For years I have been enamored by wines by Larkmead Vineyards, one of the oldest Napa wineries that began back in 1895. Over the years they have gained an international reputation for their world-class Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Their estate vineyard is located between Selby Creek and the Napa River at the conjunction point of two colluvial fans that extend from the Mayacamas and the Vaca mountain ranges. Vines are set on an ancient gravel riverbed gravel which lies directly beneath the topsoil.
Former winemaker Dan Petroski has crafted insanely good wines for Larkmead and in 2021 they hired a new winemaker as Dan began focusing on his Massican project. Larkmead Winemaker Avery Heelan was formerly Petroski’s assistant winemaker so she knows this program exceedingly well. Heelan has an M.S. degree in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, with a specialization in Viticulture & Enology at Davis. Her academic program included experience as a harvest cellar intern (in 2015) at CADE Estate Winery in St. Helena. After completing her degree, Avery worked harvest positions for two harvests in 2016, first at Capel Vale Winery in Western Australia as vintage assistant winemaker and then at Domaine Yves Boyer Martenot in Meursault, France as vintage enologist. She then served as cellar master at Screaming Eagle from 2017 to 2019 before joining the Larkmead Vineyards team in mid-2019.
2020 was the hottest vintage on record for Larkmead. Heelan noted “The worst thing was the nights were warmer and we usually have cooler nights which didn’t happen this vintage. We had 67 days over 105 degrees. We started to think about how to make one or two blends to optimize picks for some earlier components and later components. We ended picking everything by September 15th. Merlot and Cabernet started their picks in August and things have really moved up the pipeline.” In 2020 all of the Larkmead production fruit was brought in and yields were down that vintage roughly 50%. She stated “We laboriously studied the wine, we sent the numbers in and wanted to see what would be the best thing for the brand. Our wine didn’t have smoke, it tasted delicious and we didn’t want to make the reserve wine so our estate Cab had a lot of the best blocks. We felt we would regret not releasing the wine. I love the wine and I think that it has really good balance with some nice bright fruits and violets, some good tannin structure and good freshness.”
I absolutely love the new 2020 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 94) which is a downright killer effort in a hard vintage. Learn more about this storied Napa estate at https://larkmead.com Here is the beautiful new wines by Larkmead Vineyards.
2021 Larkmead ‘Lillie’ Sauvignon Blanc- This 100% oak barrel fermented Clone 1 Sauvignon Blanc is a bright and beautiful effort from this exciting new vintage in the Napa Valley. Smooth and very soft texturally, the wine shows nectarine and juicy pear flavors that combine with shades of green melon on the palate. Nicely structured and balanced, this beautiful wine is already singing at the two year mark. Drink 2023-2033- 93
2020 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon- Nicely concentrated and very smooth, the 2020 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon combines 18% Merlot and a touch of Cabernet Franc. It is a downright awesome effort considering the challenges of the vintage. Violets and shades of Black Forest cake fill the nose with roasted dates and espresso grounds. The palate is soft and refined with a silky texture and beautiful sense of length. This is very clean and refined Napa Cab that is seamless throughout the drinking experience and will be best consumed now and over the near future. Drink 2023-2030- 94