Schrader Cellars

Today at Flickinger Wines we would like to showcase our current collection of wines from the California producer Schrader Cellars. Schrader Cellars is the brainchild of Fred Schrader, a man synonymous with winemaking excellence in Napa Valley. A self-taught winemaker, Fred partnered with famed vineyard manager Andy Beckstoffer and, notably, esteemed winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. This triumvirate has achieved a level of craftsmanship that few can parallel. Sourced primarily from the illustrious Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, the vineyards contribute much to Schrader's unique profile. The terroir, characterized by well-draining soils and optimal sun exposure, allows for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes of unparalleled quality. Schrader wines not only deliver immediate pleasure but also possess a robust aging potential, typically spanning two to three decades. The wine's structure, laden with well-integrated tannins and precise acidity, ensures it evolves gracefully over time. As a collectible, the investment value of Schrader Cellars wines has consistently appreciated, making it a wise addition to any collection. The impressive list below can be pilfered with confidence, happy hunting!

The following are the wines remaining from the offer sent on Monday, July 22, 2024. Please enter your desired quantities and click the 'Add' button.

Producer	Vint.	Wine	Price	Qty	Order
		USA Red
Schrader	2018	Heritage Clone To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$278.10	2
	WA 97+ (1/2021): 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. Medium-bodied, it has a firm, chewy texture and loads of bright, lively freshness lifting the densely packed berry preserves layers, finishing very long and very spicy. This is certainly a singular style—somewhat atypical for the 2018 vintage, but nonetheless compelling.
	2018	Heritage Clone To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$279	1
	WA 97+ (1/2021): 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. Medium-bodied, it has a firm, chewy texture and loads of bright, lively freshness lifting the densely packed berry preserves layers, finishing very long and very spicy. This is certainly a singular style—somewhat atypical for the 2018 vintage, but nonetheless compelling.
	2019	Heritage Clone To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$305	1
	JD 98+ (12/2021): My notes on the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone started with a big "Wow," and it's clearly a structured, serious, incredibly impressive 2019. Giving up plenty of cassis and assorted black and blue fruits, it has a distinct sense of minerality as well as classic Cabernet tobacco, lead pencil, and tobacco leaf nuances. With bright acidity, building tannins, and a concentrated, massive, backward mouthfeel, it needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years and should have decades of prime drinking.
	2019	MB To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$295	1
	JD 97 (12/2021): Revealing a vivid purple hue as well as a powerful, more black-fruited, iron, tobacco, and scorched earth-like aromatic profile, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is full-bodied, has a rich, powerful attack, great mid-palate density, and brilliant tannins. Coming from a famous block located on the western side of this great vineyard, brought up in new barrels, it's another 2019 that has a rounded, supple, approachable style while also bringing impressive density, depth, and structure.
	2019	MB To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$365	2
	JD 97 (12/2021): Revealing a vivid purple hue as well as a powerful, more black-fruited, iron, tobacco, and scorched earth-like aromatic profile, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is full-bodied, has a rich, powerful attack, great mid-palate density, and brilliant tannins. Coming from a famous block located on the western side of this great vineyard, brought up in new barrels, it's another 2019 that has a rounded, supple, approachable style while also bringing impressive density, depth, and structure.
	2019	MMXIX "Old Sparky" Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5 L)	$1,450	1
	JD 100 (12/2021): A selection put together by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Old Sparky is one of the true gems in the vintage, as well as a perfect wine. Thrilling black fruits, crème de cassis, tobacco, tapenade, and iron notes all emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied and has a similar purity to the CCS release, with ultra-fine tannins and one hell of an incredible finish. Napa Valley Cabernet, or red wine for that matter, doesn't get any better. Give bottles 2-4 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following two decades or more.
	2017	Monastery Block To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$265	1
	JD 94 (1/2020): The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is always terrific, yet I always find it more linear and foursquare compared to some of the other releases in the lineup. Nevertheless, it offers a terrific bouquet of gravelly earth, ground herbs, chocolaty dark fruits, and some obvious minerality. This full-bodied Cabernet is going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 15-20 plus.
	2018	RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$279	5
	WA 97 (1/2021): Schrader’s RBS comes from Beckstoffer’s To Kalon vineyard in Oakville, produced from 337 clone grown on blocks B1, B2 and E2. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels for 18 months. Deep garnet-purple in color, it leaps from the glass with gregarious exotic spice scents—cumin seed, cloves and star anise—over a core of Black Forest cake, blueberry compote and black currant pastilles plus a waft of underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is completely coated with spicy, open-knit black fruit preserves flavors, marked by bright red-fruit accents. Supported by great tension and velvety tannins, it finishes on a lingering cinnamon toast note. 1,715 cases were made.   JD 99 (1/2021): Another heavenly wine in the lineup is the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS, which comes from Clone 337 and a handful of different blocks in the vineyard. This deep purple-hued beauty has an incredibly seamless, elegant, yet full-bodied style as well as killer notes of crème de cassis, blueberries, wildflowers, violets, white chocolate, and new saddle leather. Flirting with perfection, the tannin quality, purity of fruit, balance, and overall harmony here is just about off the charts. It makes you want to drink the whole bottle, but it should age effortlessly for 25+ years.   WS 96 (10/2021): This is packed with steeped plum, blackberry and boysenberry fruit flavors, yet cuts a very focused line nonetheless, with a graphite underpinning keeping the fruit harnessed while licorice, alder and tar nots fill in on the back end. A muscular version that demands cellar time. Best from 2024 through 2038. 1,715 cases made.   JS 97 (1/2021): Aromas of red fruit, plums, herbs and dark chocolate with some bark and forest-floor notes. Full-bodied, yet very finely crafted and poised. Lots of fresh and dry herbs to the dark fruit at the finish. Lasts a long time. Try after 2024.
	2018	T6 Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$269	1
	JD 97 (1/2021): Rocking levels of blueberries, creme de cassis, exotic spices, tobacco, cigar wrapper, and candied violets emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard T6, which is full-bodied, has a ripe, concentrated mouthfeel, and lots of building tannins. There's no shortage of structure here, yet the tannins are sweet and polished, it has nicely integrated acidity and just beautiful overall balance, although it remains relatively tight and doesn't have the same opulent, expansive mouthfeel found in the CCS, RBS, and Schrader releases. Regardless, it's an incredibly impressive bottle of wine. Give bottles 4-5 years, and it's going to cruise for 20 years or more.
	2019	T6 Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$289	1
	JD 99 (12/2021): A big, muscular, powerful wine, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard T6 boasts a monster note of blackcurrants, fresh plums, scorched earth, tobacco, and chocolate. This all carries to a full-bodied 2019 with the ripe, savory, concentrated style of the vintage, building tannins, no shortage of fruit, and a great, great finish. It's certainly one of the biggest, richest, more structured wines in the lineup, yet the balance is spot on and everything is in the right places. It's going to take at least 7-8 years for this puppy to shed some of its considerable baby fat and hit maturity, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it evolve for 20 or 30 years.
	2019	Wappo Hill Vyd. Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon	$249	3
	JD 96 (12/2021): A new wine from this team, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Wappo Hill comes from a famous site in the Stags Leap District and is all Cabernet Sauvignon. At a high level, Stags Leap is a slightly cooler region, and the wines shine for their complexity, and that's certainly the case here. Lots of cassis, violets, graphite, dried flowers, and spicy oak define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, has good acidity, some chalky tannins, and notable freshness and purity. The acidity is higher here, but this still brings plenty of classic Schrader opulence and texture.
	2021	Beckstoffer To Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$290		Sold Out
	2018	CCS Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$335		Sold Out
	2019	CCS Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$365		Sold Out
	2021	CCS Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$290		Sold Out
	2017	G III Cabernet Sauvignon	$250		Sold Out
	2016	GIII Beckstoffer Georges III Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$325		Sold Out
	2018	GIII Beckstoffer Georges III Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$335		Sold Out
	2021	GIII Beckstoffer Georges III Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$290		Sold Out
	2021	Heritage Clone To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$290		Sold Out
	2017	LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$289		Sold Out
	2018	LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$295		Sold Out
	2019	LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$289		Sold Out
	2021	LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$250		Sold Out
	2016	MMXVI "Old Sparky" Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5 L)	$2,050		Sold Out
	2018	Monastery Block To-Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$345		Sold Out
	2017	RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$289		Sold Out
	2019	RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vyd. Cabernet Sauvignon	$289		Sold Out
	2021	Wappo Hill Vyd. Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon	$290		Sold Out