Huge wine! Really has some depth and lots of red ripe fruits. Nose is a pure hedonistic experience. Finish is very long. Drank with food which stepped this Cabernet up even more. Tannins were still quite present giving the comfort of many more years in the bottle! Great experience!
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I gave it a good 3-4 hour decant, but just found that it was a bit flabby and lacked precision. Great juice ofc ... but left me a bit ugh.... no fanfare of fireworks at that price point it should deliver a bit more.
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Pop and pour first glass. Sealing it back up and will have more over next few days. Though it had been standing up for about 4 days as I thought I would open sooner than I did. This seems more approachable than previous bottles. Time is serving it well. Tannins becoming increasingly silky. Feels just a little lighter in body, but gobs of fruit. Nice cassis, raspberry and a waft of cola. Long finish persists, which sometimes you miss if you go back to the glass too quickly.
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Extraordinary! Decanted 4 hours based on reading reviews below and noticing that all that decanted scored this wine higher. Rebottled and took to Capital Grille for early Valentines dinner. The nose on this wine is among the best I have ever had. From the moment I uncorkled, the fruits filled the room. And the same at the restaurant. Drank from Reidel Sommeliers Bordeaux glasses which really helped the boquet on this to shine. This is all dark fruits, mostly black but with some blue fruit notes in the background. Also got great licorice notes. The oak is well integrated and this wine had great weight and intensity. And WOW - what a finish! The finish was a nostril explosion that seemed to never end. We had a fabulous experience with this wine tonight - what a treat.
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Great bottle, huge potential. But still seems early as it’s fairly tannic. Great fruit, structure, depth and breadth. Nose of cinnamon, pepper, anise. A beauty, but will wait a couple of years for the next one prob
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Purple and black fruits with big body. Tasted with friends next to Sloan 2013 and Matthew Dempsey Wines 2019 Cabernets. Of the three, this had great structure, dense fruit, and was the second favorite. Sweet tannins and round mouthfeel. Still young and punchy with concentration and structure. Long finish but a bit dry and chalky tannins. At 2 hrs decanting, it is still chewy and think a few more years will do it well.
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This has continued to improve. Excellent. Color of dark red. Scents of muddled blackberry and raspberry. Tastes consistent with scents and smooth tannins, medium acidity, medium dry, with a lot going on in a good way.
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This was simply outstanding. I have had many Schrader wines, but for the first time I decanted this one for 4 hours and this made a profound difference. Unbelievable experience.
Served blind next to the 2014 Schrader LPV. Gotta say, between the two, the RBS really was the better wine for me. The balance is terrific, resulting in a wine with a better perceived 'weight', where the tannin and intensity of the style were complementary. In the RBS, the fruit is less dark to me, instead more blue toned with pure red fruits and just rich enough to have the modern touch. This was very good.
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Fantastic. 1 hour decant and then back in the bottle. Opened 1 hour later in the restaurant. Just perfect. Full bodied and expressive. Finish is bright and climbs with increasing intensity on the palate.
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Rich sweet oaky CA cab, vanilla, ripe black fruits; More balanced than the Tor which was over the top. Still, not particularly interesting IMHO. Dal Rae dinner
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Brought by good CT friend Jim Aronson to the table and it was easily the WOTN. Strong fruit, integrated tannins and acidity and a restrained yet beautiful oak component in the back ground. The most 'complete' wine of the night by far......thanks James!
This bottle screams for air, so would recommend at least good 3-5 hour decant. On PnP. Picked up some ‘Brett’ notes which blew off over a few hours.
Drank over 6 hours and this wine jest kept evolving, would have loved to see with more tone but we just couldn’t keep our hands off it.
This was a classic Schrader, was a fabulous mix of mostly blue & black fruit with a splash of red on the mix. Unlike others I’ve tried, the oak was not overly noticeable & integration was seamless. This had a mid palate that was incredible and so mouth coating along with a medium finish.
Was such a treat and think this has the potential to gain some weight with more bottle age, maybe bumping up a point or two.
Absolutely no hurry to drink and think I will wait another year or two before revisiting.
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The wine has a beautiful bouquet that sets the stage for what will be a fantastic wine. If you must open this wine now, then decant it for at least an hour. The tannins are there, but they are not fully integrated. Hold off on opening if you can, because it is too soon to open it. I think this is going to be a stellar wine for those who wait. Right now, it is a bit jammy--Mollydooker'ish.
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3 hour decant. Dark color, some sediment. Tannins already easing up. Very enjoyable but surprisingly thin. Didn’t pick up the long finish others mentions. Drink or hold.
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Flat out delicious. Decanted 4 hours. Needs about 10 more years in the cellar, to reach its prime drinking window, but the hedonistic version I drank last night was exquisite.
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Gave this about 2.5 hours to breathe under cork. Also opened a 2014 William Cole.
This RBS was the bigger wine. And needed a little more time - so we generally drank the William Cole first. And re-visited a small glass of this with dinner. But most of it stayed under cork until the following day.
It was even better on Day 2. Opened up a little more. Not a huge or overly tight wine; just darker profile and more guts than the William Cole. This drank like a baby. Can cellar for quite a while and it's not going anywhere.
Still has that wow factor that you want in a Schrader To Kalon.
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Big bold burst of dark black fruits, with a rich plushness. A smidge of vanillin but nowhere near the milkshake experience I was fearing. Tannins were nonexistent behind the lingering finish. Perhaps a bit too “straightforward”, lacking some of the subtlety a wine of this price point would typically possess - but that’s likely because it’s still so young. Drink now for pleasure or hold.
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4th of 4 bottles at a 6 person dinner, so not really in good note taking state at that point. But it was stunning and bold. Probably the WOTN though we didn’t formally declare one. Loads of fruit.
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General comments based on last night's dinner. Outstanding in all respects with spectacular fruit and superbly balanced tannins and a long finish. Very young. Most at the dinner had this Schrader as the wine of the night but I much preferred the mountain fruit from Impassable. It was a privilege to taste them side by side; for me there is a clear difference between fruit from steep slopes and fruit from bench land. 1. 2012 Hidden Ridge Impassable Mountain 99 points 2. 2001 Monte Bello 98 points 3. 2014 Schrader RBS 97 points 4. 2011 Shafer Relentless 97 points 5. 2003 Dominus 96 points 6. 2014 Dancing Hare 95 points 7. 2014 Abreu Madrona Ranch 94 points 8. 2014 Pride 93 points 9. 1995 Yquem 95 points
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Pnp, drank over 2 hours. A bit tight at first, got richer, fruitier over the 1st hour. Smooth tasting black fruits. Enjoyable & drinkable now but can age too.
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Fantastic—big red and blue fruit. Smoothed our after about an hour in the decanter. After two hours, the tannins became pretty powerful. But really great Schrader cab.
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Amazing from pnp but continued to improve throughout the night. Cassis, dark fruirs, grape sweet tarts. Sexy mouthfeel, great midpalate and 60 second finish.
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Wine Advocate: Grand Walkabout Tasting (NYC): Pepper, cassis, dark red fruits. Tannins that really pop. Long finish. Very, very lovely. It showed even better next to the 2012 Old Sparky.
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Served as part of a high end tasting to a group of CEOs and it was clearly the hit of the show. Still plenty of room to age of course, but showing so well.
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This '14 RBS was crazy good and think this could pop a point or two in coming years!
Popped at 9am to decant and back into bottle, for a 5:30pm dinner reservation - pre dinner at the AOC Wine Bar @ the Hollywood Bowl before the LAPhil 100 year anniversary concert. (and not for the polyester leisure suit early bird special @...... )
Took a taste at pop, and was just a primary mouth full of fruit, flavors went on and on, but was completely singular and disjointed.
Re-Opened at 5:30pm and on the pulling of the cork, the fragrance enveloped the table. This bad boy was following a '13 Sine Qua Non white, which was fabulous, not to mention being joined by an '11 Dark Blossom, so it had some tough competition!
Have to say, as all were just mere babies and we were - most definitely - cradle robbing, these all drank beautifully.
The RBS, with the close to 9 hour decant was a completely different wine than on the pnp from the morning, the mouthfeel on this bad boy just completely coated the mouth and tongue and the finish seemed to go on for 60 secs +.
This wine had a mix of Red, Blue and Black Fruit, so just when you think you had the profile down, another 'color' fruit got its foot in the door and keep the 'mouth party' going!!
We were all so focused on the amazing small plates that kept coming at us fast and furiously, plus the lack of room anywhere on the table to even come close to take any notes, the description will just have to end with this is one - it is one damn incredible wine!!
She is slightly ready for business now, IMHO however, would HIGHLY discourage anyone considering a PnP as you would be doing a complete injustice to this experience. The 9 hours seemed to be good, but the bottle did get even better over the 2 hours, so probably would have benefited from an even longer decant!
As they again were all great wines, this RBS was definitely my WOTN and so damn happy I have a few more of these babies!!
Gonna try keep my hands off the others and revisit in 2-3 years!
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Blackberry, vanilla and smokey anise on the nose. Very rich yet silky texture, very concentrated. Showing young but still very drinkable less than 4 years from harvest. Not sure how long it will go, but very compelling short term.
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Dark red and black fruit - blackberry, dark currants, dark cherry, and a little blueberry. Really smooth (seamless from beginning to end) coupled with solid depth and a beautiful purity. Nice vibrant flavors of dark berries, some spice, and a little mineral/graphite component. Fairly long finish. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Improved with time but drinking quite well after the decant. Really enjoyable now, however, I believe another year or two will benefit this vintage to let the fruit soften/integrate/open-up a little more. In my opinion, at the upper-end of Parker's 95 to 97 rating.
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Very young and primary now, but so delicious. Red and black fruits on the nose, with wonderful soft toasty oak. Very balanced in the mouth, decanted 10 hours and consumed over 2.
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Pnp, drank over 2 hours. Big, sweet smelling vanilla nose at first, then calmed down and fruit showed. Smooth tasting black fruits. Enjoyable and drinkable now.
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This is definitely a classic To Kalon Cabernet from a tremendous producer and wine maker. It is so well made -- from the stunning clarity in the glass, to the extraordinarily pure fruit, to the nearly perfect balance -- very hard to do much better than this in the 2014 vintage. Has a nose of dark cherries and blueberries, with some fresh cut flowers and vanilla mixed in. Stunningly High Definition clarity of reddish purple in the glass. Nicely forward flavors of blue black fruit, with a good level of stone and earthy elements mixed in. The tannin, wood and acid are all woven together seamlessly. Very nice, long and layered finish. Great wine, and already in a good place to drink. 96+
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Color of very very dark purple red. Scents of raspberry, light red fruit. Tastes consistent with scents, and definitely much much smoother (and less harsh tannins) than I would have anticipated given its young age. Very good!
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another supreme achievement by Schrader. With all the hype around Schrader wines, and Fred Schrader's omnipresent ascot, I really don't want to love these wines the way I do. But they cut through the BS with their brilliance.
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Nose is all Cab, on the sour side. First sip, little bit of spice, fruit cake, touch of heat. Second sip, still a bit of heat, concentrated fruit, hint of black licorice. Nice palate feel, massive but rewarding to sip.
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2/17/2024 - Bcw1989 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Huge wine! Really has some depth and lots of red ripe fruits. Nose is a pure hedonistic experience. Finish is very long. Drank with food which stepped this Cabernet up even more. Tannins were still quite present giving the comfort of many more years in the bottle! Great experience!
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10/1/2023 - MonacoMik wrote:
I gave it a good 3-4 hour decant, but just found that it was a bit flabby and lacked precision. Great juice ofc ... but left me a bit ugh.... no fanfare of fireworks at that price point it should deliver a bit more.
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8/8/2023 - brianngibson wrote: 96 Points
Pop and pour first glass. Sealing it back up and will have more over next few days. Though it had been standing up for about 4 days as I thought I would open sooner than I did. This seems more approachable than previous bottles. Time is serving it well. Tannins becoming increasingly silky. Feels just a little lighter in body, but gobs of fruit. Nice cassis, raspberry and a waft of cola. Long finish persists, which sometimes you miss if you go back to the glass too quickly.
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7/22/2023 - popasq Likes this wine: 97 Points
Did not decant this time, fabulous wine, still better if you can decant 2+ hours.
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6/23/2023 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted briefly. Showing bold and beautiful with bright, dense red fruit. This is a sturdy, smooth, well-constructed Napa Cab that won't disappoint.
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3/4/2023 - culater wrote: 96 Points
Decant and aerated for 4h.
Big Cab glas, 17-18C.
Enjoyed before dinner and With red meat.
Outstanding, Very long, complex.
Less cassis, more moccha, Coke, vanilla, Blackberry, sweet licorice root. prickly/black pepper.
Prefer 16-17C, rather than 18-19.
Just as good with hard cheese and serrano, as With red meat and bea.
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2/10/2023 - TastesGoodToMe Likes this wine: 99 Points
Extraordinary! Decanted 4 hours based on reading reviews below and noticing that all that decanted scored this wine higher. Rebottled and took to Capital Grille for early Valentines dinner. The nose on this wine is among the best I have ever had. From the moment I uncorkled, the fruits filled the room. And the same at the restaurant. Drank from Reidel Sommeliers Bordeaux glasses which really helped the boquet on this to shine. This is all dark fruits, mostly black but with some blue fruit notes in the background. Also got great licorice notes. The oak is well integrated and this wine had great weight and intensity. And WOW - what a finish! The finish was a nostril explosion that seemed to never end. We had a fabulous experience with this wine tonight - what a treat.
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11/24/2022 - Mjladha Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great bottle, huge potential. But still seems early as it’s fairly tannic. Great fruit, structure, depth and breadth. Nose of cinnamon, pepper, anise. A beauty, but will wait a couple of years for the next one prob
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11/20/2022 - jkwoodward Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drank at bazaar meat in Vegas. Amazing silky undertones with great fruit.
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5/23/2022 - CGC2012 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Purple and black fruits with big body. Tasted with friends next to Sloan 2013 and Matthew Dempsey Wines 2019 Cabernets. Of the three, this had great structure, dense fruit, and was the second favorite. Sweet tannins and round mouthfeel. Still young and punchy with concentration and structure. Long finish but a bit dry and chalky tannins. At 2 hrs decanting, it is still chewy and think a few more years will do it well.
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3/7/2022 - Acohen Likes this wine: 96 Points
Rich intense fruit with currant, raspberry and smooth tannins leading to a lingering finish
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2/20/2022 - dase13 Likes this wine: 96 Points
This has continued to improve. Excellent. Color of dark red. Scents of muddled blackberry and raspberry. Tastes consistent with scents and smooth tannins, medium acidity, medium dry, with a lot going on in a good way.
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12/10/2021 - jshufelt wrote: 93 Points
Brief notes (next day recollections) - deep inky magenta, palate staining and fruit driven, enjoyable now but so young.
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12/6/2021 - popasq wrote: 98 Points
This was simply outstanding. I have had many Schrader wines, but for the first time I decanted this one for 4 hours and this made a profound difference. Unbelievable experience.
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8/21/2021 - Niagara wrote:
in some sort of dumb phase? neither fish nor fowl ... not young, but not mature. awkward.
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6/19/2021 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Served blind next to the 2014 Schrader LPV. Gotta say, between the two, the RBS really was the better wine for me. The balance is terrific, resulting in a wine with a better perceived 'weight', where the tannin and intensity of the style were complementary. In the RBS, the fruit is less dark to me, instead more blue toned with pure red fruits and just rich enough to have the modern touch. This was very good.
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6/13/2021 - bigdogflow Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark ruby color. Tremendous concentration of flavor, with lots of dark fruit, dark chocolate cherry, medium/long finish.
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4/24/2021 - Jimaronson Likes this wine: 98 Points
Fantastic. 1 hour decant and then back in the bottle. Opened 1 hour later in the restaurant. Just perfect. Full bodied and expressive. Finish is bright and climbs with increasing intensity on the palate.
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4/17/2021 - Crazy joe Likes this wine:
Awesome
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4/17/2021 - Crazy joe wrote:
Best wine I have had in years. Smooth velvet finish
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4/4/2021 - Backdoctor wrote: 95 Points
another awesome Schrader
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3/27/2021 - EM_MB Likes this wine: 95 Points
4 hour decant. Thinness of prior bottle wasn’t an issue. Quintessential BTK wine. Thoroughly enjoyable. Drink now.
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3/21/2021 - peternelson wrote: 90 Points
Rich sweet oaky CA cab, vanilla, ripe black fruits; More balanced than the Tor which was over the top. Still, not particularly interesting IMHO. Dal Rae dinner
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3/11/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 97 Points
Brought by good CT friend Jim Aronson to the table and it was easily the WOTN. Strong fruit, integrated tannins and acidity and a restrained yet beautiful oak component in the back ground. The most 'complete' wine of the night by far......thanks James!
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3/7/2021 - houstonjeff@hotmail.com Likes this wine: 96 Points
Best Napa wine I have tasted this year. Drinking extremely well right now.
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12/26/2020 - Cabernet4me2 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Just exceptional and incredibly youthful.
This bottle screams for air, so would recommend at least good 3-5 hour decant. On PnP. Picked up some ‘Brett’ notes which blew off over a few hours.
Drank over 6 hours and this wine jest kept evolving, would have loved to see with more tone but we just couldn’t keep our hands off it.
This was a classic Schrader, was a fabulous mix of mostly blue & black fruit with a splash of red on the mix. Unlike others I’ve tried, the oak was not overly noticeable & integration was seamless. This had a mid palate that was incredible and so mouth coating along with a medium finish.
Was such a treat and think this has the potential to gain some weight with more bottle age, maybe bumping up a point or two.
Absolutely no hurry to drink and think I will wait another year or two before revisiting.
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10/24/2020 - Smksmk Likes this wine: 95 Points
Fantastic and balanced dark fruit and oak. Perfectly developed spice and tannin. Excellent in every sense.
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7/8/2020 - ChinonRouge Likes this wine: 92 Points
The wine has a beautiful bouquet that sets the stage for what will be a fantastic wine. If you must open this wine now, then decant it for at least an hour. The tannins are there, but they are not fully integrated. Hold off on opening if you can, because it is too soon to open it. I think this is going to be a stellar wine for those who wait. Right now, it is a bit jammy--Mollydooker'ish.
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5/30/2020 - EM_MB Likes this wine: 93 Points
3 hour decant. Dark color, some sediment. Tannins already easing up. Very enjoyable but surprisingly thin. Didn’t pick up the long finish others mentions. Drink or hold.
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5/5/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 96 Points
Big, ripe, and rich... a bit tight out of the bottle, better with air. Will be better in a few years, but still very enjoyable now.
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4/25/2020 - brianngibson wrote: 97 Points
Big wine with a long finish.
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4/24/2020 - Sauvyfan Likes this wine: 95 Points
Flat out delicious. Decanted 4 hours. Needs about 10 more years in the cellar, to reach its prime drinking window, but the hedonistic version I drank last night was exquisite.
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4/17/2020 - ageverett Likes this wine: 96 Points
Gave this about 2.5 hours to breathe under cork. Also opened a 2014 William Cole.
This RBS was the bigger wine. And needed a little more time - so we generally drank the William Cole first. And re-visited a small glass of this with dinner. But most of it stayed under cork until the following day.
It was even better on Day 2. Opened up a little more. Not a huge or overly tight wine; just darker profile and more guts than the William Cole. This drank like a baby. Can cellar for quite a while and it's not going anywhere.
Still has that wow factor that you want in a Schrader To Kalon.
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11/17/2019 - BadOyster wrote: 95 Points
Big bold burst of dark black fruits, with a rich plushness. A smidge of vanillin but nowhere near the milkshake experience I was fearing. Tannins were nonexistent behind the lingering finish. Perhaps a bit too “straightforward”, lacking some of the subtlety a wine of this price point would typically possess - but that’s likely because it’s still so young. Drink now for pleasure or hold.
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11/3/2019 - brianngibson wrote: 96 Points
4th of 4 bottles at a 6 person dinner, so not really in good note taking state at that point. But it was stunning and bold. Probably the WOTN though we didn’t formally declare one. Loads of fruit.
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8/17/2019 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 95 Points
Big mocha shake with firm tannins and big round mouthfeel. Finish goes on and on.
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8/3/2019 - In vino potestus est Likes this wine: 97 Points
General comments based on last night's dinner. Outstanding in all respects with spectacular fruit and superbly balanced tannins and a long finish. Very young. Most at the dinner had this Schrader as the wine of the night but I much preferred the mountain fruit from Impassable. It was a privilege to taste them side by side; for me there is a clear difference between fruit from steep slopes and fruit from bench land.
1. 2012 Hidden Ridge Impassable Mountain 99 points
2. 2001 Monte Bello 98 points
3. 2014 Schrader RBS 97 points
4. 2011 Shafer Relentless 97 points
5. 2003 Dominus 96 points
6. 2014 Dancing Hare 95 points
7. 2014 Abreu Madrona Ranch 94 points
8. 2014 Pride 93 points
9. 1995 Yquem 95 points
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7/21/2019 - dase13 wrote: 95 Points
Father’s Day
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6/30/2019 - patwjr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Pnp, drank over 2 hours. A bit tight at first, got richer, fruitier over the 1st hour. Smooth tasting black fruits. Enjoyable & drinkable now but can age too.
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5/16/2019 - VinoDiver Likes this wine: 97 Points
1.5 hours of air. rounded tannins, good fruit and nice nose. Drinking well and should continue to improve.
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5/11/2019 - J-Sho Likes this wine: 98 Points
Brought to drink at Localis for pairing with an amazing dinner. Beautiful, soft and supple currently and will only get better with a few more years.
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1/27/2019 - brigcampbell wrote:
This is delicious, as always. Big and concentrated. Prickly tannins, light smoke, sweet red currant and mouth coating.
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12/28/2018 - tcarter Likes this wine: 96 Points
Fantastic—big red and blue fruit. Smoothed our after about an hour in the decanter. After two hours, the tannins became pretty powerful. But really great Schrader cab.
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12/10/2018 - Rob_Sutherland Likes this wine: 95 Points
Massive but balanced in every way. A joy to drink.
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11/23/2018 - CabIsKing wrote: 98 Points
Beautiful nose of raspberry, currants and hints of blueberries. Big and bold on the tongue with an extremely long finish. Very good wine!!
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11/17/2018 - beau11 wrote: 99 Points
Amazing from pnp but continued to improve throughout the night. Cassis, dark fruirs, grape sweet tarts. Sexy mouthfeel, great midpalate and 60 second finish.
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11/10/2018 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 94 Points
A powerhouse of ripe red fruit and some fennel, sweet and unctuous, but almost too high octane. Give it a few years to settle.
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11/10/2018 - jgreco Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wine Advocate: Grand Walkabout Tasting (NYC): Pepper, cassis, dark red fruits. Tannins that really pop. Long finish. Very, very lovely. It showed even better next to the 2012 Old Sparky.
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11/5/2018 - Wingate Cellars Likes this wine: 98 Points
Served as part of a high end tasting to a group of CEOs and it was clearly the hit of the show. Still plenty of room to age of course, but showing so well.
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9/30/2018 - Cabernet4me2 Likes this wine: 97 Points
This '14 RBS was crazy good and think this could pop a point or two in coming years!
Popped at 9am to decant and back into bottle, for a 5:30pm dinner reservation - pre dinner at the AOC Wine Bar @ the Hollywood Bowl before the LAPhil 100 year anniversary concert. (and not for the polyester leisure suit early bird special @...... )
Took a taste at pop, and was just a primary mouth full of fruit, flavors went on and on, but was completely singular and disjointed.
Re-Opened at 5:30pm and on the pulling of the cork, the fragrance enveloped the table. This bad boy was following a '13 Sine Qua Non white, which was fabulous, not to mention being joined by an '11 Dark Blossom, so it had some tough competition!
Have to say, as all were just mere babies and we were - most definitely - cradle robbing, these all drank beautifully.
The RBS, with the close to 9 hour decant was a completely different wine than on the pnp from the morning, the mouthfeel on this bad boy just completely coated the mouth and tongue and the finish seemed to go on for 60 secs +.
This wine had a mix of Red, Blue and Black Fruit, so just when you think you had the profile down, another 'color' fruit got its foot in the door and keep the 'mouth party' going!!
We were all so focused on the amazing small plates that kept coming at us fast and furiously, plus the lack of room anywhere on the table to even come close to take any notes, the description will just have to end with this is one - it is one damn incredible wine!!
She is slightly ready for business now, IMHO however, would HIGHLY discourage anyone considering a PnP as you would be doing a complete injustice to this experience. The 9 hours seemed to be good, but the bottle did get even better over the 2 hours, so probably would have benefited from an even longer decant!
As they again were all great wines, this RBS was definitely my WOTN and so damn happy I have a few more of these babies!!
Gonna try keep my hands off the others and revisit in 2-3 years!
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8/11/2018 - llink wrote: 97 Points
Blackberry, vanilla and smokey anise on the nose. Very rich yet silky texture, very concentrated. Showing young but still very drinkable less than 4 years from harvest. Not sure how long it will go, but very compelling short term.
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8/4/2018 - SAS54 wrote: 98 Points
Just damn good. Decanted for 60 min.
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6/10/2018 - Badmonkey wrote: 97 Points
Dark red and black fruit - blackberry, dark currants, dark cherry, and a little blueberry. Really smooth (seamless from beginning to end) coupled with solid depth and a beautiful purity. Nice vibrant flavors of dark berries, some spice, and a little mineral/graphite component. Fairly long finish. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Improved with time but drinking quite well after the decant. Really enjoyable now, however, I believe another year or two will benefit this vintage to let the fruit soften/integrate/open-up a little more. In my opinion, at the upper-end of Parker's 95 to 97 rating.
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5/12/2018 - Backdoctor wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 3 hours, in the bottle two more. After 15 mins in glass exploded with red fruit. Soft tannins.
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4/28/2018 - bubbachumps wrote: 95 Points
Very young and primary now, but so delicious. Red and black fruits on the nose, with wonderful soft toasty oak. Very balanced in the mouth, decanted 10 hours and consumed over 2.
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3/11/2018 - patwjr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Pnp, drank over 2 hours. Big, sweet smelling vanilla nose at first, then calmed down and fruit showed. Smooth tasting black fruits. Enjoyable and drinkable now.
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12/11/2017 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 96 Points
This is definitely a classic To Kalon Cabernet from a tremendous producer and wine maker. It is so well made -- from the stunning clarity in the glass, to the extraordinarily pure fruit, to the nearly perfect balance -- very hard to do much better than this in the 2014 vintage. Has a nose of dark cherries and blueberries, with some fresh cut flowers and vanilla mixed in. Stunningly High Definition clarity of reddish purple in the glass. Nicely forward flavors of blue black fruit, with a good level of stone and earthy elements mixed in. The tannin, wood and acid are all woven together seamlessly. Very nice, long and layered finish. Great wine, and already in a good place to drink. 96+
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11/23/2017 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 96 Points
Amazing wine with super soft mouthfeel and touch of vanilla on the finish. Hard to believe this will get better than this!
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9/9/2017 - dase13 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Color of very very dark purple red. Scents of raspberry, light red fruit. Tastes consistent with scents, and definitely much much smoother (and less harsh tannins) than I would have anticipated given its young age. Very good!
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5/19/2017 - Neskers86 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very good California Cab. Little early but will be a big red. Had at Valones in Houston.
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5/12/2017 - lucaslabelle wrote: 96 Points
Absolutely breathtaking. Luxurious, unctuous and beautiful. Drink or hold both will provide immense pleasure. 96+
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1/15/2017 - BrixandCru Likes this wine: 96 Points
Amazing!
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12/30/2016 - Niagara wrote: 96 Points
another supreme achievement by Schrader. With all the hype around Schrader wines, and Fred Schrader's omnipresent ascot, I really don't want to love these wines the way I do. But they cut through the BS with their brilliance.
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11/25/2016 - shadow wrote: 96 Points
Nose is all Cab, on the sour side.
First sip, little bit of spice, fruit cake, touch of heat.
Second sip, still a bit of heat, concentrated fruit, hint of black licorice.
Nice palate feel, massive but rewarding to sip.
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