Larkmead, Solari Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Larkmead · California › Napa Valley › United States of America

Red · Cabernet Sauvignon

Critics

93 /100

Reviews

professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

Community Reviews

Reviews

93.3

Avg Score

Highest

Did I age it too long? Still had power but I wonder if some of the nuance had vanished.

2003 vintage

Very nicely integrated, but plenty of stuffing to hold for some years. Notes of cassis, minerals and rich dark cherry on the nose and secondary characteristics in full effect. Well structured on the palate. Just a beautiful wine near its peak of for consumption.

2003 vintage

Bad cork, but well evolved Cali can - good cedar and tobacco and savory tones. Lovely mature wine. Wish I had another bottle.

2003 vintage

Amazing bottle. Needs a 2-3 hour decant. Soft tannins and great structure.

2003 vintage

After a three hour decant this amazing cab blend opens up with rich blackberry fruit along with great complexity. Notes of dark chocolate, cassis, cedar and exotic spices. Sadly, this is my last 03 Larkmead Solari but it drank as the best one ever. If you are lucky enough to have one in your cellar, you are in for a big treat!

2003 vintage

Orange at the rim. Big full bodied and at its peak. Lots of black fruit with little or no tannins. Will stay for several more years but why wait when it is this good

2003 vintage

Rich and sumptuous, everything a California Cab is intended to be, a bit too fruit forward and ripe for my taste.

2003 vintage

Two hour decant. Not up to first bottle or the Shiraz we preceded this wine with but another very strong wine for sure.

2003 vintage

Delicious! Less than an hour decant and this baby was singing. Dark rich fruit and delicious chocolately taste blend to make a very appealing cabernet. Tannins melted away as this wine got better over 2 hours. Finnish very long for an 03.

2003 vintage

This is a truly stunning cabernet. I served it at a dinner party next to a 1998 Guado al Tasso, a 1999 Phelps Insignia, and a bunch of other show-stoppers, and of the 16 women in attendance the Solari was by far the favorite. Full-bodied and hedonistic, but not at all lacking in character and complexity. Big black fruit flavors with loads of cinnamon, cedar, and other exotic spices. Huge, but balanced, and good with food. (We had marinated flank …

2003 vintage

Dark red in color with aromas of dark fruit and chocolate. Wonderful flavors of dark rasberries and cherries with some chocolate on the finish. Very mouth filling withsoftening tannins. We just popped and poured but it improved over time.

2003 vintage

Good, missing a little complexity esp. on the finish. Better '03 Napa cabs are starting to drink well.

2003 vintage

dark red color,delicious, full bodied beautiful soft tannins onthe finish. needs decanting as it only gets better.

2003 vintage

Excellent wine. Needs at least 2 hours in the decanter. Complex with nice structure and terrfic mouthfeel. Needs some time though for the tannins to subside a bit. Will be leaving the others alone for 1-2 years.

2003 vintage

FamilyWinemakers of California; 3/20/2007-3/21/2007 (Pasadena, CA) : Delicious. Blackberry, vanilla, some jammy extraction. Very smooth and drinkable.

2003 vintage

Big wine that needs some air time. Great nose of cassis, blackberry, vanilla, and nutmeg. Full-bodied cab with great mouthfeel. More cassis on the palate, followed by a long finish. Very well balanced. Will look to pick up more.

2003 vintage

Drank with Larry Abbandando (the last half during a black out here at the house). Jammy fruits, some blackberries with toasty oak woods flavors. Very nice.

2003 vintage

Consumed with the Hurwtiz's. Smooth and buttery for a cabernet, a nice finish and a good kick. The terroir seemed to be a good match for the fruit. Not nearly the fruit bomb the Australians I have been tasting have been. More Bordeaux style. Some tannins present did not distract but suggest an even superior wine in 3-4 years.

2003 vintage