2015 Schrader Cellars, ‘Old Sparky’ Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Magnum (1.5L)

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JD100 “A wine that got more than one expletive in my notes, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky is a barrel selection and is mostly clone 6 with smaller amounts of clone 4. Pure crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, white chocolate, and white flower notes all soar from this inky 2015 which is full-bodied, powerful, yet weightless and elegant. Its tannins are covered by a wealth of fruit, it has no hard edges, perfect integration of its fruit, tannin, acidity, and alcohol, and a finish that just won’t quit. This is a crazy good wine that couldn’t be any better. While recently purchased by the massive Constellation Brands conglomerate, it appears nothing has changed at Schrader, with Thomas Rivers Brown staying in place and no change in vineyard sources. These 2015s and 2016s all check in near the top of these great vintages and shows the complexity, elegance, and purity, as well as richness, that’s the hallmark of the estate. Hat’s off to Brown for these sensational wines.” Jeb Dunnuck Dec 2017

Robert Parker writes, “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.” Published: Oct 28, 2016