2001 Schrader "Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

“More mature and evolved (or maybe it just has more to it), the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard tastes like a great vintage of Pontet-Canet or Mouton Rothschild. This profound Napa Cabernet Sauvignon reveals gorgeous notes of creme de cassis, a celestial floral and espresso character, an inky/purple color, a dense full-bodied mouthfeel and hints of wood smoke and a volcanic/burning ember note. Quite intense with a prodigious mouthfeel and a nearly 60-second finish, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for another quarter of a century. Bravo! Both of these wines performed even better than they did when I tasted them from bottle eight years ago. (RP)” (06/2011)

“At its fifteenth birthday the wine is fully mature, with a ruby-black hue and a complex bouquet of black cherry, kirsch, tar and rich spice, introducing a full-bodied, supple palate impression with good balancing acidity and melted tannins. Age has mellowed some of the mid-palate amplitude that the Schrader wines typically display in their youth, but it retains plenty of juicy fruit as it settles into its plateau of maturity. (WK)” (01/2017)

“Superripe aromas of roasted berries, mocha and dark chocolate, plus a hint of eucalyptus. Huge, dense and broad; a massive wine with almost port-like confectionery ripeness. A bit monolithic today and in need of a few years of bottle aging. Finishes very long, with suave, fine tannins and a sweet note of chocolate. (ST)” (05/2004)

“Smells ripe, balanced, attractive. Rich cohesion of toasted oak, anise, blackberry, dust in the aroma. Rich, smooth, long, very ripe in blackberry fruit. More tannic than Provenance's bottling of the same vintage. Classic structure. *Cellar Selection*” (06/2005)

“Very rich and also firmly tannic, with complex aromas of dried tobacco, expresso bean, cedar, currant and dark berry. Full-bodied and muscle-bound, long on the finish, with a dry, savory aftertaste. (Web-2011, JL)” (03/2019)