Wine of the week: Acumen, 2015 Mountainside Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemakers have a lot of tools at their disposal –– sorting tables, fermentation tanks and refractometers to gauge the sugar in grapes. But the single most important tool they have is one that doesn't run on batteries –– it runs on instinct.

“I believe the most important skill set of a winemaker is his or her ability to taste and evaluate a wine at all stages of development,” said Henrik Poulsen, director of winemaking at Acumen in Napa Valley. “While you can learn the basics from a book, monitor the chemistry in a lab, and watch fundamental fermentation techniques in the cellar, to me, there can never be a substitute for an ‘educated palate.'?”

Poulsen is behind our wine of the week winner –– the Acumen, 2015 Mountainside Cabernet Sauvignon at $60. This cab is striking with generous fruit - black cherry, blackberry, cassis and a streak of black raspberry. It has firm tannins and great bones - structure. The Acumen is also briary and layered with savory notes, with a hint of forest floor. This mountain- grown cab is a beauty.

The cabernet's grapes are groomed at an altitude of 1,300 to 1,600 feet in the winery's estate vineyards, 116 acres atop Atlas Peak in Napa Valley.

“These vineyards sit comfortably above the fog line,” Poulsen said. “With the extra hours of sunlight and with temperatures on average 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the valley floor, it allows for more physiological development.”

Poulsen, 47, was born in Denmark and went to the University of Copenhagen. In college he realized his true passion was to become a winemaker, and he sought out opportunities. His credits include Chateau de Haux in Bordeaux as well as Newton Vineyard and Alpha Omega in Napa Valley. He joined Acumen in 2013.

Paulsen said he's an Old World/New World winemaker, with an eye to the cabs crafted in Bordeaux as well as old-school Napa Valley cabs from the 1960s to 1980s.

“I believe there's great charm in allowing each vintage to show its true personality,” he said.

At the end of the day, the rigors of winemaking are not lost on Poulsen.

“With 100-plus-hour work weeks and 73 days straight without a day off,” he said, “I guess saying ‘Choose a job you love, and you'll never work a day in your life' is true.”

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.