This showed beautifully this night. Decanted 6 hours and was ready to go. COnsistent with my last note but showcased a wonderful richness that exceeded my last time tasting!
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PNP. Inky black/purple color. Cassis, blackberry compote and vanilla on the nose. Plush texture, blackberry fruit, medium acid, sneaky tannins that finish quite dry. Big but balanced.
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Very deep purple. Deep and luscious but with notable freshness, this leaps from the glass with aromas of fresh blackberry, fresh black raspberry, crème de framboise, violets, hot loamy earth and toast. Very full bodied, this coats every inch of the palate, but the acidity provides balance, the tannins are ripe and while fruit-driven, repeating notes of violets keep this interesting. This is massive but approachable.
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This was spectacular, one of the best Schrader's I have had. I usually decant for at least 4+ hours, chose not to decant at all and drank it over 2+ hours and it was fabulous. We do debate in our family whether to decant or not decant, as decanting will integrate the different taste better but not decanting will allow to taste each different flavors better. Curious if anyone has comments on this!?
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excellent and drinking well in its youth. i tend to favor Schrader wines young ... although of course ageworthy they seem like wines best enjoyed in their exuberant youth.
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Agree with some of the previous posts. More red-fruited and nuanced, Beautiful nose with red currant, red licorice and some minerals. Nice balance on the palate. I was concerned due to the vintage but this came through and was delicious. Decanted 4 hours before consuming.
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Incredibly smooth. This wine may not stir up the excitement of a wine with bold and intense flavors, but it subtly delicious, and against a tasty 2016 Realm Bard it was the (marginally) favorite for 4 out of the 5 of us.
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The RBS displays a fruity demeanor (especially when next to the more narrow and bitter/mineral-laced delivery of the CCS). However, not unlike the CCS, the RBS stays juvenile in its execution. Unripe red cherry, crunchy purple plum, and raspberry seed dominate the core. Hits the palate flat and hollow, finishing with a fruity-ish but diluted tail.
As with many 2017s from the Valley, the RBS and CCS show the challenges of the vintage on their sleeves in the form of hollow mid-palates. There’s just no way to escape it. Assuming this fruit was picked before the fires, it was likely from the younger vines or earlier picks of TK, which most producers would have ideally blended with later picks for more complexity and depth...had the fires not hit. And what fruit was harvested earlier could not escape the pummeling of the heat, especially out of Oakville. ...At least, that’s how these wines come off.
In any event, if you bought your allocation of “Super Fun Pack” or “Dandy Unicorn Pack” or whatever Fred Schrader is calling his bundles these days, best to wait a few years and see how the elements ultimately shake out. It’s a glass-half-empty scenario unfortunately by my estimation.
Try not to don your realism hat when popping these, or you might get Sad Panda palate when you recall the tariff you paid for the ultimate quality of these particular wines. You basically bought the best someone could do given the circumstances... and hopefully that’s enough of a justification. I know, none of us like to think we dropped serious coin on sub-par juice. But unless you’re a JD score chaser and think everything out of Napa above $200+ a bottle has to be a 100 point wine, then this wine should rightly give you pause.
My first Schrader, and it did not disappoint. Had as a pop and pour in the coronavirus lockdown. Complex, medium body, with lots of red and black fruit. Smooth, with soft tannins.
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This wine bears the markings of 2017 in the early going: more medium-bodied, more red-fruit, less deep, more floral. Still, this is a delicious and nuanced wine that should get even better in a year or two. I look forward to trying this in 2022.
Cherry red in color; medium in body (1% milk, when you're used to 2%); nose of cherry pie, menthol, mocha, and violet. Tastes of macerated blueberry, raspberry, anise, and pine needles, with a grainy yet fresh finish (read: not as dense or plush as usual). 14.5% alcohol. Decant at least two hours.
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Not sure if it's the vintage or the wine. This was my first Schrader. It wasn't as good as I expected from To Kalon. Used Coravin and let sit for over 2 hours in glass. Maybe wait another 2 years.
12/16/2023 - bubbachumps wrote: 96 Points
This showed beautifully this night. Decanted 6 hours and was ready to go. COnsistent with my last note but showcased a wonderful richness that exceeded my last time tasting!
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10/28/2023 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Double decanted and left alone for a day and just glorious. Was still hot and unsettled on opening.
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12/11/2022 - llink wrote: 95 Points
PNP. Inky black/purple color. Cassis, blackberry compote and vanilla on the nose. Plush texture, blackberry fruit, medium acid, sneaky tannins that finish quite dry. Big but balanced.
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10/27/2022 - wino_tim wrote: 93 Points
Very deep purple. Deep and luscious but with notable freshness, this leaps from the glass with aromas of fresh blackberry, fresh black raspberry, crème de framboise, violets, hot loamy earth and toast. Very full bodied, this coats every inch of the palate, but the acidity provides balance, the tannins are ripe and while fruit-driven, repeating notes of violets keep this interesting. This is massive but approachable.
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10/22/2022 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for about two hours - smooth as velvet. Nice dark fruit, oak certainly discernable but not overwhelming. A crowd pleaser as always.
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4/24/2022 - popasq Likes this wine: 97 Points
This was spectacular, one of the best Schrader's I have had. I usually decant for at least 4+ hours, chose not to decant at all and drank it over 2+ hours and it was fabulous. We do debate in our family whether to decant or not decant, as decanting will integrate the different taste better but not decanting will allow to taste each different flavors better. Curious if anyone has comments on this!?
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8/21/2021 - Niagara wrote: 95 Points
excellent and drinking well in its youth. i tend to favor Schrader wines young ... although of course ageworthy they seem like wines best enjoyed in their exuberant youth.
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7/23/2021 - happy712 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Lower scores were because the wine wasn’t decanted long enough. Decant 10 hours. Absolutely worthy of the Schrader name.
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3/29/2021 - jimyeni wrote: 93 Points
Solid but not spectacular. A little tired tasting through the middle. It’s good but I’m holding. A higher bar for this price point.
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12/5/2020 - bubbachumps wrote: 94 Points
Agree with some of the previous posts. More red-fruited and nuanced, Beautiful nose with red currant, red licorice and some minerals. Nice balance on the palate. I was concerned due to the vintage but this came through and was delicious. Decanted 4 hours before consuming.
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11/24/2020 - sonodoc Likes this wine: 96 Points
Incredibly smooth. This wine may not stir up the excitement of a wine with bold and intense flavors, but it subtly delicious, and against a tasty 2016 Realm Bard it was the (marginally) favorite for 4 out of the 5 of us.
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4/5/2020 - csimm wrote: 91 Points
2017 Schrader RBS and CCS side-by-side.
The RBS displays a fruity demeanor (especially when next to the more narrow and bitter/mineral-laced delivery of the CCS). However, not unlike the CCS, the RBS stays juvenile in its execution. Unripe red cherry, crunchy purple plum, and raspberry seed dominate the core. Hits the palate flat and hollow, finishing with a fruity-ish but diluted tail.
As with many 2017s from the Valley, the RBS and CCS show the challenges of the vintage on their sleeves in the form of hollow mid-palates. There’s just no way to escape it. Assuming this fruit was picked before the fires, it was likely from the younger vines or earlier picks of TK, which most producers would have ideally blended with later picks for more complexity and depth...had the fires not hit. And what fruit was harvested earlier could not escape the pummeling of the heat, especially out of Oakville. ...At least, that’s how these wines come off.
In any event, if you bought your allocation of “Super Fun Pack” or “Dandy Unicorn Pack” or whatever Fred Schrader is calling his bundles these days, best to wait a few years and see how the elements ultimately shake out. It’s a glass-half-empty scenario unfortunately by my estimation.
Try not to don your realism hat when popping these, or you might get Sad Panda palate when you recall the tariff you paid for the ultimate quality of these particular wines. You basically bought the best someone could do given the circumstances... and hopefully that’s enough of a justification. I know, none of us like to think we dropped serious coin on sub-par juice. But unless you’re a JD score chaser and think everything out of Napa above $200+ a bottle has to be a 100 point wine, then this wine should rightly give you pause.
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4/3/2020 - sonodoc Likes this wine: 94 Points
My first Schrader, and it did not disappoint. Had as a pop and pour in the coronavirus lockdown. Complex, medium body, with lots of red and black fruit. Smooth, with soft tannins.
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2/29/2020 - msuwine wrote: 94 Points
This wine bears the markings of 2017 in the early going: more medium-bodied, more red-fruit, less deep, more floral. Still, this is a delicious and nuanced wine that should get even better in a year or two. I look forward to trying this in 2022.
Cherry red in color; medium in body (1% milk, when you're used to 2%); nose of cherry pie, menthol, mocha, and violet. Tastes of macerated blueberry, raspberry, anise, and pine needles, with a grainy yet fresh finish (read: not as dense or plush as usual). 14.5% alcohol. Decant at least two hours.
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2/22/2020 - happy712 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Not sure if it's the vintage or the wine. This was my first Schrader. It wasn't as good as I expected from To Kalon. Used Coravin and let sit for over 2 hours in glass. Maybe wait another 2 years.
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6/9/2019 - mactheknife wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 2 hours; very nice wine but too young. Thought a long decant would do, but not so. Lots of potential, wait 3 years
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