Colgin VS Schrader - Battle of Napa's Elite Cabernet Sauvignon

Friday, February 18, 2022 - 07:30 PM

This Event has been read: 1686 times.


Only by wine one's heart is lit,
only a poem calms a soul that's torn.
You'd understand me, Tao Qian.
I wish a little sooner I was born!

Tao Yuan-ming

This is one of those tastings that we put on the calendar just because we have the wines and that is reason enough for a wine like Schrader and Colgin!  We can either sell them or host a tasting and enjoy them with a few of our “Wine Drinking People”- you know which one I would rather do!! 

We have followed Fred Schrader and Ann Colgin’s journey in the wine industry from day one and knew Fred and Ann when they were living in South Florida and frequented Café Maxx with Jimmy Manchbach who worked for Southern Wine and Spirits at that time.  They were in the Collectible Fine Art business and were fans of the former owner of Wine Watch the late great Jim Turner.  Wine Watch sold the first release of Colgin, the 1992 Herb Lamb which had Fred’s name on the back label until the 1994 vintage when he and Ann parted ways.

It took Fred Schrader a few years to come out with the first vintage of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with his name on the bottle and we were excited to see the Gaudemus Vineyard Napa Cabernet Sauvignon made by John Kongsgaard but unfortunately the wine was not very good.  The Wine Spectator rated it (91 Points) but it had to be release alongside the 1999 vintage in 6 packs with 3 bottles of each to sell through.  My good friend Jimmy assured me that Fred would make good and he did- in a big way. 

The thing that changed for Fred in 1999 was he started buying Beckstoffer To Kalon fruit from Andy Beckstoffer and he hired Thomas Brown as his new Winemaker.  The rest is detailed in the story which follows the list of wines for the event and if you have not experienced these wines we recommend making a reservation for the tasting and you can see if his wines stand up to the wines of his ex, but Ann’s wines are pretty damn good too.  This is a battle of the XXX’s that will feature some great wines and some great memories.  I don’t want to make this personal, but it is.  We are doing scientific research here at Wine Watch and yes- It is Personal…

There are only 12 spaces available for this tasting which includes dinner and the fee for this event is $895 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

See the source image2005 Colgin 'Cariad' Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend - SKU
Schrader VS Colgin Napa Valley Cult Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting
Friday, February 18th  
7:30 PM

2006 Colgin IX Estate Napa Valley Red Wine
2007 Schrader Cellars Old Sparky Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa MAGNUM
2007 Colgin Cellars IX Estate Red Napa
2013 Schrader Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
2013 Colgin Cariad Napa
2013 Schrader Cellars CCS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
2013 Colgin Cellars Tychson Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
2013 Schrader Cellars T6 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
2013 Colgin IX Proprietary Red Napa

Menu
Selection of cheese:  Beemster Gouda, Parmesan Reggiano
Crispy fried Sweetbreads with Currant Catsup
Grilled Portobello Mushroom, Eggplant, Harpke Farms Heirloom Tomato and fried Mozzarella short stack with Cola Sundried Tomato aged Balsamic vinaigrette
Espresso and Sambuca glazed Ribeye with cheddar cheese grits, Yellow beet mash and cabernet gravy
Deep Dish Double Chocolate Chip Bourbon Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice Creme

 There are only 12 spaces available for this tasting and the fee for this event which includes dinner is $895 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

 

A bit about Schrader:

Image result for fred Schrader

Fred Schrader is one of the “bad boys” of the Napa Valley.  Fred was not born into the wine business, nor was he born with a silver spoon in his mouth.  Schrader first made his mark first in the world of art collectibles, from books to paintings everything in between.  It seemed like everything that Fred touched turned to money.  As he and his ex-wife, Ann Colgin, began to hang around with the elite events of Napa Valley they befriended some of the locals and became intrigued by the idea of becoming vintners themselves.  Their first vintage was to be 1992 and the wine would be named Colgin-Schrader, but one day Fred woke up and decided that he did not like the idea of marriage and abandoned Ann to once again pursue his wild oats.

Fred left Ann everything when it came to their joint winemaking venture and the 1992 vintage of their wine would be released minus the Schrader, and Colgin has become one of the most sought after Cabernet Sauvignon labels coming from California in the 21st century.  Fred would have to wait five years to establish his own label and in 1998 he released his first wine made by the venerable John Kongsgaard.  Although we feel this wine was a complete flop (the Wine Spectator rated it 91 points).  Schrader Cellars rebounded in 1999 with a new young talent as the winemaker, Thomas Brown.  

The most promising wine that Schrader Cellars is producing began with controversy; if you know Fred you should not be surprised.  One of his fruit sources, the Tokalon Vineyard, is well known as being one of Robert Mondavi’s.  But recently, wines made from grapes from vines belonging to Mr. Andy Beckstoffer, also an owner of the vineyard, have appeared with the Tokalon vineyard designation on the label. One is Paul Hobbs. The other is Schrader.

The brouhaha began on November 5, when Mondavi’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against Fred Schrader for mislabeling, as Mondavi sees it, a wine made from grapes that Schrader bought from Beckstoffer.  Those grapes were from 89 acres that Beckstoffer owns within the 659-acre Tokalon Vineyard, one of Napa’s oldest and most historic vineyards.  The Mondavi complaint is that Schrader, at Beckstoffer’s urging, labeled his 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon “Beckstoffer Original To Kalon Vineyard.” About 300 cases of the $75 wine were released in October.  Mondavi owns 550 acres of the vineyard and has several copyrights on the word “Tokalon” (which Mondavi spells as two words, “To Kalon”). The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court of Northern California, charges Schrader with trademark infringement, and demands that Schrader stop using “To Kalon” and “surrender immediately for destruction” all products, labels and other materials bearing the To Kalon name.

“Our attorneys say [Schrader] can’t use ‘To Kalon’ on his front label because it’s trademarked,” explains Mondavi spokesperson Sandra Timpson.  Schrader says he had no idea the Mondavis would object to his label.  Beckstoffer, whom Mondavi is not suing (“We can’t sue Andy because Andy doesn’t have a wine,” Timpson says), was shocked to learn of Mondavi’s action.  He has agreed to help Schrader pay his legal bills.  Beckstoffer says his part-ownership of Tokalon gives him the “right to the fair use” of the name. The original Tokalon, planted in 1868, consisted, according to records, of 359 acres.  Part of Beckstoffer’s rebuttal is that the Mondavis, in a “misrepresentation,” have planted or incorporate at least 190 new acres into the historic old Tokalon, and that Beckstoffer’s 89 acres are contained in the original part.

The spat took a new twist on Dec. 16, when Beckstoffer and Schrader jointly filed a counter-suit against Robert Mondavi Winery.  The duo charge Mondavi with “fraudulently” using the term “To-Kalon” because “Mondavi...has acquired approximately 300 acres of additional land...that was never part of the historic To-Kalon Vineyard.” Their lawsuit seeks cancellation of Mondavi’s trademark.  Can you see a settlement in the near future?

Fred’s ace in the hole is his young and talented winemaker, Thomas Brown.  Thomas Brown is one of the hot young talents in Napa Valley.  He made the transition in careers from wine enthusiast to wine maker in the course of three short years.  Thomas Brown didn't inherit a winery, and he never went to school to study viticulture or enology. Born in Sumter, S.C., Brown went to the University of Virginia, where he majored in English and economics, thinking he might end up on Wall Street. Then he discovered wine. In an article in the Wine Spectator he revealed what makes wine so intriguing to him.  "You can never know everything about wine. I think that's what intrigued me," says Brown, 31. "And it was so completely outside my experience growing up. That fact fit my personality pretty well. I was always a bit subversive or counter to the established order around me."

In 1996, Brown moved to Napa where he went to work for All Seasons Wine Shop in Calistoga.  This is where he met Ehren Jordan, winemaker for Turley Wine Cellars. Jordan mentioned that he needed some help in the cellar, and Brown was the first to apply for the job.  He started in 1997.  "My learning curve was steep, but I was always a great student."  All Season’s Café is also where another famous wine personality made a similar transition in occupations, John Wetlaufer, co-owner of the cult Marcassin winery also worked here before he started his winery with his wife Helen Turley. 

Thomas started his journey in the wine production side of the industry working for one of the best minds in the wine business Ehren Jordan. Although Brown has no formal training in winemaking he says that he learned 95% of what he knows today while he was the assistant winemaker at Turley Wine Cellars from 1997 until February of 2001.  He is currently the consulting winemaker for several projects in the Napa Valley including Chiarello Family Vineyards, Schrader Cellars, Outpost and Nicholson Ranch. Since his graduation from the University of Virginia in 1994, Thomas' clients also include Tor and Tamber Bey Winery. In addition, he is part owner and managing partner for Ridgetop Partners, a new Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir project.

 

 

A Bit About Colgin:


Pursuing a dream of having estate grown grapes, Ann Colgin purchased a five-acre parcel north of St. Helena across from Freemark Abbey Winery in 1996. The property once belonged to Josephine Tychson, documented as the first woman winemaker in California. Ann planted two and one-half acres of Cabernet Sauvignon under the supervision of vineyard manager, David Abreu in 1997. The special terroir features a unique Aiken soil type which runs from Grace Family Vineyard to just north of the property, now known as "Tychson Hill Vineyard." The Aiken soils coupled with carefully selected rootstock and clones on the rocky east-facing slope give a remarkable fresh berry scented wine of great proportions. In 2000 Ann and her husband, Joe Wender, completed the rebuilding of Josephine Tychson's 19th Century home.

Tychson Hill is rich with history. In 1881 Josephine Tychson and her husband, John, a Danish immigrant bought twenty-six acres including "Tychson Hill Vineyard" for $8,500. The property was known as Lodi Ranch and had been acquired by William Sayward in 1867 from Charles Krug. The couple planted vineyards and dreamed of building a winery. Tragically, John who was stricken with tuberculosis died in 1886 at an early age leaving Josephine with two young children, John Jr. and Annette.  Josephine was a determined and courageous young woman and she had a great desire to fulfill their expansion plans.  The St. Helena Star of August 27, 1886 noted that Mrs. Tychson was building a cellar on her property with an estimated capacity of between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons.
Josephine made wine there for eight years producing Zinfandel, Reisling and Burgundy, popular varietals of the time.  In 1894 she sold the winery and a portion of the vineyards to her foreman, Nels Larsen for reasons that are not entirely clear. Phylloxera had affected some of her vineyards in 1893 and Josephine had suffered health problems throughout her life and perhaps these concerns prompted the sale.  She lived alone in the two-story house at Tychson Hill until her death in 1939.  She was 84 years old.  Following Josephine's death, her son, John Jr. moved into the house with his wife, Pearl. He lived there until 1970 when he was 90 years old.  The property had various owners during the next two decades until Ann purchased it and began the long process of restoring the vineyards, believed to have been taken out during prohibition, and eventually rebuilding the house.

Ann Barry Colgin, owner of Colgin Cellars, heads a highly talented team who produce some of Napa Valley’s most sought after hand-crafted wines. Colgin founded the winery in 1992 with a vision of making the finest wines possible from exceptional hillside vineyards in Napa Valley. Each of the five wines produced at Colgin Cellars displays a distinctive personality and sense of place. Colgin’s commitment to excellence and her appreciation of art and history are reflected in all aspects of the winery and the wines produced there.

Colgin wears multiple hats in the wine industry. As an accomplished auctioneer, she donates her time at select charity wine auctions including the Naples Winter Wine Festival in Naples, Florida. She has helped to develop many top charity wine auctions in the United States including the High Museum Wine Auction in Atlanta, Georgia, the Bacchus Gala Wine Auction for Copia, The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa, California and the Neil Bogart Foundation Wine Auction in Los Angeles, California. In 2003 she was honored by New York-Presbyterian Hospital as the first recipient of the "Ann Colgin Award for Corporate Philanthropy." In 2006 she was the Honoree for the NY City Opera Spring Gala and she was selected Honored Vintner for the 2007 Naples Winter Wine Festival.

Born in Waco, Texas, Colgin completed her undergraduate work at Vanderbilt University and received her M.A. from New York University. She also completed the Sotheby’s Decorative Works of Art Course in London, England. An avid arts and antiques enthusiast, Colgin was President of Fairchilds Fine Art, Inc. based in Florida from 1985 to 1997.  Ann Colgin serves as Consultant for Sotheby’s Wine Department. She is a board member of the High Museum in Atlanta and the Neil Bogart Memorial Foundation in Los Angeles. Ann and her husband, Joe Wender, are investors in the negotiant, Camille Giroud in Burgundy and the second growth Bordeaux estate, Chateau Lascombes. Colgin divides her time between homes in Los Angeles and St. Helena where she rebuilt the historic home once owned by Josephine Tychson, Napa Valley’s first female vintner.  

Ann has left nothing to chance after she acquired the right vineyard site she assembled an all star line-up at Colgin.  First she hired the best vineyard manger in California David Abreu. Then she hired one of the hottest winemakers Mark Aubert and finally she went as far as hiring a famous enologist from Bordeaux Alain Reynaud as a collaborator.
Mark Aubert grew up in St. Helena on Rockland Road, a stone's throw from Tychson Hill Vineyard. He joined the Colgin Cellars team as winemaker in 1999 following a fruitful career with Peter Michael Winery. A graduate of California State University at Fresno, he began his career at Rutherford Hill as Enologist then went on to work at Monticello Cellars. In 1990 he became assistant winemaker to Helen Turley at Peter Michael Winery and took over the role of winemaker upon her departure. He produced exceptional wines at Peter Michael for over ten years and still serves as a Consultant there.  Mark is known for his classical winemaking techniques and also contributed his expertise to the design of our new state-of-the art winery in the Pritchard Hill area of Napa Valley. He spends much of his time in our vineyards working closely with David Abreu.
David Abreu is a third generation native of Napa Valley. He grew up in Rutherford where his parents were ranchers. In 1980 he founded David Abreu Vineyard Management. He focuses on vineyards in the Napa Valley from Oakville to Calistoga and is renowned for his knowledge of the terroirs of the area. He is the vineyard manager for the Tychson Hill Vineyard and IX Estate. David's vineyard workers remain constant from year to year, getting to know our properties intimately, and making informed decisions on pruning, canopy management and crop thinning. The signature of an Abreu vineyard is the meticulous care, which shows in the precise, even rows of perfectly maintained vines. He is a perfectionist.
"Dr. Raynaud brings an exciting facet to our team," according to Ann Colgin. "His dedication to neo-classical winemaking techniques and attention to detail are the perfect compliment to Aubert and Abreu." Raynaud collaborates in the exchange of ideas and information to enhance the Colgin Cellars' line." I am greatly impressed with the wines Colgin is producing. This is a personal project I am deeply committed to and will be my only venture in the U.S." said Raynaud.  Raynaud's lineage in wine production dates back to the 15th century with his family winery in Bordeaux. He left the industry to pursue a career in medicine and returned in 1998 to craft some of the most sought after small production wines in Bordeaux, including La Fleur De Gay and La Croix De Gay in Pomerol and Chateau Quinault in St. Emillion. Raynaud supervises the production of Chateau Lascombes, Margaux in which Colgin and her husband, Joe Wender, are investors. From 1994-2000 Raynaud served as President of the Union Des Grands Crus De Bordeaux, representing top Bordeaux wines around the world.

 

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