Winemaker Notes
Sourced from a single block in the To Kalon Vineyard, this “Heritage Clone” produces impossibly small clusters with tiny berries and very low yields. The quality of the fruit, however, is indisputable – producing wines of great intensity, complexity, and character that have proven compelling enough to keep these vines in the ground for decades. Densely fruited and plush with lively acidity for balance, this is an elegant and expressive wine that offers a provocative range of flavors such as ripened red cherries, chocolate shavings, mandarin orange rind, and sweet earth.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A remarkably structured, gripping and tightly wound young wine that needs many years to soften and gain complexity. Intense aromas of blueberries, cocoa and graphite lead to densely packed black fruit and earthy, stony nuances backed by good acidity, a full body and those chewy tannins. It’s a very singular wine made solely from the Mondavi Heritage Clone 31.
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Wine Spectator
This shows the heft and scale of the bigger wines in this vintage but adds an element of floral lift and sparkly energy. Its boysenberry, fig and mulberry preserve core is dotted with mouthwatering details of iris, licorice snap and lavender. Offers a gorgeous mouthfeel, with an overriding velvety texture offset by hints of crumpled violet.?
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Jeb Dunnuck
All Clone 39 Cabernet Sauvignon and also a release that was first released in 2019, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone offers up a dark, concentrated, powerful, structured style that's loaded with ripe black fruits, graphite, iron, and hints of scorched earth. It's incredibly complete and balanced on the palate, with full-bodied richness, lots of building tannins yet fine tannins, rocking mid-palate depth, and a great, great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mondavi Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard comes from a single block of vines planted to what has become known as clone 31. If there is any complaint here, it's that the vibrant raspberry and mixed cherries are just too pure. Yes, the fruit is awesome (hence my enthusiastic rating), but the non-fruit complexities seem limited to modest dried-spice nuances. Perhaps more will emerge over time. Medium to full-bodied, this is exceptionally silky and elegant in the context of the 2021 vintage, finishing fresh and lively on the finish.
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Decanter
The Schrader Cellars' 2021 Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is famously sourced from a low-yielding Cabernet clone isolated by Robert Mondavi himself. This red begins with very dark ruby colouring and a heady mix of savoury and exotic wild herbs, black liquorice, brown spices, and black-toned fruits. A super-fine structure with a cocoa-nib quality supports the full-bodied mouthfeel, framed by kirsch and blueberry fruits. A pleasantly tension-filled finish, marked by expressive minerality, closes it out.
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.