Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Solari Estate Cabernet Sauvignon offers an alluringbouquet, beginning with violets and wild blackberries thatgracefully evolve into layers of spiced plum and tobacco as thewine breathes. Deep fruit notes are beautifully interwoven withsubtle vanilla and cedar, imparting a gentle warmth. Nuances ofblack tea and bay laurel add aromatic depth and complexity.On the palate, the first sip reveals a wine of remarkable intensityand poise, with a brooding, round, and structured midpalate. Avibrant acidity sharpens the focus, lifting the flavors, and addingenergy. Velvety tannins provide a delicate, yet firm frameworkthat supports the wine’s broad and plush mouthfeel. The finishis impressively long, with a seamless continuity that reveals thewine’s sophistication. The 2021 Solari Estate Cabernet Sauvignonis both powerful and elegant, embodying a stunning balance ofgrace and precision.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This distinctive and sophisticated 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is attractive, delicious and built to age. Aromas of freshly roasted coffee cascade into flavors of violet and sweet plum sprinkled with spiced cocoa. The tannins are persistent and velvety carrying into a long finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the flagship 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Solari comes from older vines and is raised primarily in new barrels. It's notably darker hued compared to the classic Cabernet Sauvignon release and has a darker profile of ripe blackcurrants, red plums, leather, savory herbs, and scorched earth. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon that shows the more restrained, focused style of the estate, with good concentration, ripe tannins, and outstanding length, along with a kiss of salinity on the finish. There's not much baby fat, but it has beautiful mid-palate depth, ripe, polished, building tannins, integrated acidity, and I think it's going to age beautifully.
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James Suckling
Well-balanced, layered and refined with aromas of dark cherries, black olives, dried thyme, wild herbs, black pepper and some bark. It’s full-bodied with finely grained tannins. Textural and polished with a velvety texture on the mid-palate and a very focused, persistent, vibrant and peppery finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Larkmead's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Solari (Black Label) is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from mostly older vines. Black cherries, licorice, spice box and mocha scents all emerge on the nose, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate that's dense and concentrated, with a long, velvety-tannic finish.
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Wine Spectator
Perfumed and seductive, with a mix of steeped black cherry, raspberry and red currant coulis flavors infused with black tea, singed sandalwood and warm earth through the finish. Offers a nice fleshy edge, though this remains reserved and silky overall. Drink now through 2038. 1,202 cases made.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.