2018 schrader, ccs beckstoffer to kalon vineyard cabernet sauvignon, napa valley
Why We're Buying
If Schrader Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon is The Godfather than Schrader CCS Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon is The Godfather II. It is the apex of cabernet sauvignon, a flawless red wine that delivers on every front imaginable and then some. Wine critic Robert Parker, who gave it six perfect scores in less than a decade, called it “absolutely out of this world.”
Critics Scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Just pure gold, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS is 100 Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from one of California's greatest terroirs, that was brought up in 100 new French oak. This dense purple-colored effort has a magical bouquet of pure crème de cassis, smoke tobacco, white flowers, crushed stone, truffle, and hints of chocolate. Possessing full-bodied richness, this beauty builds incrementally on the palate, showing lots of ripe, polished tannins, no hard edges, and a rare mix of power, structure, and elegance that's something to behold. Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, or red wine for that matter, just doesn't get any better. Hats off to winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown for yet another majestic, singular wine that’s as good as it gets.
James Suckling
A soft and velvety-textured red with blackberry, walnut and chocolate character to the dusty and lovely tannins. Juicy and savory. CCS barrel sample.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Schrader’s CCS comes from Beckstoffer’s To Kalon vineyard in Oakville, produced from clone 4 grown on the C1 block. It is 100 Cabernet Sauvignon, aging in 100 new Darnajou oak barrels. A very deep purple-black colored barrel sample, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is a little shy to begin, soon unfurling to offer a wonderfully fragrant nose of kirsch, cassis, redcurrants and chocolate-covered cranberries with wafts of garrigue, wild thyme and cedar. Medium-bodied, the palate is taut and muscular with loads of mineral sparks among the red and black berry layers and a rock-solid, grainy frame, finishing with a provocative herbal lift. 897 cases are due to be made.