March 18, 2024 - Simply outstanding, I wish I could keep a bottle to try in 10 or 20 years!
January 20, 2024 - My Napa tastes have become quite picky in recent years and if there is a wine that continues to surprise me that I continue to enjoy it’s Schrader. These things are ripe, full throttle, and in your face but how they do it simply works. They are consistently good and fun to drink. This was no exception. It opens beautifully over about three hours with wood and cedar mixing effortlessly with the huge fruit. This is not the best Schrader bottling but it’s still enjoyable.
January 19, 2024 - PnP, no decant needed. Very aromatic with blue and black fruit, anise, spice, eucalyptus with a touch of pencil shavings. Deep and dense, full bodied with blue and black fruits, anise, spice pencil shavings. Silky smooth with smooth tannins in a long finish.
January 3, 2024 - Clear winner/WOTN vs 2019 Adversity Papas and 2017 Bevan Tench EE. Silky smoothe right out of the gate with beautiful plum and red fruit notes. Fully integrated tannin and a long finish. Will drink this over the next 10 years and will LOVE IT!
November 24, 2023 - Friendsgiving Dinner (Schur House - Riverwoods IL): Walkaround tasting. My first time tasting RBS from 2016, and it is certainly one of the finest Schrader wines I have ever tasting, almost certainly the most refined and elegant.
October 25, 2023 - A perfect match to a grilled New York Strip, PnP and showing well immediately. Deep, dense, blue and black fruit, anise, spice, eucalyptus with a touch of pencil shavings on the nose. Similar flavors with a full body, more blue and black fruits, anise, spice pencil shavings. Silky smooth with smooth tannins in a long finish. Amazingly good now, but still has a huge upside in waiting a few more years
August 26, 2023 - Big nose of dark fruits that faded in the glass. Black berries, dark cherries with a bit of tartness -a long lingering finish with brisk tannins that linger. A great wine - I better like it - I have 6 more of them
June 17, 2023 - Really good with loads of fruit, but not all heavy or overdone. Black and blue fruit end of the spectrum mixed with well defined tannin and wood make this a great wine to consume with decanting. Really enjoyed it.
April 25, 2023 - Slow ox'd with the cork removed at room temp for 3 hours, cork back in and back into the cellar for 2 hours to chill prior to pouring for our event. Deep opaque garnet in the glass. Notable nose of vanilla, Chinese five spice, rose petals it fills out more coming to room temp over an hour in the glass. A nose reminiscent of a Hundred Acre barrel treatment, if that makes sense. Chewy red fruit with med+ tannins, an overall sweet note to the fruit with 14.9% alc slightly noted. The weight in the glass was surprisingly a touch on the lighter side and noted by all of us, I think. WOTN, for me and very enjoyable, but not sure that I'd buy more at this price point now.
April 14, 2023 - Time has been very good to this wine. Previously needed a decant. Tonight, PnP and showing well immediately. Deep, dense, blue and black fruit, anise, spice, eucalyptus with a touch of pencil shavings on the nose. Similar flavors with a full body, more blue and black fruits, anise, spice pencil shavings. Silky smooth with smooth tannins in a long finish. Amazingly good now, but still has a huge upside in waiting a few more years. No hurry to open my last few bottles.