Winemaker Notes
Grown on the gentle slopes of West St. Helena in the Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard, these vines endure the added stress of rocky soils to produce wines of exceptional concentration and formidable structure. Produced from 100% Clone 337 Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is full-bodied with generous, plush fruit flavors that expand on the palate and carry through to the long, expressive finish. Notes of wild blueberries and blackberries lead the way, complemented by balanced flavors of espresso, black tea, and graphite.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The 2021 vintage release of LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is the last year Schrader Cellars will source grapes from this iconic, rocky Napa Valley site. A robust red, the 15.4% alcohol level is hardly evident because of the wine's impeccable balance on the palate. It boasts a beautiful mineral intensity that lifts out of the glass, tinged with smoky wild herbs and black currant fruits. The medium to full-bodied palate has natural elegance in its super-fine-grained cocoa-nib tannins. It is counterbalanced by an attractive layer of ironstone minerality and entirely supported by a generous backbone of racy acidity. The finish is extravagantly long, fueled by refreshing acid tension and a mineral edge. Succulent and well-built, it is a Cabernet for the ages. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown has crafted a masterpiece, and it's a beautiful wine for this label's swan song from such an underrated site.
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Jeb Dunnuck
This vineyard continues to rise in stature, and the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard LPV might be another perfect wine in this stacked lineup. Red and black fruits, iron, dried herbs, and spice notes are just some of its nuances, and it's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with a remarkable sense of purity and elegance paired with gorgeous fruit.
Range: 97-100 -
James Suckling
Open, expansive aromas of dried plums, blackberries and dark chocolate lead to concentrated, opulent black cherries, blueberries and espresso on the palate. This wine comes from the St. Helena district and combines sunny red fruit, minerals and chaparral with firm tannins and good acidity to balance the full body and creamy richness. Best from 2030.
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Wine Spectator
Dense, creamy and thoroughly fruit-driven, this lets a range of plum sauce, fresh mulberry and boysenberry, and blackberry reduction notes cruise through alongside melted licorice and ganache accents. The fruit display is almost enough to make you miss its long graphite spine and subtle hints of warm paving stone and alder through the finish. All that, and this drapes beautifully. Drink now through 2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Consistently sourced from C block (planted to clone 337), Schrader's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard LPV features scents of crushed stone, mocha, plum and cassis, plus some peppery spice accents. It's full-bodied and concentrated, a bit creamy and supple across the mid-palate, then finishes long and tannic (but ripe). Classic stuff, it's maybe a bit less exotic than some previous vintages.
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.