Reviews

Features a mix of loamy earth, cedary oak, vivid dark berry and mocha flavors and firm tannins. A solid effort, best served by short-term cellaring. Drink now through 2029. 

Offers an assertive mix of dark berry, licorice, spice, cedary oak and crushed rock flavors, but what stands out on the finish is the sense of elegance and finesse. Drink now through 2027.

Dark, rich and earthy, in a pleasing way, with a touch of chalkiness amid the mix of gravel, charcoal and tobacco flavors, firming on the finish. Best from 2020 through 2029. 

Deeply fruited and concentrated, this is a showy wine that's sure to please many for its richness, chocolate-coated cherry profile and hints of liquorice and tar. Varietal complexity comes through as leafy herbs and cedar. It's modern, for sure.

2015 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Recently, during a meeting of young Napa Valley winemakers at larkmead, the discussion turned to the price of cabernet grapes and how it was becoming increasingly difficult to offer a va varietally labeled cabernet from Napa Valley at a price that might encourage new wine drinkers to buy it. The least expensive cabernet anyone in the room had on offer was $60. So I was interested to taste this $45 wine and find a fresh, generous, full-on cabernet sauvignon. It grows at Raymond’s organically farmed vineyards in Rutherford and includes some purchased fruit from Calistoga and Coombsville. Yes, it’s a little heady and a touch sweet, but there’s plenty of cracked-black-pepper and cardamom spice to dust the fruit in the end. And if the tough tannins yield to a softer, chocolatey note, they still hold their shape, open and ready for grilled pork. 

Scents of blackberry and raspberry jam highlight the aroma, yet this is snappier and livelier on the palate, turning pleasantly supple and silky, gliding along on the finish. 

Lightly aromatic and subtle on the palate, even as the tannins acquire strength and the wine gains prominence. Zesty wild raspberry flavors show a loamy licorice side. 

An appealing wine that succeeds in an understated style, with nuanced flavors of light anise, plum, blackberry and tea.

Rich, supple and intense with notes of blueberry, boysenberry, cocoa, cinnamon and cedar. 

Smokey, pithy and ripe with notes of grilled pineapple, cinnamon toast and crème brulee.