2021 Larkmead Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Alluring nose of red currants, black cherry, and pomegranate notes interlaced with cedar spices and nuanced by bright Lilac florals. Medium-bodied with assertive fine-grained tannins that build with intensity as layers of spicy red fruit, saline-scented minerals, and a firm backbone of racy acidity all mount towards an extremely fresh and floral finish. The 2021 vintage produced small yields, and winemaker Avery Heelan says this estate Cabernet offers a full expression of the property from grapes planted on its heavy loam and gravelly soils. Heelan is crafting the blends to be more open and generous upon release, and they are, but they are not lacking in structure. My impression of all three 2021 Larkmead reds is that they should be cellared and enjoyed over the next two decades easily. The difference between Heelan and the previous winemaker, Dan Petroski, is that Heelan prefers to cherry-pick fruit in the vineyard for ripeness rather than pick by soil type, and blends much later than her predecessor, and is focused on creating a base of stable tannins early in the fermentation process, with ferments rising to 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit, in the first couple of days. (JC)