2+ hour decant and drank over 90 minutes along with some beautiful filets. More fruit forward and noticeably sweeter than the other Schrader's in this flight. The To Kalon fruit was a bit over ripe and lacked the finesse and finish I'd seen in other Schrader To Kalons. Despite that, it married well with the Steak and you got enough acid to offset the jam like mouthful the wine had without food. A good wine, just not a great one.
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Blue and red fruit with a touch to tobacco and well integrated oak. Elegance in the glass. This wine is all about texture and finesse. Aromatically pleasing. I don’t want to call this wine one dimensional, rather that the focus is in the fruit and texture. It is done so well that you stop looking for anything else. Good juice.
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Popped and poured. This is a deep, rich red wine – there is some material sediment at the end of the bottle. On the nose, I get cassis, menthol, chocolate cherries, and roast coffee. In the mouth, this is smooth, lush, and layered; this is a wine of power and structure. The finish lasts for 40+ seconds; it brings the slow unfolding of rich, dark fruits. Overall, this is an open, giving wine bringing pure pleasure. My only complaint is that the bottle is absurdly large and heavy. 94 points.
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Layers of delicious dark ripe cherry, blackberry, and currant with oaky notes on the nose and silky rich palate. Culminates in a long finish with well resolved tannins.
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Tasted about a week ago, but this bottle lived up to the t6 line of Schraders--the best line for my tastes. Dense and ripe with enough acidity to carry it. Dark fruit. A long finish. No cedar or anise notes.
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A stunning wine. This one hits every note for me. Tasted along with the 2009 Harlan. The Harlan was like a Rolls Royce; smooth, plush, rich and satisfying. The Schrader was a Ferrari, also rich yet nimble with lots of things to love. Perfectly balanced, changing flavor profile every 30 minutes, too many flavors came and went to catalog. For me, clearly the better wine last night.
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I would echo the other comments. This is an absolutely gorgeous Cali cab. Beautiful nose, big body, tremendous finish (1 minute plus). Lots of black and purple fruit. Easily has 10 years to age. The tannins are still felt yet round and velvety. Decanted for an hour. Looking forward to my next bottle. Wow!
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Decanted for 2.5 hours. Aromas of blackberry, cassis, black cherry, plum and chocolate. Flavors of plum, blackberry, currant, black cherry and just a touch of iron. Still some tannins on this even after the long decant. Ends with a long finish of 40+ seconds with blackberry and chocolate notes. This doesn't taste like a 10 year old Cab. Besides the sediment, not a hint of age on this thing. Just passed on the 2018 offer and may be regretting it.
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Fantastic wine. Traditional Schrader style. Paired with a fantastic meal of seafood. This wine held its own. Dark inky look with lots of red fruits. Tannins have begun to loosen their grip. Fantastic bottle of wine.
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No extensive notes because I was having a great time having this bottle after a long time without drinking wine. I didn't write them down.
Decanted for three hours after opening, but it didn't change much - it was open for business since the beginning. There's no doubt it is a very well-made wine - plenty of blackberry and a bit of plum on the nose, together with a bit of oak which did not bother me. In the mouth, it's amazing how can so much stuffing be combined with such finesse. The tannins, for example, were soft and velvety. It gets high marks for the drinking experience it provides. But it's not a really complex wine, and not very long. 95 points tops now, and I don't see any improvement in the future.
I guess that I'm cooling on these Schrader cabs. They are undeniably tasty and well made, but the last few bottles I've opened have just seemed a little too much in your face. Tons of ripe blackberry and cassis fruit flavors along with plenty of oak and slightly drying tannins on the back end. Very flavorful, but more than I am looking for, especially in the summer
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Decanted all day, this was great as usual for Schrader, tons of dark fruits, a bit jammy with integrated oak and tannins. Powerful yet well balanced. Too bad I only had 1...
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Drinking well young. Double decanted then slow ozed and drank over 4 hours. Amazing wine. Dense yet soft with a very nice long finish. Dark fruit profile
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Black cherry, licorice, jam, blue fruit and chocolate work well the massive, balanced wall of ripe chocolate covered fruit. Suave and sophisticated, this forward styled wine is already drinking well.
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I agree with HARRYPOTTER, I think it may be a tad too young for consumption today. With air and time it really starts to shine through.
Ripe blackcurrant and blackberry with high toast that softens with time. One of the best 2009 Schrader wines. I will save my other bottle and taste again in 2-3 years.
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Aromatically - Blueberry, marionberry, and a high amount of toast (currently slightly too high, but should integrate with time). This is a full bodied wine on the palate with initially a huge amount of fine grain tannin. With an hour the wine softens and rounds out. The palate has good depth, concentration and most of the components are integrated (it could have had slightly less Etoh). Very pleasant.
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1/29/2023 - PJVineyards Likes this wine: 92 Points
2+ hour decant and drank over 90 minutes along with some beautiful filets. More fruit forward and noticeably sweeter than the other Schrader's in this flight. The To Kalon fruit was a bit over ripe and lacked the finesse and finish I'd seen in other Schrader To Kalons. Despite that, it married well with the Steak and you got enough acid to offset the jam like mouthful the wine had without food. A good wine, just not a great one.
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12/26/2021 - Oldmanzin Likes this wine: 95 Points
Blue and red fruit with a touch to tobacco and well integrated oak. Elegance in the glass. This wine is all about texture and finesse. Aromatically pleasing. I don’t want to call this wine one dimensional, rather that the focus is in the fruit and texture. It is done so well that you stop looking for anything else. Good juice.
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10/24/2021 - VINNICK Likes this wine: 97 Points
Outstanding wine beginning to end. Power concentration and elegance. As good as Napa gets. 1 hour decant but 3+ hours would be better.
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2/20/2021 - whitmanlholt Likes this wine: 94 Points
Popped and poured. This is a deep, rich red wine – there is some material sediment at the end of the bottle. On the nose, I get cassis, menthol, chocolate cherries, and roast coffee. In the mouth, this is smooth, lush, and layered; this is a wine of power and structure. The finish lasts for 40+ seconds; it brings the slow unfolding of rich, dark fruits. Overall, this is an open, giving wine bringing pure pleasure. My only complaint is that the bottle is absurdly large and heavy. 94 points.
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12/20/2020 - jsmorris707 wrote: 97 Points
Double decanted for 3 hrs, deep ruby, black cherry with a touch of vanilla, med. tannins, long finish; outstanding, ready to drink, no rush
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10/18/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Layers of delicious dark ripe cherry, blackberry, and currant with oaky notes on the nose and silky rich palate. Culminates in a long finish with well resolved tannins.
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10/5/2020 - shaferguy91 wrote: 96 Points
Terrific wine. Wish I had more.
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8/7/2020 - mdvillaverde wrote: 95 Points
Tasted about a week ago, but this bottle lived up to the t6 line of Schraders--the best line for my tastes. Dense and ripe with enough acidity to carry it. Dark fruit. A long finish. No cedar or anise notes.
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7/3/2020 - Artbreadman wrote: 98 Points
A stunning wine. This one hits every note for me. Tasted along with the 2009 Harlan. The Harlan was like a Rolls Royce; smooth, plush, rich and satisfying. The Schrader was a Ferrari, also rich yet nimble with lots of things to love. Perfectly balanced, changing flavor profile every 30 minutes, too many flavors came and went to catalog. For me, clearly the better wine last night.
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5/9/2020 - VINNICK Likes this wine: 97 Points
I would echo the other comments. This is an absolutely gorgeous Cali cab. Beautiful nose, big body, tremendous finish (1 minute plus). Lots of black and purple fruit. Easily has 10 years to age. The tannins are still felt yet round and velvety. Decanted for an hour. Looking forward to my next bottle. Wow!
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12/30/2019 - slywka7 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for 2.5 hours. Aromas of blackberry, cassis, black cherry, plum and chocolate. Flavors of plum, blackberry, currant, black cherry and just a touch of iron. Still some tannins on this even after the long decant. Ends with a long finish of 40+ seconds with blackberry and chocolate notes. This doesn't taste like a 10 year old Cab. Besides the sediment, not a hint of age on this thing. Just passed on the 2018 offer and may be regretting it.
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12/19/2019 - Amerique wrote: 95 Points
Rich, delicious black cherry fruit with chocolate flavors, excellent flavors, long finish
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3/26/2019 - Bcw1989 wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic wine. Traditional Schrader style. Paired with a fantastic meal of seafood. This wine held its own. Dark inky look with lots of red fruits. Tannins have begun to loosen their grip. Fantastic bottle of wine.
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6/13/2018 - bigdogflow Likes this wine: 96 Points
Deep, dark color. Wonderful flavor of casiss, currants, blackberry. Long finish.
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6/12/2017 - br_winelover Likes this wine: 95 Points
No extensive notes because I was having a great time having this bottle after a long time without drinking wine. I didn't write them down.
Decanted for three hours after opening, but it didn't change much - it was open for business since the beginning. There's no doubt it is a very well-made wine - plenty of blackberry and a bit of plum on the nose, together with a bit of oak which did not bother me. In the mouth, it's amazing how can so much stuffing be combined with such finesse. The tannins, for example, were soft and velvety. It gets high marks for the drinking experience it provides. But it's not a really complex wine, and not very long. 95 points tops now, and I don't see any improvement in the future.
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8/2/2015 - mreinitz wrote: 93 Points
I guess that I'm cooling on these Schrader cabs. They are undeniably tasty and well made, but the last few bottles I've opened have just seemed a little too much in your face. Tons of ripe blackberry and cassis fruit flavors along with plenty of oak and slightly drying tannins on the back end. Very flavorful, but more than I am looking for, especially in the summer
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12/28/2014 - pakabear Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted all day, this was great as usual for Schrader, tons of dark fruits, a bit jammy with integrated oak and tannins. Powerful yet well balanced. Too bad I only had 1...
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10/18/2014 - beau11 wrote: 99 Points
Drinking well young. Double decanted then slow ozed and drank over 4 hours. Amazing wine. Dense yet soft with a very nice long finish. Dark fruit profile
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7/6/2014 - B Paul wrote: 96 Points
Outstanding and drinking wonderfully.
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3/1/2014 - corkcork Likes this wine: 98 Points
Shared with Matt, simply put; it doesn't get much better than this IMHO
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12/25/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Black cherry, licorice, jam, blue fruit and chocolate work well the massive, balanced wall of ripe chocolate covered fruit. Suave and sophisticated, this forward styled wine is already drinking well.
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12/17/2012 - Biogregw Likes this wine: 95 Points
I agree with HARRYPOTTER, I think it may be a tad too young for consumption today. With air and time it really starts to shine through.
Ripe blackcurrant and blackberry with high toast that softens with time. One of the best 2009 Schrader wines. I will save my other bottle and taste again in 2-3 years.
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3/28/2012 - Harrypotter wrote:
Aromatically - Blueberry, marionberry, and a high amount of toast (currently slightly too high, but should integrate with time). This is a full bodied wine on the palate with initially a huge amount of fine grain tannin. With an hour the wine softens and rounds out. The palate has good depth, concentration and most of the components are integrated (it could have had slightly less Etoh). Very pleasant.
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