2021 Hobel Cabernet Sauvignon The Birdseye

Like many of the best Napa Valley vintages, 2021 was marked by high quality and low yields. Throughout the early growing season and into late Spring the entire Valley received almost no precipitation, continuing another year of drought conditions. The vines responded appropriately, setting a small crop load. The silver lining here is that the quality of the fruit on the vines was outstanding, and we had a long harvest window with no inclement weather forcing our hand on when to pick. This resulted in wines which possess great color, depth, power, and complexity.

Our rows in the Larkmead Vineyard remained as consistent as ever, even in the dry conditions of the growing season. We experienced a smaller than normal crop load. The in-house vineyard crew did a nice job leaving extra leaf coverage around the fruiting zone to provide adequate sun protection.  This site has the deepest soils, rich with well-draining river gravel and was our final site to harvest in 2021. On the night of October 14th, the fruit was picked and delivered a few miles away to the winery at first light.

We always thought of Calistoga as producing red fruited, generous Cabernets given the heat the upvalley sees.  Larkmead has changed our perception of what’s possible from this part of Napa. This wine always leads with a varietal savory-ness that helps showcase varietal and site over vintage and house style. Walnut husk, tobacco, loam, mint and plum give this wine an old school Napa feel, harkening back to the wines of the 70s and 80s