2014 Larkmead LMV Salon
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Tasting notes
Full ruby-red. Wonderfully complex nose melds red fruits and dried herbs, with the floral Cabernet Franc element adding aromatic lift. Concentrated and sharply delineated, with its very pure red fruit, spice and floral flavors displaying a restrained sweetness. Really lovely depth of flavor here. Finishes with firm, spreading tannins that avoid coming off as dry. This wine is the highest in total polyphenols of all of the LMV Salon vintages but does not come across as overly tannic. Very impressive! Winemaker Petroski added that 2014 and 2013 yielded wines with "the biggest tannins," noting that the '14s "may have more energy." (15.3% alcohol)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Even more prodigious is the 2014 LMV Salon. Composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc from the sandy Bale Loam soils of the 110 acres Larkmead possesses, it is a bigger boy at 14.9% alcohol but shows lots of crushed rock and wet gravel minerality, a beautiful, cedary, blackcurrant nose with notes of forest floor, allspice and soy, with more blackberry on the palate as well as some savory herbs and spice. Hints of licorice also make an appearance in this broad, fleshy, juicy and succulent style of wine meant for drinking now and over the next 20 years.
The 2014 LMV Salon offers lovely depth and intensity. Today, the Cabernet Franc is really expressive, not just in its signature aromatics, but in its mid-weight, refined feel. The 2014 was much more expressive last year. Then again, it was just bottled. Red stone fruit, mint, rose petal, mocha and raspberry jam open up nicely, while beams of tannin give the wine its energetic feel.
Larkmead's 2014 LMV Salon is sweet, nuanced and totally sexy. Pliant and super-expressive, even at this early stage, the 2014 is shaping up to be a beauty. Today, the fruit is quite primary, with plenty of sweet red cherry and plum nuances to match its supple personality.