2018 | Larkmead | Firebelle

You are immediately drawn into the Merlot’s deep, blue fruit perfume wrapped in a heady expression of raspberry bubble gum. On subsequent sniffs, purple flower, plum and cola notes bound out of the glass and are woven together with warming winter spices - the result of aging of the finished wine for 20 months in a mix of new and neutral French oak barrels. The palate is exuberant, carrying an energy of fruitfulness and spice across your tongue. With a base of savory earth tones, red clay and loam, a brambly mix of forest floor fruits are accentuated with red cherry cola and roasted meats. The medium body of this wine is tightly integrated with the tannins, accounting for the incredible length of time that you continue to taste the wine after you have finished your first sip.

Reviews:

• Wine Enthusiast: Marrying 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is focused, soft and rounded in feel, with an underlying structure that should lend well to aging. It shows integrated notes of cedar, dried herb and slate that mix with a core of blueberry and plum. Lingering accents of nutmeg and cocoa nib mark the close.

• James Suckling: Lovely aromas of tile, blackberries and plums with some lavender and violets, following through to a full body with chewy, round tannins that are layered into the pretty, not overly ripe fruit. Boisterous nature to this, but it will calm down with age.

Producer Information

Larkmead Vineyards, based in Calistoga, is one of the oldest family-owned estates in the Napa Valley. Established in 1895 by Lillie Hitchcock Coit and before Prohibition, was considered one of Napa Valley's four great wineries along with Inglenook, Beringer and Beaulieu. The flagship of the Larkmead wine portfolio is The Lark, a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon released on an allocated basis. First produced as a barrel selection of the best Cabernet Sauvignon lots, it has evolved to a vineyard selection of Cabernet Sauvignon from older vines at least 17 years in age. Prior to release, it is barrel-aged in French oak for 21 months. Other notable wines in the collection include the 125th Anniversary Cuveé, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with small portions of Petit Verdot released to celebrate 125 years of Larkmead vintages. The Lillie is the sole white wine, an age-worthy varietal Sauvignon Blanc that spends ten months barrel-aging in both foudre and hogs head barrels. Overall, white wine accounts for less than 10-percent of the Larkmead portfolio. Unusual to the Napa Valley, Larkmead also produces a small amount of the Italian variety Tocai Friulano from vines planted before Prohibition. The estate vineyard covers 61 hectares (150 acres) in the Napa Valley. This is divided into three blocks based on the property's diverse terroir. Block A is situated on deep, sandy loam soils, and planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Block B is predominantly Merlot with some Sauvignon Blanc, and Block C is planted to a mix of other varieties. All of Larkmead's wines are made entirely from estate vineyard fruit, and the company also sells fruit to several other prestigious wine producers in Napa.

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