Schrader Old Sparky Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5 Liter Magnum in OWC) 2016
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky is very deep purple-black in color with a wonderfully pure nose of blackcurrant cordial, blackberry preserves and black cherry pie with nuances of dried bay leaves, dusty soil, garrigue and new leather plus touches of unsmoked cigars and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and jam-packed with flavors, the palate is pure hedonism with a solid line of ripe tannins and great freshness, finishing very long.
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Jeb Dunnuck
My notes on the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard started with “Wow, what a nose” and finished with a few expletives. Based largely on the T6 Cabernet Sauvignon from To Kolan, with smaller amounts of the RBS, CCS, and Schrader, it’s a massive wine by any measure yet carries everything perfectly, with perfumed notes of crème de cassis, incense, flowers, and exotic spice, full-bodied richness, an expansive, mulit-dimensional texture, sweet tannins, and no sensation of weight or heaviness. It’s a monumental bottle of wine that made me want to downgrade every other wine I tasted for this report. It’s bottled only in magnum, so do your best to hold off for 6-7 years (good luck!) and it will keep for 3-4 decades. Bravo to the whole team at Schrader for a truly magical wine.
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James Suckling
The purity of fruit to this is phenomenal with so much blackberry and raspberry aroma, following through to a full body with wonderfully seamless, horizontal tannins that melt into the wine. Extremely fine-grained. Greatest Schrader ever made – if you appreciate elegance with power. Try in 2024. 2,580 magnums made.
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Fred Schrader founded Schrader Cellars in 1998 with a goal of making the best Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon possible. Since then, the brand has gained renown for incredible vineyard sourcing and remarkably gifted winemaker, Thomas Brown. Since its inception, Schrader has achieved a total of twenty-seven 100-point scores from the likes of The Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Jeb Dunnuck, and James Suckling.
For more than a decade Schrader Cellars has produced benchmark Cabernet Sauvignon from the most prestigious vineyards in the Napa Valley — notably the first-growth Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville, along with Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard in Rutherford, Beckstoffer Las Piedras in Northwest St. Helena, and newly the Monastery Block To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville. Thomas Brown, a South Carolina native, didn’t grow up in the wine business, but after extensively exploring the wine regions of France, Italy, and Northern California, he knew where he belonged. In 1996, Thomas moved to Napa Valley and began working in a wine shop. Wanting to cut his teeth in winemaking, he began working in acclaimed cellars with industry legends. In 2000, destiny circled around and Thomas met Fred Schrader at the same fine wine shop. Although Thomas had yet to make a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, Fred recognized his unwavering passion, fantastic natural ability, and dedication to winemaking, and hired him to do just that for his namesake brand, Schrader. Since then, the duo has developed a portfolio of benchmark Cabernet Sauvignons renowned for their “no holds barred” character. Thomas has achieved unprecedented success in record time and has revealed himself to be a true visionary of wine.