2021 Heritage Clone

Sourced from a single block in the To Kalon Vineyard, this “Heritage Clone” produces impossibly small clusters with tiny berries and very low yields. The quality of the fruit, however, is indisputable – producing wines of great intensity, complexity and character that have proven compelling enough to keep these vines in the ground for decades. Densely fruited and plush with lively acidity for balance, this is an elegant and expressive wine that offers a provocative range of flavors such as ripened red cherries, chocolate shavings, mandarin orange rind, and sweet earth.

Vintage 2021
Alcohol 14.5%
Vineyard To Kalon Vineyard
Appellation Oakville, Napa Valley
Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
Clone Pure Clone 31
Cooperage Aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels
Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown

Accolades

96-98 Pts “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone comes from a clone of Cabernet Sauvignon that yields incredibly tiny clusters and minuscule yields. This inky hued beauty boasts a great perfume of cassis, crushed stone, graphite, and chocolate, and like the Monastery Block, is concentrated, full-bodied, and structured. It’s another 2021 that will demand cellaring.”
— Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com
97 Pts “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mondavi Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard comes from a single block of vines planted to what has become known as clone 31. If there is any complaint here, it's that the vibrant raspberry and mixed cherries are just too pure. Yes, the fruit is awesome (hence my enthusiastic rating), but the non-fruit complexities seem limited to modest dried-spice nuances. Perhaps more will emerge over time. Medium to full-bodied, this is exceptionally silky and elegant in the context of the 2021 vintage, finishing fresh and lively on the finish.”
— The Wine Advocate
Heritage Clone Accolades
- 2022 To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone —
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- 2021 To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone — 96-98 JD, 97 WA
  
  96-98 Pts “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone comes from a clone of Cabernet Sauvignon that yields incredibly tiny clusters and minuscule yields. This inky hued beauty boasts a great perfume of cassis, crushed stone, graphite, and chocolate, and like the Monastery Block, is concentrated, full-bodied, and structured. It’s another 2021 that will demand cellaring.”
  — Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com
  97 Pts “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mondavi Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard comes from a single block of vines planted to what has become known as clone 31. If there is any complaint here, it's that the vibrant raspberry and mixed cherries are just too pure. Yes, the fruit is awesome (hence my enthusiastic rating), but the non-fruit complexities seem limited to modest dried-spice nuances. Perhaps more will emerge over time. Medium to full-bodied, this is exceptionally silky and elegant in the context of the 2021 vintage, finishing fresh and lively on the finish.”
  — The Wine Advocate
- 2019 To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone — 100 JS, 98+ WA, 98+ JD, 97 WS
  
  100 Pts “This is so exotic and exciting, with crushed blackcurrant, cassis, raspberry and tangerine aromas that follow through to very rough, silky tannins that fill your mouth. It goes on for minutes. Intense flavors at the finish, yet it's linear and so long and seamless. Crunchy. Amazing wine. Drinkable now, but better after 2025.”
  — James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
  98+ Pts “Another relatively new addition to the Schrader lineup, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Mondavi Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard is all Clone 31 (not Clone 39, as previously reported by RPWA). It's expressive and aromatic on the nose, offering up hints of tobacco, mint and sage, plus floral, spicy notes but also plenty of red berries and vanilla (it's aged 18 months in new French oak). Full-bodied, tannic and firmly built, it's another Schrader wine that should really benefit from cellaring.”
  — Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate
  98+ Pts “My notes on the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone started with a big "Wow," and it's clearly a structured, serious, incredibly impressive 2019. Giving up plenty of cassis and assorted black and blue fruits, it has a distinct sense of minerality as well as classic Cabernet tobacco, lead pencil, and tobacco leaf nuances. With bright acidity, building tannins, and a concentrated, massive, backward mouthfeel, it needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years and should have decades of prime drinking.”
  — Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com
  97 Pts “Delivers seriously gorgeous fruit, with plum puree, cassis and black cherry páte de fruit notes that are compressed together without losing their clarity and definition, while licorice snap, violet and apple wood notes form the frame. Reveals an iron note that drives underneath on the finish, imbuing everything with latent energy and drive. Big, but in an elephant-balancing-on-a-ball manner; gotta tip the cap. Best from 2023 through 2038.”
  — James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
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- 2018 To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone — 97+ WA, 96 WS
  
  97+ Pts. “This is the very first vintage of this new label for Schrader. True to Schrader form, the wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a single block in the southern part of Mondavi’s section of To Kalon vineyard. The “Heritage Clone,” a.k.a. clone 39, is pretty much exclusive to Mondavi To Kalon, with the exception of some cuttings Robert Mondavi may have given out. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown noted that this clone produces very small bunches and tiny berries, equating to super intense fruit. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Mondavi Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard was aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels for 18 months. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sings of stewed blueberries, plum preserves, Chinese five spice and fragrant earth, giving way to hints of beef drippings, iron ore, espresso, tobacco leaf and dried roses. Medium-bodied, it has a firm, chewy texture and loads of bright, lively freshness lifting the densely packed berry preserves layers, finishing very long and very spicy. This is certainly a singular style—somewhat atypical for the 2018 vintage, but nonetheless compelling.”
  — Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
  96 Pts. “There’s a distinct sassafras note buried in this version, wrapped in waves of cassis, warmed plum reduction and boysenberry compote flavors. Melted licorice and roasted apple wood provide a frame for it all, with the sassafras hint adding lift and energy through the finish. A big wine. Best from 2022 through 2038.”
  — James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
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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.

All Heritage Clone Vintages

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2021 Heritage Clone

Accolades

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