Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  1/18/2008 (link)

  (MEADOWLARK Cabernet (Syrah)) Friday SPECIAL - Meadowlark Dear Friends, I will say this in advance - I know next to nothing about this wine except a lot of you have been asking me to source it, so here it is. I haven’t tasted it and I can’t vouch for it but it reminds me a bit of the 1995 Folie a Deux/Screaming Eagle connection as there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing to fess up about it. Someone, somewhere of influence freaked out over this wine and enough of you asked for it that it became a priority for me. It’s supposedly pretty hard to find and one of the better values on an intense bottle of Napa wine out there. Something of an enigma or insider’s wine that is being traded with a lot of hush, hush - the only thing I know is that this is Larkmead’s estate Cabernet blended with 25-30% of their estate Syrah and due to the composition (Cab/Syrah) and some rule somewhere in Napa, they had to change the name of the wine from Larkmead to something else. So, they just basically spelled it backwards - mead-o-lark (Meadowlark, clever, huh?) but it’s still made by Larkmead with the same bottles as their Cabernet and Reserve but with a different label. Contrary to what some of you have inquired about, this is not a second wine but it is made from the same Napa Cabernet (Calistoga) that makes up their 2005 Firebelle and Salon (which are far more expensive, almost twice this price or more). You check Parker or other reviews on Larkmead to give you an idea as that’s all I know (I believe Larkmead is one of Parker's highest rated overall wineries in Napa over the last few vintages). If it’s even moderately good, at this price for estate Napa fruit from a reviewed commodity, it’s an amazing deal. You can probably look up more information on Larkmead’s web site. ONE SHIPMENT ONLY at this price. 2005 Meadowlark Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (Syrah) Larkmead Vineyards Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA CA8100

Wine Library TV

• By Gary Vaynerchuk
  89 Point Wines, ENOUGH ALREADY!, Episode #320, 9/25/2007 (link) 93 points

  (MEADOWLARK RED) WL Sales Email from 9/26/07; NOT a WLTV wine; COLOR-dark; NOSE-over-the-top chocolate covered raspberry bar; nice balance, hint of charcoal; raspberry is really singing; TASTE-completely explosive; the Syrah kicks an enormous amount of fruit, yet complexity & secondary weight behind the beautifully pure Napa Cab; this wine is completely bouncing on my palate; legitimately has a 45 second to 1 minute finish; little hints of green now; a young wine, but so polished & elegant; easy to drink now, but has that 5-10 year window where I think it will continue to explode; positively one of the best buys out of Napa in a long time; New World explosion w/ Old World balance & structure; great QPR - $40 @ the winery; you need to spend $70-$80 to get this kind of quality in Napa (reminds me of some Napa Cult Cabs); GV-93