Wine reviews
This is a small garage winery producing a total of 800 cases of old vine Zinfandels and high-quality Cabernet Sauvignons. The latter wines emerge from one of Napa’s great vineyard sites, Beckstoffer’s To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville. What is different at Schrader is that they produce three Cabernet Sauvignons representing different clones, in this case Clones 4, 6, and 337. The winemaking is strictly artisinal and non-interventionalistic, with the Cabernets spending 18-22 months in primarily new Darnajou barrels prior to being bottled. The 2003s performed superbly after bottling, clearly superior to their performance from barrel. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky is essentially a selection of the best barrels. The biggest, most structured cuvée, it is full-bodied, dense, and as backward as the 2003 T-6, but with sweeter cassis-like aromas and flavors. This big, rich, bold boisterous Cabernet Sauvignon will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and should keep for two decades. These impressive 2003 Cabernets should be sought out by enthusiasts of this varietal. Production is limited, from a mere 100 cases of the Old Sparky to a maximum of 250 cases of the Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon