July 2015 – The Wine Guys

To the cult winery fans of Napa Valley and the world, Larkmead Vineyards needs no introduction for its prestige. With over 100 acres of premium valley floor, the Solari family has been making amazing wines since 1895, and their wine has been a hot sought-out allocation.

We were fortunate to find a time in our schedule to visit the winery for an abridged tour due to our time restrictions. Upon arriving, Colin (the general manager) greeted us and led us outside in the back patio to give us a brief tour of the grounds.

We started out with a giant map of all of the Larkmead Vineyards, in which Colin explained to us each vineyard in detail and why they were selected. It was clear from the explanation that careful planning and selection of the location were what really helped Larkmead produce some world-class wines.

We went on to the vineyard where Colin explained to us the meticulous agriculture that went behind the world-class grapes. In the vineyard, there was an amazing contrast of young vines and new vines literally side by side. We are excited to see what those vines will produce in the next five years!

Following a brief tour of the grounds, we were showed to our table outside along the patio. Blankets were brought out because it was getting later in the evening and the weather was getting chilly (talk about hospitality). Colin gave us some pamphlets about our upcoming flight and we were off on our tasting.

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We recently were reached out to on Instagram by Amanda to head down to Odette estate for tasting, and once we found a weekend, we headed up. Odette Estate, the newest member of the Plumpjack and Cade family, is located in the beautiful area of Stags Leap, just off the famous Silverado Trail. Odette, is the youngest sibling of the Plumpjack and Cade and has actually only recently released their first vintage of Cabernet. However, as the three wineries are linked, they do serve their other labels such as Plumpjack, Adaptaion, cade and CADE.

We arrived at Odette in the early afternoon with the sun beating down on the estate and us. As we entered the tasting room, it was already bustling with a lot of people at the bar and sitting outside on the patio. After a few minutes, we finally were connected with Amanda and she wasted no time for us to dive into our tasting!

Amanda quickly explained that the first few wines we were going to try were the wines served in the Adaptation label. The Adaptation label was made to create an easy going-more approachable wine that was affordable to consumers who wanted to drink quality wine immediately.

Adaptation 2013 Chardonnay

Bright and inviting citrus notes, white florals, and green tropical fruits permeate the nose into palate notes of green apple, melon, banana’s and kiwi. Very little evidence of oak (although some), with a crisp and refreshing finish. We gave this a 88/100 points at $32.

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