Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS (14.6% alcohol and 175 cases) is absolutely out of this world. I have given more perfect scores to this cuvée than any of the other Schrader wines. Made from Clone 4 with slight additions of Clone 6 and 337, it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, like all these wines from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. This wine has a glorious nose of licorice, cedar wood, vanillin, creme de cassis, blackberry and graphite. Super-rich and velvety, with sweet, supple tannins, an opulent full-bodied mouthfeel, and a skyscraper-like finish, this prodigious wine is drinking beautifully, and just now coming into its adolescence. It should go on for another 20-25 years.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and intense, with firm, structured currant, black cherry, blackberry and spicy, cedary flavors that provide backbone and depth. Young and tight, this needs time, revealing an elegance and refinement on the finish.
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.