2017 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Solari

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 92.4 points

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  12/30/2023 - mckillop Likes this wine: 93 Points

  A very delicate wine for Larkmead. Wouldn’t have pegged it as one of their wines at all. Very enjoyable.

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  9/1/2023 - tastefuldrop Likes this wine: 94 Points

  A prime example of a classic Cab Sauv from Napa: menthol, fruit forward and huge tannins. At a shooting range, this would be a 9mm. Unnecessarily heavy, a little problematic to handle and arresting of too much attention. Similarly, this wine is just a bit too big for me.
  
  One of the reasons for that are the tannins. They are not hard, they are not green and they are not bitter. But they are gripping and strong. As a result, the wine does not play well with food. Seems like this will need a good decade before a leg of lamb can support it. The taste of my duck with white porcini just got obliterated next to this wine.
  
  Apart from its size and tannins, this wine is quite a charmer. The menthol lift emanates from the glass. Slightly off balance in the fruit’s favour, it still has some acidity and of course, lots of structure. Perhaps leaning on the sweet side was the intention in 2017, as every little bit of density is welcome in this dilutive vintage.
  
  The long, sweet taste of overripe blackberry makes me think of how great this will be in ten years’ time and, better yet, how great the 2019 will be!
  Drinking at 90 pts, potential probably 98, so scored here for the Ace of Base year ;)

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  12/3/2022 - LilSeb_58 Likes this wine: 93 Points

  This will continue to develop. Beautiful nose from the first pour. Not-quite-tart, fresh red and black fruits. A floral component. Sleek tannins with a savory finish.

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  9/20/2021 - hfindlay Likes this wine:

  Still very young. But a powerful set of aromatics bode well for its development. Herbs, pine, wild blackberry, menthol and graphite jump from the glass. The palate is closed now, but promises lots of just-ripe, slightly tart, medium-to-full bodied juiciness in the future. Everyone agrees on the long, savory finish, lined with mouth-puckering tannins now.

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  10/17/2020 - brasstab wrote: 89 Points

  Drank it too early. Needs time in the bottle.

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