the next 5 or so years?

I love mountain cabs, but SIWBM stands, especially for black tie buys.

Ooooooooooh Mount Veeder AND Spring Mountain!!!

I so wish I wasn't underemployed at the moment. I would jump so so high.

TooOldForThis wrote:I think I have seen it referred to as "titratable acid" in mass/volume term. If so, that would mean the higher the value, the lower the pH, all else being equal. Because it's a linear scale, where pH is logarithmic, titratable acid will show a bigger range in values vs. the corresponding range in pH.

Here's some more detail.

http://www.wineperspective.com/the_acidity_of_wine.htm

"TooOldButNotTooSlowForThis" beat me to the punch. It's a great paper on wine acidity both on balance and development.

We tasted the Mt. Veeder on this summer's rpm tour during our visit to Buena Vista. It was, to me, very well made, with good dark fruit, nice balance and a tasty finish. I recall others being impressed as well. The price here is a LOT less than we were offered at the time.

One thing we didn't ask was, are these now in the optimal drinking window, and how long can these be held? I hope the winemaker chimes in.

Seriously considering.

$35 for good Napa cab. The hole in the pocket is telling me to sleep on it but I think by the light of day I'll be pushing a large button. Atlas Peak mmm.....

nosnevets wrote:$35 for good Napa cab. The hole in the pocket is telling me to sleep on it but I think by the light of day I'll be pushing a large button. Atlas Peak mmm.....

i couldnt wait. im mostly waiting for black tie monkey sipper offers now

Well, I'm hovering over the yellow button, I need some more convincing I think.

merbill wrote:We tasted the Mt. Veeder on this summer's rpm tour during our visit to Buena Vista. It was, to me, very well made, with good dark fruit, nice balance and a tasty finish. I recall others being impressed as well. The price here is a LOT less than we were offered at the time.

One thing we didn't ask was, are these now in the optimal drinking window, and how long can these be held? I hope the winemaker chimes in.

Seriously considering.

They are indeed in the Buena Vista fold. and merbill knows his wines, folks! Great to hear you on this and I just got my tour notes out.. I'll try to do the rest of the writeups!

I went back to Buena Vista a fortnight ago to choose my club case, and tried the Atlas Cab, thogh it was the Howell. Amazing. As was their claret blend. Huge new world fruit, but quite restrained, balanced in style nonetheless, and (hoggyfat) has the complexity and structure to age nicely well over a decade. I'm not sure what I was drinking.. whatever the winery's selling at the moment, probably 05. But we had 04 on Tour (see below): 04 was a pretty decent vintage if not better, though from what i remember.

Edit: will add more tasting notes when I land in NY in the morning. Re-EDIT: Yay, free wifi on virgin America! And a netbook with great battery.

Right then, my rpm tour Notes for the 2004 Mt Veeder:
- Good strong characterful cab but not huge body.
- Rounded redness, not blackcurrant!
- Good acid, some mineral.
- Dries he mouth (so strong tannins)
- Red, dusty fruit.
- Dry.

chemtyra wrote:It appears that both of these wines are $85 each on the winery's website. Which means this deal is far better than 50% off.
There also seem to be lots of info from the winemaker on each wine. I might have to jump on this one.

http://www.carlorussowine.com/r/products/atlas-peak-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon-2004?utm_source=Google;utm_medium=Feed

mrprickles79 wrote:i couldnt wait. im mostly waiting for black tie monkey sipper offers now

This is very fine, and not an overly-syrupy Napa bomb. Fine fruit, carefully handled. You will not be disappointed! Bet it beats most of the other Napa cabs you ever spent a hundred on. I tried the Howell mountain recently at the winery and liked it a lot more than I remembered, when I tried the Mt Veeder on tour. But my palate has evolved a lot since then. And I know the Mt Veeder was good.

3gcellular wrote:http://www.carlorussowine.com/r/products/atlas-peak-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon-2004?utm_source=Google;utm_medium=Feed

$20 shipping for 1 bottle puts it at $51.99. Still a better price than the winery website, but woot is clearly >.

3gcellular wrote:http://www.carlorussowine.com/r/products/atlas-peak-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon-2004?utm_source=Google;utm_medium=Feed

Not the same wine that's being offered here. That one is more of a blend, and goes for $38 on the Atlas Peak website. Probably pretty good tho.

TooOldForThis wrote:I think I have seen it referred to as "titratable acid" in mass/volume term. If so, that would mean the higher the value, the lower the pH, all else being equal. Because it's a linear scale, where pH is logarithmic, titratable acid will show a bigger range in values vs. the corresponding range in pH.

Here's some more detail.

http://www.wineperspective.com/the_acidity_of_wine.htm

Do some wootgoogling. Some of the clever people like SonomaBouliste and ScottHarveyWines have explained this in ther places. pH and TA are not exactly reverse-correlated. Because some of the Hydrogen power in the pH is not titratable! Quite under what conditions this happens more or less you'll have to go to the xperts for!

I suspect wikipedia on titratable acid and acids in wine will help.

chemtyra wrote:It appears that both of these wines are $85 each on the winery's website. Which means this deal is far better than 50% off.
There also seem to be lots of info from the winemaker on each wine. I might have to jump on this one.

Ha! they're all at $60 o the tasting room menu list, but I overheard the slightly batty but still delightful server lady saying it was a msprint, but they'd honour that price there. Now I did mostly believe that they'd have given me my 30% club discount on the $60 though, but this price is still significantly lower.

I reckoned in was too much at 30% off its $60 winery retail. But 40-45% off as this is, it's great value. Question is, two or three?

Best price you'll find.

I searched and found nothing ... what does black tie buy mean?

So, in for 3. On the rpm tour, where we were drinking the 04, the winery manager told us about the Atlas wines: that Veeder are the softest, lighter-weight wines but still intense; Spring Mountain makes for tiny berries, so high concentrations and very intense wines. (Howell Mountain wines are big and burly: they make that too, but none in this offer).
Here's some mountain sub-AVA info anyway.

He also said the 90 and 92 wines were still doing very well, according to my tour notes. So, expect to be able to cellar these for 20 years or more. Assuming 04 is as good a year as they originally said!

He also said that 02 and 04 were better for their cabs than 03 and 05. But it does depend on your palate. As we know, 05 was a cooler, more classically styled year with lower ph more acd and 13.9% alc. This is the 04, which was warmer than that, so this was "luscious". So these will be luscious!
these 04s will probably not age as much as the 05 will, and CT says will age to 2014, with the 05 ageing to 2020. that's just CT opinions though

I'd say the 04 might have 15 years in it from vintage. but I've only drunk French wines that old, Corison and Wellington excepted, so I can't guarantee that!

Does Woot ever offer dessert wines? Every time I take a look it is always some dry boring red wine.

Puzzle-man wrote:Does Woot ever offer dessert wines? Every time I take a look it is always some dry boring red wine.

lol we're hoping. they do, and I bet in the run up to Christmas we get at least one, probably more sweet wine woots. Last year it was Kent's amazing Viognier late harvest dessert wine.

We're hoping maybe Wellington white port. Or a Ty Caton Dessert wine, which is meant to be good. Or all sorts of lovely goodness.

I've been waiting for another great black tie buy... In for one.

richardhod wrote:So, in for 3. On the rpm tour, where we were drinking the 04, the winery manager told us about the Atlas wines: that Veeder are the softest, lighter-weight wines but still intense; Spring Mountain makes for tiny berries, so high concentrations and very intense wines. (Howell Mountain wines are big and burly: they make that too, but none in this offer).
Here's some mountain suv-AVA info anyway.

He also said the 90 and 92 wines were still doing vdery well, according to my tour notes. So, expect to be able to cellar these for 20 years or more. Assuming 04 is as good a year as they originally said!

He also said that 02 and 04 were better for their cabs than 03 and 05. But it does depend on your palate. As we know, 05 was a cooler, more classically styled year with lower ph more acd and 13.9% alc. This is the 04, which was warmer than that, so this was "luscious". So these will be luscious!
these 04s will probably not age as much as the 05 will, and CT says will age to 2014, with the 05 ageing to 2020. that's just CT opinions though

I'd say the 04 has 15 years in it.

In addition to tasting one of these on the 2010 Tour, my daughter, WD, and I tasted 4 or 5 Atlas Peak 2004's in the Spring of 2009 with Jim Connell - the senior Ascentia guy who did such a fabulous job for the Tourists on the 2010 Tour. None were ready, but all of them were worthy. Wines to put beside your Corison Cabs to pull out for special occasions, special meals and/or special friends.

This is serious Cabernet, folks. Time to dust off the credit card or the PayPal link and break the SIWBM. These wines were fair value at their retail prices and a screaming value at this price point.

Now, I think these wines are still pretty much in their dumb period, being 6 years old, and so I'd recommend buying the maximum half-case, as I just did, and forgetting about it in a cool dark place for at least a couple of years.

I'm very glad WD has been able to obtain these wines. Why can he get them? I'd be willing to bet it's a pure 'time to pare the inventory down to what we want in the library' play. Speaking of WD, what's with me not getting bottles for current tasting to give everyone a report?

To give you an idea how highly I think of these wines, I would probably include Atlas Peak on an 'advanced' version of the RPM 2011 or 2012 Magical History Tour which concentrated on the development, care and feeding of serious Cabernet from Napa and Sonoma.

hogfatt wrote:2004 I assume is drinking well now, how will this develop in the next 5 or so years?

Both of these wines will age very well in the bottle over the next 5 years. I think the Mt. Veeder will be ready to drink sooner than the Spring Mountain. Mt. Veeder might begin to really show it's mature style in 3-4 years, while the Spring Mountain might need 5 to really start to open up.

I would expect both of these wines to be fully mature at 15, and to live well into their 20s.

Puzzle-man wrote:Does Woot ever offer dessert wines? Every time I take a look it is always some dry boring red wine.

Woot has done Wellington ports, and a few other dessert wines. Not many, though. Good sweet white dessert wines in California are rare to begin with, and expensive to boot.

Check the price at the winery website and put me down for 2X2!

Yordkns wrote:Check the price at the winery website and put me down for 2X2!

When I saw the name at the top of the page and saw the price I assumed it was going to be the blend, Atlas Peak's "second" level - not bad, close to the club price with Woot shipping. As I read on and realized it was the Mt. Veeder and Spring Mountain, I thought wow. This is a screaming deal.

This is your opportunity to get a great high end Napa Cab at a somewhat reasonable price. The only downside is that, according to those who know, you will need to let them sit for 3-5 years to get the full effect.

We just drank a bottle of Atlas Napa Valley Cab, and it was quite good! I need to check the budget, but i think i'm in for one!

UBlink wrote:When I saw the name at the top of the page and saw the price I assumed it was going to be the blend, Atlas Peak's "second" level - not bad, close to the club price with Woot shipping. As I read on and realized it was the Mt. Veeder and Spring Mountain, I thought wow. This is a screaming deal.

This is your opportunity to get a great high end Napa Cab at a somewhat reasonable price. The only downside is that, according to those who know, you will need to let them sit for 3-5 years to get the full effect.

Patience is a virtue. Serious Cabernet (like serious Burgundy, Hermitage, Barolo, Sauturnes and Riesling)) requires time, but there is nothing in the world that so repays patience as great wine.

Darn, finally have the money to pick a high quality wine...and Woot puts up a Cab...