April 12, 2022 - Cali Cults in CLT thru the decades (MacDonald, Scarecrow, Bond, Schrader and more) (Charlotte, NC): Decanted 5.5 hours in advance and left in the decanter for 3 hours before back in bottle for slow-ox until serving. Opulent aromatic nose of dusty red raspberries. Plush on the mouthfeel – notes of black currants and mocha balance against a gentle minerality. Intense and pure modern Napa fruit. Maturing tannins provide delightful texture against the full-bodied dark-fruit flavor of this wine. If you like Thomas Rivers Brown and Schrader, this is a wine for you. Great now with years of life ahead of it. 14.5 alcohol
March 14, 2020 - Truly lives up to the hype on an evening out with SS LF HL DR FK before the coming COVID19 apocalypse. Broad, full, and velvety mouthfeel with showy wild cherry and berry flavors. Excellent balance between the lush red fruits and sweet long tannins. Long pretty finish showing lovely baking spices. Nothing to complain about here and probably near peak, yet no hurry to drink up. A classic Napa cab.
November 16, 2019 - Drinking perfectly, do not wait any longer to consume this. Out of this world.
October 20, 2018 - Decanted for over 1 hour, then drank over next 3 hours. So rich, so smooth, so delicious! Really great during 2nd hour, but kicked into AMAZING in 3rd/4th hours. WOW wine!
April 7, 2018 - Incredible wine. Aging a bit since the last bottle bottle I had a year ago, so recommend drinking up soon! It was ready to go only minutes after opening.
February 26, 2016 - Had this with friends at home. One of the best wines I have ever had. Good friend, knowledgeable felt the same. Wish I had, could get more..
December 30, 2015 - I had the pleasure to enjoy 1 glass of this great wine on a christmas party. I am not yet a fan of reds but this one really gets me to it. Fine tannin and deep and broad taste. Maybe it was not good for my future trips into reds because I guess there are not a lot of wines that can reach this fantastic red wine.
September 1, 2014 - My highest score for any wine, ever. Had this at Craft on the exact date of our 24-year anniversary and it was spectacular! I wanted to enjoy the moment and not try to capture notes, so sorry. If you've ever been in the Blue Grotto at Capri and spent your time taking pictures instead of soaking in the splendor then you know what I mean.
This was as close to perfection as I've come. The balance between the fruit, the opulence, minerality and length of finish was astounding. Stacy loved it and the sommelier told the chef/staff that they better make this a great meal because there's a great bottle out there on the table...
And yes, dinner was amazing! This paired so well with a 28-oz dry-aged ribeye, Yukon gold pureed, and even the sweet corn. What a worthy day to enjoy such an amazing wine!
June 21, 2014 - Impromptu gathering (Washington DC): I usually find intense sweet yet cool blue fruits in Schraders but not here. Intense jammy red fruit driven nose and incredible amount of sweet spices. Incredible concentration that masks the tannins completely. For me, it is so intense that it is slightly overwhelming. Impressive scale, it definitely merits 100 but for my palate at this stage, it is not as enjoyable as the 89 Haut Brion and the 94 Harlan.
January 5, 2013 - Garnet in color. Somewhat unexpected nose with bright red fruit, cherry, mineral, a hint of mint along w slightly sweet note of molasses. Unlike many Schrader's this is moderately weighted but still enraptured with complexity and layering. Smooth tannins and a long beautiful finish. WS gave this 100 and I can see why. I'm going 98 as I still tend to like the T6 better.