2018 Beckstoffer To Kalon


“This is the wine that started it all. Rich, with a great core and great mass, it is breathtaking to see how the fruit component is still there and present and the structure and the tannins have softened up.” — Carol Schrader

  • Vintage 2018
  • Alcohol 14.8%
  • Vineyard Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
  • Appellation Oakville, Napa Valley
  • Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Clone Clones 4, 6, and 337
  • Cooperage Aged 20 months in rare Darnajou French oak barrels
  • Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown
  • Tasting Notes

    An exceptional wine with prodigious depth and dazzling aromas of ripe black and purple fruits, blackberries, cassis, and dark plums. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and generous with a harmonious blend of red, black, and blue fruit flavors that come together simultaneously with enhancing notes of floral blossoms, tobacco leaves, and supple vanilla crème. The abundant fruit core is beautifully balanced by ample, yet fine-grained tannins that are certain to marry and meld with the rich Cabernet flavors through additional cellar aging.

  • Accolades

    99 Pts. “This “Schrader” label comes from Beckstoffer’s To Kalon vineyard in Oakville, produced from clone 4 grown on the C2 block. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and was aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels for 18 months. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard has a wonderfully perfumed nose of potpourri, baking spices and dusty soil over a core of crème de cassis, blueberry pie and flamboyant Indian spices. Full-bodied, super firm with super ripe tannins and lovely freshness, it delivers layer upon layer of black fruit preserves and exotic spices, finishing long and beautifully poised. Give it a good 3-5 years in bottle to really strut its stuff and drink it over the next 30+ years. 219 cases were made.”
    — Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate

    98+ Pts. “A powerful, backward, and concentrated wine, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Schrader exhibits a dense purple/plum color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of blackcurrants, dark chocolate, graphite, gravelly earth, and tobacco leaf. It takes plenty of air to show at its best, and I suspect 3-4 years of bottle age are warranted, but this full-bodied, multi-dimensional 2018 has flawless balance, building tannins, and is just loaded with potential.”
    — Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

  • Vineyard

    First planted in 1868 by viticultural and winemaking icon Hamilton Crabb, To Kalon Vineyard® has long been regarded as the source of Napa Valley’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Within the prime vineyard blocks, an alluvial fan provides excellent and varied mineral deposits, and the rich soils are filled with marine sediment that gives our wines their distinctive profiles. The vines receive full sun and optimal heat during the day and are cooled by marine fog at night. These conditions allow the Cabernet Sauvignon planted in the vineyard to display its own unique character, and this celebration of individuality is the essence of Schrader®.

  • Vintage

    After a wet and cool winter, both bud break and flowering got off to a later-than-normal start. Summer brought nice, even temperatures with very few heat spikes, resulting in great phenolic development in the grapes and even ripening across all our vineyard sites. Due to the lower-than-normal summer temperatures, the grapes enjoyed long, steady ripening. This allowed for wonderful sugar development while maintaining structure. Once in barrel, the wines showed prodigious depth and incredible character that wonderfully displayed the benefits of slow, even ripening. A winemaker’s dream, the 2018 vintage has produced wines that will provide exceptional pleasure upon release and age gracefully in your cellar.