Enjoy our latest vintage
Vintage 2021
"If you could pick one attribute of the 21 vintage that marks the year, it is definitely the structure. It's a very broad shouldered year. It was the second consecutive year of drought, so we ended up with was a really small crop with really small berries. Extraction was really easy from a flavor, color and tannin standpoint. The key for winemaking for us was watching these ferments and pressing, I would say on average a couple days earlier than normal. Across all the wines, I think what you're going to see is intensely colored wines, lots of palette impact, very mouth-coating ripe and abundant tannins. These wines will probably need a few years in the cellar."
- Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown
Pair with: CCS
Lamb Chops with Sautéed Snap Peas, Carrots, and Radishes
Pair the 2021 CCS, one of our most elegant wines, with the fresh flavors of tender vegetables. Succulent lamb is the perfect foil for this wine's ripe, polished tannins.
Pair with: Heritage Clone
Wagyu Tenderloin with Creamy Green Peppercorn Sauce
A delicious take on a classic pairing, our Heritage Clone will complement the sumptuous profile of the ribeye while its velvety tannins cleanse the palate after every indulgent bite.
Pair with: Wappo Hill
Duck Breasts with Blackberry Thyme Compote
The intensely flavored fruit and exceptional acidity of our 2021 Wappo Hill mirror the flavors of juicy blackberries paired with duck breast.
Pair with: RBS
Luxe Burger with Wagyu Beef
Upgrade your burger with Wagyu beef and sweet-tart balsamic-glazed onions, paired with 2021 RBS, the most generous wine in our portfolio.
Pair with: Monastery Block
Pork Loin with Fennel Seed, Garlic, and Thyme Rub
Our 2021 Monastery Block, full of rich black fruit and florals, enhances the complex flavors of garlic, fennel, and thyme on this pork loin.
Pair with: Old Sparky
Holiday Rack of Lamb
A juicy rack of lamb, cooked to perfection, serves as a beautiful centerpiece on your holiday table, especially when paired with a magnum of our show-stopping Old Sparky.
Pair with: Monastery Block
Potatoes Au Gratin with Crème Fraiche and Chanterelles
Herbaceous bay leaves and earthy mushrooms on top of creamy potatoes beautifully complement the ripe black fruit and fresh floral notes in our Monastery Block.
Explore Vintage 2021
Beckstoffer To Kalon Accolades
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2021 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard — 99 JD, 97 WS
99 Pts “Just about pure perfection, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Schrader has classic Schrader style in its sexy red and blue fruits as well as chocolate, violets, and chalky minerality. All Cabernet Sauvignon brought up mostly in new barrels, this inky-hued, full-bodied, massively concentrated beauty has ultra-fine tannins and no hard edges, with incredible length on the finish. The vintage doesn't get more sexy or opulent than this and it's going to drink brilliantly for 20-25 years if well stored.”
97 Pts “Shows a gorgeous display, easily carrying a large core of cassis, plum reduction, black cherry compote, licorice and sweet bay notes, with an apple wood hint on the flanks and a long, resonant tug of warm loam running underneath. Offers heft and scale, with definition and proportion, plus latent energy for the cellar. Best from 2026 through 2042”
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CCS Accolades
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2021 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS — 100 JD, 97+ WA, 97 WS
100 Pts “I thought the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS was pure perfection, and it's my favorite in the lineup from Schrader. Coming all from a single parcel (it's all Clone 4) in this hallowed site, its inky purple hue is followed by sensationally pure aromatics of creme de cassis, spring flowers, graphite, and lead pencil shavings. I think I've rated this Cuvée perfect more than any of the other Cuvées (Old Sparky may come close) and it always seems to have another level of vibrancy and purity paired with an incredible level of fruit. Full-bodied, round, lush, and seamless, it has ultra-fine tannins, flawless balance, and a mouthfeel that's to die for. Drink this killer effort over the coming 25+ years.”
97+ Pts “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard comes from block C1, planted to clone 4. Huge aromas of ripe black cherries are joined by hints of star anise, mocha and rich loam on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, concentrated and velvety in feel, with a long, richly textured finish.”
97 Pts “ This is a stunner, with a wave of head-turning flavors of plum reduction, black currant preserves and açaí berry paste that expands as it moves along, offering just enough of an apple wood frame to give this red form. On the back end, there's a myriad of apple wood, licorice snap, violet, iris and menthol accents that flourish amid the fruit, adding remarkable range and detail. It's hard to lay off now, this is so generous, but this isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Drink now through 2045.”
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GIII Accolades
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2021 Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard GIII — 98 JD, 96 WS
98 Pts “Reminding me of a great vintage of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard boasts a dense purple hue as well as a gorgeous array of ripe black fruits, olive, smoke tobacco, chocolate, and lead pencil shavings. As with all these latest Schrader releases, it's concentrated and impeccably balanced on the palate, with a layered opulence as well as velvety tannins. The purity of fruit here is off the charts. I wouldn't turn down a glass now, but this will benefit from 4-5 years in the cellar and cruise over the following two decades or more. It's an incredibly complete, balanced, seamless wine from winemaker Thomas Brown.”
96 Pts “ A dense and winey style, with cassis, blackberry and plum preserve notes backed by good energy in the form of a touch of bramble, sparkles of licorice snap and a whiff of violet. Stays vivid and engaging from start to finish. This is rock solid. Best from 2025 through 2042.”
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Heritage Clone Accolades
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2021 To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone — 98 WS, 97 JD, 97 WA
98 Pts “This shows the heft and scale of the bigger wines in this vintage but adds an element of floral lift and sparkly energy. Its boysenberry, fig and mulberry preserve core is dotted with mouthwatering details of iris, licorice snap and lavender. Offers a gorgeous mouthfeel, with an overriding velvety texture offset by hints of crumpled violet. Drink now through 2050.”
97 Pts “All Clone 31 Cabernet Sauvignon and also a release that was first released in 2019, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Heritage Clone offers up a dark, concentrated, powerful, structured style that's loaded with ripe black fruits, graphite, iron, and hints of scorched earth. It's incredibly complete and balanced on the palate, with full-bodied richness, lots of building tannins yet fine tannins, rocking mid-palate depth, and a great, great finish. Give it 3-5 years if you can and it will evolve for over two decades.”
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.”
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LPV Accolades
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2021 Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard LPV — 98 JD, 97 WS
98 Pts “Open, expansive aromas of dried plums, blackberries, and dark chocolate lead to concentrated, opulent black cherries, blueberries, and espresso on the palate. This wine, from the St. Helena district, combines sunny red fruit, minerals, and chaparral with firm tannins and good acidity to balance the full body and creamy richness. Best from 2030."
98 Pts “Coming from a site on the west side of St. Helena and 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard sports a dense purple hue to go with an incredible nose of savory red and black fruits, dried flowers, iron, and loamy earth, with the classic minerality that this site always seems to yield. With full-bodied richness and a layered, multi-dimensional style on the palate, as well as incredible tannins, give this beauty just a few years in the cellar and enjoy over the following 20-25+ years.”
97 Pts “Dense, creamy and thoroughly fruit-driven, this lets a range of plum sauce, fresh mulberry and boysenberry, and blackberry reduction notes cruise through alongside melted licorice and ganache accents. The fruit display is almost enough to make you miss its long graphite spine and subtle hints of warm paving stone and alder through the finish. All that, and this drapes beautifully. Drink now through 2045.”
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MB Accolades
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2021 To Kalon Vineyard MB — 97 WS, 94+ JD, 93 WA
97 Pts “An exotic version, offering a dense, gushing wave of blackberry, fig and black currant compote flavors laced liberally with menthol, alder, sweet tobacco and savory notes. Shows both lush and burly aspects, with a long finish that melds its fruit and savory sides and frames them in a mouthwatering bittersweet cocoa detail. Best from 2025 through 2045.”
94+ Pts “Closed and slightly hard to read on this occasion, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is full-bodied and impressively concentrated, with ripe black fruits, smoky oak, scorched earth, and graphite-like aromas and flavors. One of the more firm and inward wines in the lineup, it needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years and it should be long-lived.”
93 Pts “All clone 169 from a block on the western edge of the vineyard, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Monastery Block To Kalon Vineyard delivers waves of black cherries and loamy earth, plus intriguing accents reminiscent of black tea. It's medium to full-bodied, firm and tannic, showing solid depth and ripeness, without the seamlessness shown by some of the other Schrader bottlings.”
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RBS Accolades
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2021 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS — 98 WS, 97 JD, 94+ WA
98 Pts “So packed and dense with blackberry, black currant, and boysenberry compote flavors that this seems like a black hole, but there's coiled energy buried deeply within in the form of tensile graphite girders. In the meantime, exotic accents of violet, anise and iris start to dart out from the core as this opens in the glass, adding remarkable range. This impressive, large-scale wine offers a sense of guile and mystery when all is said and done. Drink now through 2050. ”
97 Pts “Coming all from Clone 337 Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS is an incredibly seamless, full-bodied beauty that has a terrific sense of minerality in its red, blue, and black fruits as well as hints of espresso and spicy oak. It's flawlessly balanced, has no hard edges, and a rare mix of power and elegance. Drink this beauty anytime over the coming 20-25 years.”
94+ Pts “All clone 337, selected from a few vineyard blocks and aged in 100% new Taransaud and Darnajou barrels, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard shows a bit more structure than previous vintages, framed by ripe, fine-grained tannins. Cherries, mint and gentle sage notes show up on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is a bit stern but balanced, with a long, cooling finish.”
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WH Accolades
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2021 Wappo Hill Vineyard — 97+ JD, 97 WS, 95 WA
97+ Pts “A release that was first produced in 2019, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Wappo Hill Vineyard comes from a site in the Stags Leap District and is all Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in mostly new French oak. Red and black currants, iron, white flowers, candle wax, and spicy notes all emerge from this full-bodied, concentrated yet vibrant, fresh, focused 2021 that has plenty of ripe tannins, a great mid-palate, and one incredible finish. It's going to age beautifully. Give bottles 2-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more.”
97 Pts "This captures the essence of the vintage wonderfully, with vivid notes of violet, anise and iris leading the way for ripe, succulent blackberry, boysenberry and mulberry paste flavors. Offers a flattering melted licorice snap accent along the edges, while the finish packs in brambly energy at its core. This is going to unfurl wonderfully in the cellar. Drink now through 2042.”
95 Pts “Just Schrader's second vintage of this wine (there was no 2020 produced), the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Wappo Hill comes across as a bit tarry, backed by black olives and black cherries. It's full-bodied, silky and almost plush yet retains a savory edge on the vibrant, lingering finish. All clone 685 and matured in a mix of new Taransaud and Darnajou barrels.”
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