2015 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

One of the great runs in Napa Valley is over.

For the last decade, SF Chronicle Winemaker of the Year Dan Petroski has led Larkmead Vineyards, crafting classic wines, earning sky-high scores, and bringing the historic estate’s quality in line with its formidable history. But Dan’s tenure at Larkmead just ended, which is why we’re especially thrilled to have a small allocation of one of the great wines in his portfolio—the majestic 97-point Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon—to share with you today.   

This is just about as good as Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon gets, and the accolades bear that out: Of all the 2015 Napa Cabernets Wine Enthusiast tasted, only one topped this Cellar Selection: an Alpha Omega bottle that pushes the $200 price point.

In the 2015 season, Dan and the Larkmead team achieved that balance by harvesting extremely early. “In such a hot, dry year going into the third drought season, we started picking on August 26th, to maintain that freshness, the florals, the red fruit, and the minerally character” he explained. “The sugar accumulation happens pretty rapidly, and we had a smaller window to represent the vineyard. If we had waited, we would have made a wine that was very fruit-forward and delicious, but would have lost the character of the vineyard.”

Dan recently stepped down as Larkmead’s winemaker, but the wines he made while he was there expressed their famed terroir perfectly, as evidenced here. There will be no more new Dan Petroski–crafted Larkmead wines coming out, which is why we’re definitely buying a few bottles for our own cellars. We highly suggest you do the same.