Wine reviews
All of the 2015s will be reviewed from bottle next year, but basically the yields were not off as much at Schrader as some other estates, the alcohol levels were relatively modest ranging between 14.3% and 14.5%. Characteristic of this vintage, there is magnificent fat, sucrosity and thickness on display in all of these wines. They are inky black/purple and seemingly low in acidity, but according to Thomas Rivers Brown the acids were quite sound and healthy. The tannins are present, but so well-disguised by the high levels of glycerin and sucrosity that they are not that noticeable. Several of these wines, including the Schrader, CCS, T6 and LPV have the potential for perfect scores. These will be thrilling to taste next year and will continue the incredible legacy that Schrader Cellars has developed over the years.-RP As I have written in the past, the Schrader project with Thomas Rivers Brown as their winemaker started as a look at one of Napa Valley’s historic and first-growth vineyard sites – the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville. It has expanded now to include Beckstoffer’s Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena and the Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard in Rutherford. It is basically a study of clonal selections by keeping these wines separate and apart, but enjoying the identical winemaking, upbringing in the cellars and bottling. The bottom line is that these are just hands-down fabulous Cabernet Sauvignons and have been since the project debuted more than ten years ago. The difference between each of them is generally minor and I will probably end up giving sightly different reviews when the wines are in bottle – because they are all at the top of the pyramid of quality. Any one of them is essentially a world-class Cabernet Sauvignon that could compete with the finest made anywhere in the world. So, I will try and articulate the differences of the bottled 2014s and then summarize the 2015s.
All from clone 337 and from three different blocks in the To Kolan Vineyard in Oakville, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS is one of the larger production cuvee they make and there’s just over 1,000 cases in 2015. Crème de cassis, iodine, flowers, huge spice, and loads of dried herbs all emerge from this thrilling effort that has the full-bodied opulence of the vintage front and center. Despite it’s massive about of fruit, it stays light and graceful and is an undeniably sexy wine to drink over the coming two decades. – JD
Features a plush texture and firm, fine-grained tannins, making for a tasty mix of flavors and structure, with the fruit surging through the core of blackberry and wild berry. Best from 2021 through 2032. 1,096 cases made. – J.L