Schrader, Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Another great Schrader - PnP - opened nicely - very smooth

2017 vintage

Intense cassis and black cherry. Still young but absolutely delicious. Hard to beat To Kalon juice from Schrader.

2014 vintage

Rich and opulent. Aromas of blackberry, cassis, tobacco, leather, cedar and anise. Layers of flavor with blackberry, anise, tobacco, leather, chocolate, cedar and cassis. Full body with silky tannins in a long finish. Showing well now, no hurry to open.

2014 vintage

Super Bowl 2025 Double Blind Tasting Event (Atlanta, GA) : Super Bowl LIX Blind Tasting Event, Atlanta, GA. Back-Up Wine Flight (end of the evening): Total fruit bomb from California. Black cherry medicinal Robitussin cough syrup. This is a palate wrecker. The only new world wine served tonight. The enamel on my teeth may have been eroded by the alcohol content on this wine. Maybe I would enjoy this in a different setting and context?

2007 vintage

The wine was amazingly well balanced with a very soft finish, but plenty of body. We paired it with Lamb and it was a perfect.

2007 vintage

Powerful yet balanced, strong tannins and alcohol level, very refined texture on the palate.

2017 vintage

Full bodied, strong tannins and alcohol level, yet very balanced.

2017 vintage

Simply a phenomenal bottle of cab! Layers of blackberry, cassis, mocha, and spice notes on the nose and layered palate with an incredibly long finish.

2007 vintage

Rich, delicious, lush broad-based black cherry fruit with chocolate flavors, excellent structure, long finish, drinking very well

2014 vintage

Blind; I suspected this was a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and I guess the correct vintage of 2007. No idea on the producer. I like this wine, good thing because Carol Schrader was sitting right across the table from me. LOL It's big in its concentration of color and flavor dominated by dark cassis and a creamy texture.

2007 vintage

Tasted double blind. Wow, amazing wine with so much noblesse and complexity. A touch too sweet for my taste, but this was still very balanced. Great wine, 95+pts. TN: Ripe dark berries, creme de cassis, a bit of sugary notes. On the palate a bomb, sugary notes, sweet red fruit, darker cassis notes, spices, soft and seductive, luxurious. Herbs and spices along the dark fruit. With time lots of superb walnut notes to die for. So complex so intense. Extremely …

2007 vintage

Double-decanted. Fruit of black currant, Asian spice, black coffee and wall nuts provide for a decent aromatic diversity. Tannins are soft yet structural. Long finish. All good, or more than good even, but fails to excite with just the little extra. Maybe additional cellaring will be able to elevate this a notch or two.

2007 vintage

Not great

2007 vintage

Big, dark and bold but its shows that cult regalness. Good precision for what it is but shy to the more balanced 07 Bryant.

2007 vintage

Smooth tannin, less flamboyant than the rest of the cuvées, probably a neutral expression of the vineyard. Black fruit and cassis, shorter, more tannins. 92-93

2014 vintage

Decanted for 90 minutes I know 2007 was a nice vintage for Napa valley and this is probably an excellent representation of the high end of the spectrum. More black cassis than red and good structure but not the aggressive tannins associated with much younger wines. Served alongside the 2013 and I thought this was a superior wine.

2007 vintage

Tasting w/ The Gang @ Counselor Seiber's Pad (Orange County, CA) : We had the good fortune of dining alongside Carol Schrader who has joined us in some of our local dinners before. She is a warm soul, the kind that makes you feel important, seen. I dig that about Carol. And as is usually her custom, when she comes to a dinner, with her comes Schrader. In this evening, she brought the 2007 and the 2013, and we did …

2007 vintage

Double-decanted. Slightly disappointing against by high expectations going into this. The aroma palette was great with black coffee, meat and fruits of black currant, plum and fig. A full body awaits on the palate with amazing tension and perfectly integrated tannin. Here I found a brighter, fresher red cherry fruit. Now to the negatives. The wine was slightly milky and linearity was missing with quite blurry flavors. This was an auction bottle and wonder if maybe not in impeccable condition.

2007 vintage

Not ready when first opened. Needs 4 hour decant. Very fruity and yet oaky and earthy as well. Nice complexity evolves over time, but it’s almost too simple. Definitely no “wow” factor. Good but not great. Not up to the Schrader name. Have had much better.

2014 vintage

Decanted over cocktails. This really needed at least a two-hour decant to begin to show well. At its best, dense redcurrant and cool earth in typical Schrader style. Unfortunately we had consumed most of it before it got through its confused phase so don't be like me.

2007 vintage

Decanted and served. Roasted red and dark fruit, compote, cassis, blackberry, blueberry, satsuma and orange peel. Powerful but still balanced and loads of primary fruit complexity with differrent layers. Okay, this is not for your Bordeaux purists but even my Old World partiality appreciated the way the richness is natural and not forced. Very youthful though as the acidity broke down a bit towards the end of the bottle I’d recommend drinking this now or near term to enjoy the …

2007 vintage

Pnp but needed an hour to open up. Beautiful nose that leads into a balanced wine with good fruit , some orange peel mixed with blueberry The finish still has some tannin with a little alcohol heat that faded as the wine opened up. Secondary flavors of cigar box on the finish

2002 vintage

Spectacular wine that is in perfect balance, silky tannins along with dark, blackberry, plum like fruit. Terrific complexity featuring notes of dark chocolate, cassis and licorice. Full bodied, fruit forward...this is Napa Cab at its best. Perfect wine to drink on your birthday!

2007 vintage

Perfectly drinkable. Flawless. Perfection. So deserving of it's rating. Ready to drink. Enjoy.

2007 vintage

California Cabernet 2001/2002 Blind Tasting (Hughes House - Chicago IL) : Double blind in 01/02 Cali Cab tasting. Top heavy and off kilter. Not particularly enjoyable. Not nearly as good as I recall from last time tasted a few years back. Correctly ID'ed this as from '02 vintage.

2002 vintage

Blind 2001/2002 Cab Tasting (Chez Hughes) : Double blind paired with the 01, and the Forman 01/02. An extreme wine with uber-ripe black fruit, oak char and boozy aromas. The palate is dense and ripe with lots of charred oak. Chewy tannin. Nothing about this wine is appealing.

2002 vintage

I’ll admit I love Schrader wines. I think you can’t find better Napa Cabs than what Thomas Brown is putting out there. With that said, this certainly did not disappoint. Like the 2002 Abreu Thorevolis, this is very youthful for all three of color, nose, and taste. Both of these wines can last another 25 years easily. On a tangent subject, it would be interesting to try some of the aged, modern Napa Cabs like this against a first growth …

2002 vintage

Such a great classic Schrader! Tannins have really subsided. Lots of red fruits in this wine. Finish was a really long time. This wine gave us a preview of the aging and longevity that this wine has. Perfect drinking right now, but also has many years left. Classic wine experience! Loved it!

2007 vintage

Ken's Intro Retro - "New" Cult Cali Cab (Northbrook, IL) : Double blind. Full but fairly simple nose of attractive red fruit with some herb and light chocolate notes. Round palate with big and rich fruit that is balanced with bright, moderate acids. Tannin is well melded to the fruit. A rather elegant and polished Cab, but lacking depth and complexity. My #5, Group #6.

2007 vintage

Chicago Wine Flock...Ken Goes Cult Cab (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL) : Tasted blind in 2007 cult Cali Cab flight. Ripe red and black fruit comes across as very ripe with plenty of liqueur and new oak. Very dense and meaty textures, comes across as slightly top-heavy. My 6th favorite of the flight, group's 6th favorite.

2007 vintage

Rich concentrated aromas of sweet cherry fruit and red licorice. Palate follows aromas with nice polished acids but more tension and structure then expected. Perhaps it still could use more bottle age, but very enjoyable and well made.

2007 vintage

Very good cab, if slightly less tannic and flamboyant than one might expect from this maker and vineyard. Will make everyone happy, but their socks will still be on their feet.

2002 vintage

Great big Napa cab so it was everything I expected. Im a big fan of 2002 Napa cabs and this is right up there with the best of that vintage. Drank at The Arthur J in Manhattan Beach, CA

2002 vintage

Developed and ready for primetime drinking with its flashy, mocha, black raspberry, floral, vanilla and coffee filled personality.

2007 vintage

Rich, delicious black cherry fruit with cedar and cocca flavors, superb structure, still tight, needs several hours to open up, multilayered, still a baby of a wine, lingering finish

2007 vintage

California Cult Cabernet dinner (Oak Mill Cafe - Chicago IL) : Very tasty and enjoyable black fruit, but slightly simple in the context of this great flight. Nicely balanced. Most likely at its peak.

2002 vintage

Deserves every bit of its rating. No flaws. Dark ruby garnet color. Minimal sediment. Soft dark flower and berry nose. Soft dark fruit flavors. No tannin. No acid. Low alcohol. Medium finish. Certainly ready to drink. Beyond peak. But, still a classic, beautiful wine. Paired perfectly with filet mignon.

2002 vintage

Just an amazing wine. Still oozing with ripe fruit and perfect balance. This wine was decanted and poured. Needed about 15 minutes to open fully and was just delicious from first sip to last drop.

2002 vintage

A perfect Napa Cab.... Magnificent !!!!

2007 vintage

2007 California Cabernet Blind Tasting (Hezi Levi's in Highland Park) : Just when I thought the Schrader Georges III was a treat to unveil, the Original To-Kalon Vineyard form Schrader makes an appearance. And, for me, a wine of the night kind of appearance. Absolutely sublime. This is tiptoing the line of perfection as Schrader often does. Super elegant and royal. Cassis, leather, coal, super pretty. Palate is incredible. So much fruit coupled with flowers, massive doses of fresh horse …

2007 vintage

nose - dark berry mouth - big berry explosion, very round tannins, overall very lush and deliciously open

2007 vintage

Had this vis-à-vis a 2003 Lewis Merlot and it just barely beat it out because of the nose. The body and finish were essentially identical, which is probably amazing to everyone but me and Randy Lewis. I know my Schrader and I know my Lewis, so I'm not exaggerating here. It always seems condescending when I call a Schrader "typical", but I only use that term relative to what I have come to expect in Schrader Cabs. This was definitely …

2007 vintage

I last tasted this wine in 2008 and indicated in that note that the wine needed 3-5 more years. Well, 4 years later and tasting it again this past weekend and I have the word "ageworthy" undelined in my notes. So, as some would say, this is consistent with my previous note. This wine has terrific balance, structure and fruit. I also sensed a funky note in the wine, something rustic or suggestive of age. It's in the aromatic and …

2002 vintage

decanted for 4 hours. impeccably balanced wine. great depth, spice, chocolate. and a finish that went on a good long time.

2002 vintage

Decanted and enjoyed with grilled steaks. Really several steps beyond the usual Cabs we drink. Black fruit, blueberries, glycerin, long finish.

2002 vintage

Decanted 1 hour.

2002 vintage

Once I popped the cork, it became immediately apparent that this was a special wine. The bottom of the cork wad full with sediment to the point that you could use it to paint your ceiling. I trust this properly expresses the amazing levels of density and concentration with this wine. Subsequent vintages received 100 points, but this one lacks the distinctive complexity and intensity of flavors to merit a very high score. Pleasure to drink nevertheless!

2002 vintage

Out of a 3 liter. This was just rocking from the get go. Great nose with blackberry and violets. Super silky on the palate with beautiful fruit and a tremendous long finish.

2002 vintage

9/6/08 OC Wine Dinner (Nesai In Newport Beach, CA) : Between this wine and the 02 Karl Lawrence Herb Lamb, a tough call for best cab of the flight. The nose was loaded with pencil shavings and what I want to say graphite or metallic. Not offputting but interesting and attracting for me. Big currant and chocolate with chalky tannin on the finish. My notes say "3-5 more years"? We killed this too early but what lies in the bottle …

2002 vintage

OC Wine Dinner (Nesai - Newport Beach, CA) : Now we get to the big guns. This wine is a rock star -- flamboyant, rich, and oozing with sex appeal. Opulent notes of cassis, brown sugar, and bittersweet chocolate. Creamy and decadent of the palate but amazingly balanced and complex. Has years of life ahead of it, but an absolute joy to drink now! 93-94 points.

2002 vintage

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Schrader, Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

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