Double decanted 3 hours before drinking. A modicum of lees decanted off. Excellent nose of mostly dark fruits. The palate started out with excellent structure overlaying licorice, dark cherry, cedar, excellent acidity and cassis. Thus is an outstanding wine with many years left to mature further.
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Schrader multi-vintage tasting: A slight funk on the nose gives way to more pronounced fruit aromas of wild berries and plum. On the palate, dark berry compote is intermixed with leather, cedar, and currant notes, signaling the progression of this wine and its comparative age amongst its other siblings. Considering it is 13 years from vintage, this CCS has plenty of requisite energy and verve, with a notable grip that persists with air. The more developed leather and cigar notes add interest, especially for those looking for some additional nuance and secondary/tertiary flavors from these otherwise big and lusciously rich wines. Drink now and over the next 5-7 years.
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Nice compliment to our Wagyu Strip steak at the Summit. Blueberry, blackberry with a hint of chocolate. Crisp , smooth and well balanced. Dont think this will improve with more age. Drink Up!
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3 1/2 hour decant. Deep ruby colored. Even after the decant some strong butterscotch aromas that eventually blew off. Medium plus bodied with strong grippy tannins and medium acid. Very concetrated with dark fruits on the front along with graphite and coffee grounds and some real oakiness mid-palate. Not much changed on day two -- a bit more fruit but still very tannic. This needs a lot more time.
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I opened and decanted for 3 hours on the 24th. I drank about 25% of the bottle and it was good, but not great. I opened again on the 25th and the wine had softened nicely and really had a nice long finish. I let it slow ox all day and re-visited for hours. The last sip was the best for me which means it needs more age for my taste. If you like bigger edge cali cabs then this drinks great now but with another 3-5 years I think this gets better and better.
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Casual Dinner w/Friends (R&R's): No formal note. Courtesy of our hosts, opened some time before dinner and allowed to breathe in bottle. In two words- hot damn. This is something special. Not as big as I anticipated this would be, this was more elegant. Lovely perfune of violets, cassis, currant, black cherry liqueur and bitter chocolate. Silky tannins; wonderful mouthfeel. Red and black fruit, herbs, soft spice and chocolate. Balanced; long finish. Liquid velvet texture. Wow.
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6oz via coravin. Wine remains young, however within early drinking period. Dark red color no browning. Within an hour, scents of sweet dark fruits intertwined with floral orange blossoms and oak emerge. On palate it packs a bunch of dense dark fruits. Tannins noticeable but don't affect the drinking joy. For those who doubt California wine is short lived, I'd cellar a bottle for a decade or 2 more. We think they will be in for a pleasant surprise.
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"Cult Wines" & a Few Others (Jason P's, St. Paul, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Decanted for 3.5 hours. Drank a glass plus over 3 hours. Despite the decant - and this never went back into bottle before serving, this took some serious glass time to really open up on the nose. Maybe a good 30 minutes in, this developed a more classical Napa Cabernet nose with a nice perfume of dark chocolate, graphite, and cassis. The palate is pretty open from the start and gets better also. This is deep and concentrated, but really more of a mid-weight plus feel despite being what I'd call full bodied on the palate, dark fruits, cassis predominates, very pretty, slightly herbal, succulent fruits, citrus and pomegranate, gravelly minerality, medium plus finish. I like this, feels well put together and the class of the flight. 93+ to maybe 94pts.
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Decanted and served. Thick body with notes of volcanic soil along with a very intense, palate-filling dark fruit. Perhaps a bit overstated for my taste but a jolly, delicious wine.
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Fabulous wine. Schrader never makes a bad wine especially if you like amped up Cabernets! Great with food and easy drinking afterward. Had a little left and finished it next day. Still had the traditional Schrader characteristics.
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A wonderfully balanced yet powerful cabernet that live up to its billing. Decanted for 3 hours, it was a bold cab with black fruit and forest floor aromatics followed by bold black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors. It could be cellared for another 15 - 20 years, but was “epic” and “next level” now (according to 2 friends of mine).
notes from a two day decant; first day was too wound even with a two hour decant. let it sit in my temperature cooled cellar. day two was amazing. seductive, tons of perfume, cassis and layers of fruit. this just needs tons of time to open up and when it does, its about as hedonistic and polished as it gets.
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This continued to get better with air. I finished it at 4 hours and was still getting better. This might deserve 100, but I'll need to drink it again to be sure.
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Decanted for 6 hours. This wine is a powerhouse. Dark fruit on the initial taste with a bold, complex finish. Some hints of violets, menthol and tar on the nose. This wine has tons of life ahead of it judging by the intensity. 97+ because this wine will score even higher with some more time to integrate. Beautiful showing of To Kalon fruit.
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Drank at Sweet Basil, Vail. Wow! This wine has it all. It is concentrated, intense and elegant at the same time. Not a thick fruit bomb by any means. This had a deep ruby color and opened up with an array of spice notes and cigar box notes. Very elegant on the palate. With time in the decanter berry notes, earth and minerality started to come out. I will say 98+ right now only because I detected some astringent tannins on the finish. It is young and once these integrate this will be 100 points for sure. Those who criticize Napa wines of being too ripe and over extracted need to try this; it is truly unique.
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11/25/2021 - D.Callahan Likes this wine: 97 Points
Double decanted 3 hours before drinking. A modicum of lees decanted off. Excellent nose of mostly dark fruits. The palate started out with excellent structure overlaying licorice, dark cherry, cedar, excellent acidity and cassis. Thus is an outstanding wine with many years left to mature further.
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11/11/2021 - csimm wrote: 94 Points
Schrader multi-vintage tasting: A slight funk on the nose gives way to more pronounced fruit aromas of wild berries and plum. On the palate, dark berry compote is intermixed with leather, cedar, and currant notes, signaling the progression of this wine and its comparative age amongst its other siblings. Considering it is 13 years from vintage, this CCS has plenty of requisite energy and verve, with a notable grip that persists with air. The more developed leather and cigar notes add interest, especially for those looking for some additional nuance and secondary/tertiary flavors from these otherwise big and lusciously rich wines. Drink now and over the next 5-7 years.
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4/10/2021 - willfab60 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nice compliment to our Wagyu Strip steak at the Summit. Blueberry, blackberry with a hint of chocolate. Crisp , smooth and well balanced. Dont think this will improve with more age. Drink Up!
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1/2/2021 - timothynbond Likes this wine: 91 Points
3 1/2 hour decant. Deep ruby colored. Even after the decant some strong butterscotch aromas that eventually blew off. Medium plus bodied with strong grippy tannins and medium acid. Very concetrated with dark fruits on the front along with graphite and coffee grounds and some real oakiness mid-palate. Not much changed on day two -- a bit more fruit but still very tannic. This needs a lot more time.
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12/26/2020 - BROpus One wrote: 93 Points
I opened and decanted for 3 hours on the 24th. I drank about 25% of the bottle and it was good, but not great. I opened again on the 25th and the wine had softened nicely and really had a nice long finish. I let it slow ox all day and re-visited for hours. The last sip was the best for me which means it needs more age for my taste. If you like bigger edge cali cabs then this drinks great now but with another 3-5 years I think this gets better and better.
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8/23/2020 - AllRed wrote: 97 Points
Casual Dinner w/Friends (R&R's): No formal note. Courtesy of our hosts, opened some time before dinner and allowed to breathe in bottle. In two words- hot damn. This is something special. Not as big as I anticipated this would be, this was more elegant. Lovely perfune of violets, cassis, currant, black cherry liqueur and bitter chocolate. Silky tannins; wonderful mouthfeel. Red and black fruit, herbs, soft spice and chocolate. Balanced; long finish. Liquid velvet texture. Wow.
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4/19/2020 - Old Vino Likes this wine: 94 Points
6oz via coravin. Wine remains young, however within early drinking period. Dark red color no browning. Within an hour, scents of sweet dark fruits intertwined with floral orange blossoms and oak emerge. On palate it packs a bunch of dense dark fruits. Tannins noticeable but don't affect the drinking joy. For those who doubt California wine is short lived, I'd cellar a bottle for a decade or 2 more. We think they will be in for a pleasant surprise.
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2/20/2020 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
"Cult Wines" & a Few Others (Jason P's, St. Paul, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Decanted for 3.5 hours. Drank a glass plus over 3 hours. Despite the decant - and this never went back into bottle before serving, this took some serious glass time to really open up on the nose. Maybe a good 30 minutes in, this developed a more classical Napa Cabernet nose with a nice perfume of dark chocolate, graphite, and cassis. The palate is pretty open from the start and gets better also. This is deep and concentrated, but really more of a mid-weight plus feel despite being what I'd call full bodied on the palate, dark fruits, cassis predominates, very pretty, slightly herbal, succulent fruits, citrus and pomegranate, gravelly minerality, medium plus finish. I like this, feels well put together and the class of the flight. 93+ to maybe 94pts.
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4/25/2019 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted and served. Thick body with notes of volcanic soil along with a very intense, palate-filling dark fruit. Perhaps a bit overstated for my taste but a jolly, delicious wine.
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11/23/2018 - Steve Bird Likes this wine: 100 Points
Oh my. Decanted for 1.5 hrs. Black fruit and tobacco on the nose. Tannins were perfectly balanced. Dare say a 100 point wine.
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10/19/2018 - MC2 Wines wrote:
Wine Spectator newbies; 10/18/2018-10/20/2018 (Marriott Marquis): Very dark sweet fruits here. Again some vanilla and a bit more pepper here than the '05 had. Get the oak in this. I think maybe just needs some more time.
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8/26/2018 - Bcw1989 wrote: 95 Points
Fabulous wine. Schrader never makes a bad wine especially if you like amped up Cabernets! Great with food and easy drinking afterward. Had a little left and finished it next day. Still had the traditional Schrader characteristics.
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8/16/2018 - jcampano Likes this wine: 98 Points
A wonderfully balanced yet powerful cabernet that live up to its billing. Decanted for 3 hours, it was a bold cab with black fruit and forest floor aromatics followed by bold black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors. It could be cellared for another 15 - 20 years, but was “epic” and “next level” now (according to 2 friends of mine).
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1/20/2018 - asteff wrote: 96 Points
Fantastic deep fruit of a mix of red and blues. Spice and balance and a wonderful lengthy finish. .
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11/24/2017 - B Paul wrote: 96 Points
Last of my 2008 Schraders. Opened and poured and it was good from start. Seems to be at a great spot.
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5/5/2016 - Agreenblatt wrote: 99 Points
Consistent with last notes. Let it breathe 2-4 hours
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5/1/2016 - winelover1808 wrote: 97 Points
notes from a two day decant; first day was too wound even with a two hour decant. let it sit in my temperature cooled cellar. day two was amazing. seductive, tons of perfume, cassis and layers of fruit. this just needs tons of time to open up and when it does, its about as hedonistic and polished as it gets.
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10/2/2015 - Agreenblatt wrote: 99 Points
This continued to get better with air. I finished it at 4 hours and was still getting better. This might deserve 100, but I'll need to drink it again to be sure.
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3/6/2015 - EyeDoc Likes this wine: 98 Points
Really lives up to the hype. Decanted - improved in glass over two hours.
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11/30/2014 - dhammer53 wrote:
Drank this at Madigan's 50th birthday party in the Bay area. I can't find my notes, but I know that you'll really enjoy this. Drink or hold.
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4/19/2014 - Barbaro wrote: 97 Points
Decanted for 6 hours. This wine is a powerhouse. Dark fruit on the initial taste with a bold, complex finish. Some hints of violets, menthol and tar on the nose. This wine has tons of life ahead of it judging by the intensity. 97+ because this wine will score even higher with some more time to integrate. Beautiful showing of To Kalon fruit.
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2/12/2013 - sdezutti wrote: 98 Points
Drank at Sweet Basil, Vail. Wow! This wine has it all. It is concentrated, intense and elegant at the same time. Not a thick fruit bomb by any means. This had a deep ruby color and opened up with an array of spice notes and cigar box notes. Very elegant on the palate. With time in the decanter berry notes, earth and minerality started to come out. I will say 98+ right now only because I detected some astringent tannins on the finish. It is young and once these integrate this will be 100 points for sure. Those who criticize Napa wines of being too ripe and over extracted need to try this; it is truly unique.
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