Wine reviews
Collectibles. Wines that will improve most from additional bottle age and that show the greatest potential to gain in value. Dark, dense and powerful without being heavy or ponderous. Tiers of mocha-laced currant, cassis, blackberry, spice and subtle herb shadings give this tightly focused wine great depth and personality. Drink now through 2015. 250 cases made. – J. L.
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 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a blend of Clone 4 (85%), Clone 6 (10%), and Clone 337 (5%), all from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, is the richest and most formidable of the three 2004s I tasted. Full-bodied with a gorgeously pure nose of spring flowers, crème de cassis, smoke, licorice, and coffee, superb fruit on the attack, a savory mid-palate, and an expansive, long, velvety-textured finish, it will be delicious young and probably never close down, drinking beautifully for 10-14 or more years.
only perfect wine of the vintage, which Thomas Brown calls the “Schrader Schrader,” is the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Schrader Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from clones 4, 6 and 337. This was aged in 90% Darnajou and 10% Taransaud barrels. It had the second highest alcohol in the vintage at 14.6%. In possession of everything anyone could want in a wine, this profound effort offers up a bouquet of lavender, cedarwood, creme de cassis, blackberry, subtle smoke and incense. It is broad, full-bodied and opulent with ethereal complexity, remarkable concentration and that indescribable gravitas and nobility that world-class prodigious wines possess. It is the most youthful of this quartet and probably won’t be at its best for another 3-4 years, but it should drink well for at least two decades thereafter. What Thomas Brown and the Schraders believe is their best wine goes into the cuvee called Old Sparky.