Winemaker Notes
The flagship 2019 Schrader is a monumental tower of super-ripe fruit power. Deeply hued and dense, the wine offers prodigious amounts of blackberries, black currants, and ripe plums infused with notes of chocolate, smoked earth, walnut skins, and crushed rocks. Alluring wafts of candied violets weave through the profile. This pure clone 4 Cabernet is an immense wine with firm structure, well-woven tannins, and luxurious, rich texture; it is the epitome of iron fist in a velvet glove. Wonderfully balanced with a long-lasting, polished finish, the wine will continue to refine for years to come.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of blackberry, white pepper and other spices. Ink, too. Medium to full body with firm, silky tannins that run the length of the wine. Very al-dente fruit character. Flavorful and vivid. Extremely long. So drinkable. Gorgeous. Crazy.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another spicy, complex, gorgeous wine in every sense, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Schrader reminds me of the CCS with its pure, seamless, perfectly balanced style. Lots of cassis fruits, notes of flowery incense, baking spices, leather, and unsmoked tobacco, silky tannins, remarkable purity, and a great finish all define this beauty, and it's certainly up with the crème de la crème of this great vintage.
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Wine Spectator
This has all the dense cassis, bitter plum and blackberry fruit you'd expect from an Oakville Cabernet, but these elements are married to a more overt energy than most of its peers, as bramble, anise and licorice root provide a bristling accent. Offers a great graphite underpinning through the finish, and has fruit to burn. One for the cellar. Best from 2024
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a separate single block planted to Clone 4, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard features a lovely mix of red and black fruit and dried spices. It's full-bodied but not as rich or supple as some of the other Schrader bottlings this vintage, just nicely balanced and steady as a rock, with a long, velvety and slightly cedary finish.
Rating: 95+
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.