Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley The Lark 2019

96 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon The Lark continues to show beautifully, with a balanced, graceful, and surprisingly forward style. Based on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in new barrels, it has lots of savory blackcurrant and raspberry-like fruits as well as a kaleidoscope-like array of dried flowers, vanilla bean, baking chocolate, loamy earth, and leather. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has superb overall balance, ripe, polished tannins, good mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It needs a solid hour in a decanter if drinking any time soon and will certainly evolve for two decades in cold cellars. Drink: 2023-2043. (2/16/23)"

96 points CellarTracker.com community score.

95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous):"[$300 list] The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon The Lark is gorgeous. It offers an exotic mélange of inky dark fruit, savory Calistoga accents and plenty of muscle to pull it all together. This dark, brooding Cabernet is decidedly virile, and yet all the elements are impressive. All this young, tightly-wound Cabernet needs is time. Drink: 2025-2039. (Oct 2021)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "[$300 list] Alluring, with a gorgeous curl of alder smoke emerging from the core of gently steeped black currant and blackberry fruit. Shows warm earth, sweet bay leaf, worn cedar, a flash of game and a smoldering tobacco note buried throughout, with a lingering cast iron accent amid the suave fruit. Distinctive and gorgeous. Drink now through 2039. 199 cases made. (11/15/23)"

95 points James Suckling: "Plenty of blackberry and blackcurrant with bark, mushroom and some flowers. Full-bodied with pretty density and depth, showing blackberries and dark cherries. Layered tannins. Hints of wood. Try after 2025. (1/27/22)"

94 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): "Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon The Lark (Black Label) strides confidently out with classy cassis and plum preserves scents, followed by cedar, pencil lead and dried Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is tightly knit with ripe, fine-grained tannins and bright, herbal sparks to lend lift, finishing long and with a skip in its step. Drink: 2023-2040. (Nov 2021)"

94 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "The 2019 The Lark, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep garnet-purple in color. It races out of the glass with rambunctious notes of black cherries, blackcurrant jelly, and kirsch giving way to hints of cedar chest, forest floor, and aniseed. The medium-bodied palate is delicately played, with vibrant fruit and earthy nuances supported by fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing savory. Alcohol 13.8%. Drink: 2024-2042. (11/9/23)"

94 points Jonathan Cristaldi (Decanter): "The 2019 The Lark offers ripe boysenberry fruit, black tea, and bay laurel with underpinnings of coffee beans, a touch of cinnamon and toffee spice. Gorgeously plush with a seamless balance of bright, juicy acidity and silky smooth tannins. An elegant fruit profile of strawberry, cherry mingles with savoury saddle leather, clove, and a touch of mint. A long beautiful finish is marked by a dusting of cocoa powder and heady brown spices. What a lovely, complex, contemplative red. It feels a touch advanced as if its drinking window will peak soon, but it has the structural integrity to go another 15 years. Drinking Window: 2023-2035. (5/4/23)"