Schrader Cellars MB To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

98 Points Parker - limited                                 Limited new release from Schrader Cellars. 100 Points Robert Parker:  "Only the second vintage of this new Schrader label, this 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Monastery Block To Kalon Vineyard comes from clone 169 planted on the Monastery Block of the Robert Mondavi section of To Kalon vineyard in Oakville. One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, it is aging in 100% new Darnajou oak barrels. A very deep purple-black colored barrel sample, the 2018 rolls effortlessly from the glass with fragrant Black Forest cake, blueberry pie and warm cassis notes plus touches of dried roses, black tea, pencil lead and underbrush with a waft of baking spices. Medium-bodied, the palate is super elegant and super intense with a firm, grainy texture and bold freshness, finishing long and layered. 316 cases are due to be made." 98 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is going to be a solid step up over the 2017. Offering a classic To Kolan nose of cassis and blue fruits as well as loads of spice and flowery incense, this beauty is full-bodied, has a rounded, elegant texture, silky tannins, and a great, great finish. This cuvée has always lagged the other releases here, but that might be about to change with the 2018 vintage." The Schraders, working with well-known winemaking consultant Thomas Rivers Brown, continue to farm and produce some of the world’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignons from three fabulous Beckstoffer-owned vineyards: the To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville, the Georges III Vineyard in Rutherford and the Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena. To Kalon is gravelly, eluvial, loamy soils; Georges III Vineyard is an old creek bed; and Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena is planted on old river rock and gravelly loam. All of these blocks utilized for Schrader’s wines encompass over 25+ acres and are custom-farmed – as Fred Schrader likes to say, essentially “virtual vineyards,” even though they’re not owned by the Schraders. Their initial focus, which has proven so successful, is essentially a microscopic study of different clones planted in different blocks with exactly the same philosophy of viticulture, harvesting, winemaking, élevage and bottling. Production of all the 2012s, which was a slightly more generous and later harvest than 2013 with bigger berries, ranges from 200 cases for the Old Sparky and Georges III, to 520 for the CCS, 420 for the T6, 625 for the RBS, 370 for the Schrader, 620 for the LPV and 100 cases for the newest baby, the Colesworthy, which is a selection of the best barrels of their Las Piedras offering. Some of the other characteristics of these wines are that they all spend about 20 months in barrel, but the percentages of new Darnajou and new Taransaud varied from cuvée to cuvée, although the CCS is 100% new Darnajou, as are the Old Sparky and the Colesworthy. Finished alcohol on the 2012s is in line with other vintages, at 14.4%-14.6%. And in 2013, virtually identical numbers of 14.4%-14.6% were achieved. The consistency and the analytical aspects of the wines is mirrored in the incredible quality that Schrader has produced.

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