2021 Schrader Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon on SALE!
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
I don’t wish I was born any sooner as the wines that are being made around the world today are some of the best that planet Earth has ever produced. You have so many places all over the world making high quality wines but there is something unique about Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
The last few vintages from Napa Valley have been outstanding and with the 2020 vintage being a complete wash for many vintners in Napa Valley the prices on ALL the wines from the 2018 and 2019 vintages will be on the rise. Then, we have the answers to the vintners prayers in 2021 as this was an incredible vintage with one of the lowest rainfall in years at just 10 inches and a perfect growing season producing intensely concentrated grapes. This Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon was the wine #1 in the Wine Spectator for their 2019 vintage so this 2021 vintage which was a smaller production year for Napa will sell out quickly.
We have followed Fred Schrader’s journey in the wine industry and knew Fred when he was living in Florida and frequented Café Maxx with Ann Colgin who he was married to 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 split up.
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 released alongside the 1999 vintage in 6 packs with 3 bottles of each to sell through. The thing that changed for Fred in 1999 was he started buying Beckstoffer To Kalon fruit from Andy Beckstoffer and he hired Thomas Rivers Brown as his new Winemaker. The rest is detailed in the story which is still ongoing even though Fred sold to constellation brands in 2017 the wines are still being made by Thomas Rivers Brown and the fruit is still being sourced from the same vineyards.
2021 “Double Diamond” Cabernet Sauvignon from Schrader on SALE!
2021 Schrader Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa
Price: $96.50 Sale $85.00 6PK $475.00 Quantity in Stock: 299
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon stands to outshine the award-winning 2019 vintage with even deeper concentration and complexity. On the nose, the wine leaps from the glass with ripe blackberry, cassis, black cherry, and red plum, with a lovely herbaceous undertone. The palate expresses juicy red and black fruits with hints of black tea, damp earth, vanilla bean, lavender, and just a touch of flint. With fine-grained tannins and mouthwatering acidity that lingers through the long finish, this wine is ready to drink upon release but will cellar well for years to come.
Varietal Composition: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Barrels: 54% New French Oak, 46% Second-use Schrader Darnajou French Oak
A bit about 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.
All the Schrader we have in the store on SALE:
2021 Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon CCS Napa
Price: $606.50 Your Price: $533.72
Our Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS is produced from 100% Clone 4 Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the C1 Block. This section of the vineyard is situated in the heart of the valley. An alluvial fan provides excellent mineral deposits, and the rich soils are filled with marine sediment. The wine is a rare blend of power, structure and elegance that balances rich fruit with more delicate floral notes. Full-bodied with muscular structure and ripe, polished tannins.
2021 SCHRADER CABERNET SAUVIGNON WAPPO HILL NAPA
Price: $606.50 Your Price: $533.72
Wappo Hill Vineyard, in the Stags Leap District, was first planted in 1969. Produced from 100% Clone 685 Cabernet Sauvignon, this bottling is sourced from hillside vines planted on well-drained, gravelly, and clay-loam soils. The vines thrive with ample afternoon sun bookended by cool mornings and evenings and produce intensely flavored fruit with exceptionally balanced acidity. The wine features notes of blackberry, red cherry, and briary aromas that combine with pleasing threads of baking spice, floral petal, and dusty earth tones. This stunning wine shows the tremendous power of a classic Napa Valley Cabernet with a polished, long-lasting finish.
2019 SCHRADER CABERNET SAUVIGNON WAPPO HILL NAPA
Price: $606.50 Your Price: $533.72
(96 Points) A new vineyard source for Schrader, from a famous site in Stags Leap planted to Clone 685, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Wappo Hill features a lovely mix of red and black fruit. Full-bodied, silky, rich and intense, it combines the silk and harmony typical of the region with the intensity that Schrader and consultant Thomas Rivers Brown are known for, finishing elegant and long. Best After 2022. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2021 SCHRADER CABERNET SAUVIGNON MONASTERY BLOCK NAPA
Price: $606.50 Your Price: $533.72
The Monastery Block is less a singular block than a selection of parcels located on the western side of the To Kalon Vineyard, nestled against the foothills of the Mayacamas adjacent to the Carmelite Monastery from which it takes its name. The wine is produced from 100% Clone 169 Cabernet Sauvignon planted on well-drained gravelly soils, showing a classic Oakville expression that balances rich black fruit with minerality and a floral component. Elegant and classically styled, this wine is generous, layered, and fresh.
2021 SCHRADER CABERNET SAUVIGNON HERITAGE CLONE NAPA
Price: $606.50 Your Price: $533.72
(97 Points) 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. Jeb Dunnuck
2018 SCHRADER CABERNET SAUVIGNON HERITAGE CLONE NAPA
Price: $606.50 Your Price: $533.72
(97 Points) This is the very first vintage of this new label for Schrader. True to Schrader form, the wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a single block in the southern part of Mondavi’s section of To Kalon vineyard. The “Heritage Clone,” a.k.a. clone 39, is pretty much exclusive to Mondavi To Kalon, with the exception of some cuttings Robert Mondavi may have given out. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown noted that this clone produces very small bunches and tiny berries, equating to super intense fruit. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Mondavi Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard was aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels for 18 months. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sings of stewed blueberries, plum preserves, Chinese five spice and fragrant earth, giving way to hints of beef drippings, iron ore, espresso, tobacco leaf and dried roses. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2017 SCHRADER CABERNET SAUVIGNON RBS BECKSTOFFER TO KALON NAPA
Price: $375.00 Sale Price: $295.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(95 Points) Schrader’s RBS comes from Beckstoffer’s To Kalon vineyard in Oakville, produced from 337 clone grown on blocks B1, B2 and E2. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and was aged in 100% new oak for 20 months. Very deep purple-black in color, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is a little closed to begin, giving way to fragrant earth, tobacco leaf and charcoal scents opening out to notions of potpourri, baked plums and Black Forest cake with the cassis coming through after much coaxing. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, lifting the fruit to a very long and mineral-laced finish. 1176 cases were made. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2016 SCHRADER CABERNET SAUVIGNON RBS BECKSTOFFER TO KALON NAPA
Price: $450.00 Sale Price: $350.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(98 points) Coming from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, blocks B1, B2 and E2 planted to clone 337, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS has a very deep purple-black color and is a little reticent to begin, offering glimpses at crushed black berries, black cherries and black currants with touches of cedar chest, pencil lead, dark chocolate and dusty earth with a waft of cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied and tautly structured with rock-solid, firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the muscular fruit, it finishes on a lingering earthy note. Forget this one over the next 4-5 years, and drink it over the next 25+. 1,096 cases produced. (LPB) 98+ (12/2017) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2015 SCHRADER CELLARS RBS BECKSTOFFER TO KALON VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA
Price: $495.00 Sale Price: $395.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(98 points) Coming from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, blocks B1, B2 and E2 planted to clone 337, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS has a very deep purple-black color and is a little reticent to begin, offering glimpses at crushed black berries, black cherries and black currants with touches of cedar chest, pencil lead, dark chocolate and dusty earth with a waft of cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied and tautly structured with rock-solid, firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the muscular fruit, it finishes on a lingering earthy note. Forget this one over the next 4-5 years, and drink it over the next 25+. 1,096 cases produced. (LPB) 98+ (12/2017) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2014 SCHRADER CELLARS RBS BECKSTOFFER TO KALON VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA
Price: $425.00 Sale Price: $325.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(96 Points) The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS is made from the same clone (337) as the Georges III, but comes from the To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville and not the Rutherford Georges III. This was aged in 85% new Darnajou and 15% new Taransaud. It has fabulous concentration, notes of incense, licorice, blackcurrants, blackberries, as well as spring flowers. The wine is juicy, savory and full-bodied, with wonderful underlying energy and freshness. This wine is a more forward style than we saw with the 2013s, and is best drunk over the next 16-20 years. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2008 SCHRADER CELLARS OLD SPARKY BECKSTOFFER TO KALON CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA MAGNUM
Price: $3100.00 Sale Price: $2600.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(96-98+ Points) Nearly all of the 2008 offerings possesses a slight degree of higher alcohol, but that component is not detectable. The wines reveal showy personalities, and even more flamboyance than the 2007s. At this stage, less minerality as well as more structure are present, and the wines seem fleshier, more flamboyant and even more opulent than the extraordinary 2007s. There is the potential for two perfect 2008s, the Cabernet Sauvignon CCS and Cabernet Sauvignon Schrader, as well as three upper 90-point wines, the T6, RBS, and George III. When all the dust settles many years from now, I suspect 2008 may turn out at least for Schrader as great as 2007. Last year the 2007s seemed more grapy and less nuanced than the 2006s, but one would not make that statement tasting the 2007s out of bottle as they are quite structured, and exhibit great minerality, complexity, and potential. The 2008s are gorgeously fruity, rich, and opulent at present. In another year they should be far more delineated and complex. Wine Advocate # 186 Dec 2009
2009 SCHRADER CELLARS OLD SPARKY BECKSTOFFER TO KALON CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA MAGNUM
Price: $1950.00 Sale Price: $1495.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(97 Points) The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is remarkably finessed for such a big wine. Mint, mocha, violets, tar and licorice are some of the many notes that swirl around in the glass. The balance of fruit, structure and acidity is just breathtaking. A huge, kaleidoscopic finish rounds things out in style. Old Sparky is a blend of the estate’s best barrels. The 2009 is 50% clone 6, 20% clone 337, 20% clone 4 from the C2 block and 10% clone 4 from the C1 block. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. I tasted the Schrader 2009s and 2010s twice this year, about five months apart, and that time has done wonders for the wines. The Schrader Cabernets are big, bold wines that nevertheless show remarkable detail and transparency to site, as is evidenced by the five separate bottlings from Andy Beckstoffer’s To Kalon vineyard in Oakville. These are essentially single-clone (and often single-block) wines that seek to highlight the unique qualities of the various Cabernet clones planted within the vineyard. I tasted the 2009s from bottle and the 2010s from barrel. Readers should note that the 2010s I tasted were base blends for each of the wines, rather than fully finished blends. I have a slight preference for the 2010s, as they are more nuanced, perfumed and finessed, while the 2009s are just a bit more similar to each other throughout the range, reflecting the nature of the years themselves. Beyond that, it really comes down to personal preference when choosing one of these wines. The RBS is the most aromatic and detailed, and in my view, complete of the wines. Readers who prefer a more overt, opulent, fruit-driven style of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon will gravitate to the Old Sparky or the Schrader. Either way, it is hard to go wrong with any of these Cabernets. The wines are made in a fairly non-interventionalist style, with no SO2 added at crush, minimal rackings and no fining or filtration prior to bottling. Everything starts in the vineyard, where Brown and his team leave one cluster (minus wings) per shoot. The 2009s were aged in 100% new French oak barrels, 80-90% Darnajou the rest Taransaud. Wine Advocate #198, Dec 2011
2011 SCHRADER CELLARS OLD SPARKY BECKSTOFFER TO KALON VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA MAGNUM
Price: $1650.00 Sale Price: $1395.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(95 Points) “The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Old Sparky reveals lots of cassis, spring flower, graphite and spice characteristics along with good minerality. Medium to full-bodied and strikingly rich, it, too, is a great success for the vintage. It should drink well for 15 or more years.” The Wine Advocate
2014 SCHRADER CELLARS OLD SPARKY BECKSTOFFER TO KALON VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA MAGNUM
Price: $1850.00 Sale Price: $1475.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(98 Points) "The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky, Fred Schrader’s favorite selection, is clone 4 from the To Kalon Vineyard aged in 100% new Darnajou and seems closest in personality and overall style to the CCS. This is a beautiful wine with great intensity and seems to be one of the superstars of this vintage. Smoky barbecue notes intermix with charcoal embers, blackberry, cassis, Christmas fruitcake, licorice and camphor. This is a complex 2014 that is showing beautifully at the moment and will continue to drink well for another 20 years." The Wine Advocate
2015 SCHRADER CELLARS OLD SPARKY BECKSTOFFER TO KALON VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA MAGNUM
Price: $1950.00 Sale Price: $1650.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
(97 points) "A barrel selection coming from the best barrels of Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky has a deep garnet-purple color and savory/meaty nose of yeast extract, chargrill, sautéed herbs and smoked meat over a core of crème de cassis, cigar box, red currant jelly and wild blueberries plus a touch of powdered cinnamon. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with black fruit preserves, savory and baking spice layers, with a very firm backbone and very long, multilayered finish. (LPB)" (12/2017) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
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