Today we share one of the historic and heralded Napa properties that began back in 1895. Larkmead has an international reputation for producing 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.
Larkmead Winemaker Avery Heelan served as Petroski’s assistant winemaker before becoming head winemaker. 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.
Avery talked about the 2021 vintage, noting “The biggest focus of attention in 2021 was the management of the fruit with a focus on mature and soft tannins during the fermentation. My goal was to capture the perfumed fruits and floral nature that Larkmead is known for while paying close attention to the tannin and extraction profile of each individual lot. The result is wines with plush, velvety tannins that are drinking beautifully now, but will age wonderfully over time.” She was bullish on the wines and vintage, noting that she was careful to craft wines that were both dense but also well-balanced.
I absolutely love the new 2021 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 95) which is concentrated and beautifully poised wine with plenty of damp soil character. Learn more about this storied Napa estate at https://larkmead.com Here is the beautiful new wines by Larkmead Vineyards.
2021 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon- A beautiful wine from a great vintage, the 2021 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon was stored in mainly new French oak (64% new) before bottling. This vintage unlike 2020 has 8% Cabernet Franc blended in as the 2020 utilized nearly 20% Merlot. This edition is impeccably balanced, with toasty oak notes alongside creme de cassis, sweet pipe tobacco, damp soils, black currants and suggestions of fresh sage. A totally dazzling effort that is already nicely evolved, enjoy now and over the next fifteen years to come. Drink 2024-2039- 95
2021 Larkmead ‘Solari’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2021 ‘Solari’ is a stunning wine made by winemaker Avery Heelan. Very inky in the glass, the wine was stored in mainly new French oak barrels before bottling. Tar and tobacco leaf fill the nose alongside dense black currants and shades of blackberry compote. The palate is refined and elegant with a wonderful herbal streak that mingles well with its generous core of black fruits, molten chocolate and cigar ash. Very complex and delicious, enjoy now and over the next twenty years to come. Drink 2024-2042- 97