Wine ratings & reviews
2008 VINTAGE
97 points
"So good, so rich, so stunning, it's just a joy to drink even now in its youth. Defines the Heidi Barrett style of big, ripe, exuberant fruit and a classic structure, enhanced in this case by the firm tannins and fine acids of Atlas Peak. Explosive in blackberry and cherry pie filling and cassis flavors, with a distinct mineral tang that must come from the volcanic soils. Contains 2% Petit Verdot. Superbly enjoyable, but as a brand new wine, its future is only a guess. Drink now - 2014?"
- Wine Enthusiast, March 2011
94 points
"The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Atlas Peak appellation is a beautiful example of a high elevation, cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon. Attractive notes of creme de cassis, blackberries, loamy soil and spice box jump from the glass of this dense ruby/purple-tinged wine. Layered, rich, full-bodied and impressively endowed, it is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot that should age well for 15+ years."
- Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate #192, December 2010
Peak Performance
Au Sommet Raises Napa Cabernet to New Heights
"Schwartz named this wine from his bucolic homestead Au Sommet ("to the very top"), a reference not only to the vineyard's lofty elevation but also to the caliber of fruit Barrett and Barbour coaxed from its sheep-strewn rows... The 2 percent Petit Verdot in the blend softens the powerful Cabernet Sauvignon, imbuing the ink-dark wine with its satiny texture. Flavors of wild blackberry, stewed black cherry, allspice, cedar, and sarsaparilla overlay a profound structure as solid and symmetrical as the finest neoclassical chateau."
- The Robb Report, April 2011
Download PDF
The Pinnacle of California Cabernets
A New Wine by Master Winemaker Heidi P. Barrett
"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
Download PDF