2009 Larkmead Vineyards The Lark

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 95.4 points

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  1/8/2023 - brasstab Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Brawny and elegant all at once. Like all great Larkmead, it scored on fruit and structure, with a seemingly endless finish.

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  8/24/2021 - msuwine wrote: 94 Points

  It's a common refrain among Larkmead fans that the Lark is the most expensive wine in the lineup, but the Solari is the best. Was that true in 2009? This diligent reporter decided to investigate, and the answer is as clear as it is anti-climactic: yup, completely, the Solari is way better.
  
  - The 2009 Lark is still a bruiser of a wine, with only a little improvement from when I tasted it about five years ago (12/16 - 93 points). Dark red in color, full in body, aromas of blackberry, graphite, and peppercorn. Flavors of boysenberry, burnt toast, ribeye, and black garlic, with a prickly and lively finish. This isn’t bad, but it’s not refined either. 14.7% alcohol. 94 at the moment, with potential upside in another 3-5 years.
  
  - The Solari was softer and more refined than the Lark tonight, with a touch more depth than when I tasted it four years ago (7/17 - 95 points). Lighter in color (red to the Lark’s purple) and lighter in body, the Solari is still fulsome, offering aromas of black cherry, pomegranate, and gravel. Flavors of blueberry tart, dried rosemary, and baking spices, with an integrated and lifted finish that goes on and on. 14.7% alcohol. 96 at the moment.
  
  So, sometimes the conventional wisdom is wise or, um, something. That said, the Lark blend changed in later years to become more of a single-vineyard wine, so maybe more investigation is needed for later vintages (i.e., the 2012 is stellar). Still, if you want to taste Larkmead at its finest, taste the Solari (e.g., 2006, 2007, 2012): it's class in a bottle.

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  10/30/2020 - Tym4wine Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Dark brick red almost black to the edge. Bright floral aromas with a beautiful bouquet and a hint of dark cocoa. Flavors of dark berries, blueberry, cassis and dark chocolate. Smooth, refined, and integrated tannins. Long finish. Fantastic wine. Memorable.

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  3/2/2017 - Vinolicious97 wrote:

  Only started with 6

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  12/25/2016 - msuwine wrote: 93 Points

  This dark and brooding 100% Cabernet offers a lot of power but not much grace - and it begs for another few years to calm down. Dark red, almost black in color, full in body; nose of charcoal and blackberry. Tightly coiled tastes of boysenberry, dark chocolate, pepper, gravel, and cedar, with a finish that shows a good deal of tannin and hint of sweetness 14.7% alcohol. Despite a two hour decant, this needs time to integrate fruit and structure; it is incredibly promising, but it isn't there yet. This is nowhere near the same place as the 2006, which I found utterly charming a few months ago.

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