We kick off this Cellar Stocker with a wine you NEED in your YOLO, drink with abandon, seize the day rotation.

HUGE scores every vintage (96WE on this one) - and, oh yea…one more important fact:

BEST price in the country!

Larkmead represents the cream of the crop in Napa Valley and despite being one of the oldest wineries alongside Beaulieu, Inglenook, and Beringer, winemaker extraordinaire Dan Petroski states “We’re the most famous winery you’ve never heard of.”

If Napa had Bordeaux-like classifications, they’d be a frontrunner for First Growth status. They aren’t the flashiest or most expensive - but they’re among the most loved by collectors. It’s also home to one of the most prolific plots of land in the entire region. Centuries worth of alluvial flow deposited ancient riverbed gravel, clay, and loam across their land, making for a perfect canvas to cultivate powerful, complex wines. Then you have winemaker Dan Petroski, who cut his teeth first in Sicily at Valle dell’Acate Winery, then at DuMOL in Sonoma. In 2006 he joined the team at Larkmead and became head winemaker in 2012. By 2017 the San Francisco Chronicle heralded him as Winemaker of the Year.

The aromatics SOAR from the glass with violets, crushed rock, and dusty black fruit. Powerful, lush, and structured - while slightly rustic in nature, it has an insane depth of fruit too, with dark cherry, ripe plum, blackberry, graphite, mint, and sweet dusty tannins all lined up in a parade. Head-spinning complexity! Enjoy one now, or in ten years. Or in twenty. You just can’t go wrong here.

Larkmead has been absolutely killing it the past few years and this is truly an amazing score that’ll leave even the most jaded Cab drinker speechless. As Decanter says “The wines are difficult to get hold of, but they represent an ideal of Napa that was nearly lost. They are worth searching out.” Indeed, this is as good as it gets.

Don’t hesitate because we have only a few cases to spare of this beauty before the next wine!

96 Points – Wine Enthusiast

“With 10% Merlot, this is a structured red that’s built by broad tannins but approachable in its youth. Earthy peat, dried herb, cedar and cigar box play against a depth of dark cherry, cassis and plum, while fresh acidity permeates beneath, making for a cohesive package.”