A bottle of 2013 schrader cabernet sauvignon beckstoffer to kalon vineyard on a grey background

2013 Beckstoffer To Kalon

Our flagship Cabernet, 2013 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, is an intense, classically structured wine that offers a massive core of super-ripe black fruit flavor amply supported by a voluminous mouthfeel and spectacular natural balance. True to the vintage, the 2013 Schrader is inky dark and ultra concentrated, offering copious amounts of cassis, briar fruit, and walnut skin characteristics. Firm tannins help to balance out the ripe fruit flavors of this particularly masculine wine. With superb balance for such a young wine, the 2013 Schrader is delicious in its youth but maintains the ability to age for years to come.

  • Vintage 2013
  • Vineyard Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
  • Appellation Oakville, Napa Valley
  • Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Clone Clone 4, Block C2
  • Cooperage Aged 20 months in rare Darnajou French oak barrels
  • Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown

  • Tasting Notes

    Our flagship Cabernet, this intense, classically structured wine offers a massive core of super-ripe black fruit flavor amply supported by a voluminous mouthfeel and spectacular natural balance. True to the vintage, the 2013 Schrader is inky dark and ultra concentrated, offering copious amounts of cassis, briar fruit, and walnut skin characteristics. Firm tannins help to balance out the ripe fruit flavors of this particularly masculine wine. With superb balance for such a young wine, the 2013 Schrader is delicious in its youth but maintains the ability to age for years to come.

  • Accolades

    100 Pts. "This is a red with amazing structure and muscle yet it remains fresh and agile. Full body, chewy and polished tannins. Salty with chili and sweet tobacco. So savory. Marvelous, seamless texture. In synch. Why wait?" — James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

    95 Pts. "The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon from clone 4, but a different block of the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, shows great fruit, but not nearly the complexity of the CCS. It is one of those micro-examples that is a fabulous wine, but somehow never seems to be up to the quality of the CCS, which is made from the same clone in an adjacent block. Nevertheless, this wine is full-bodied, rich and dense, with classic tobacco leaf, graphite, blackcurrant and licorice, and some toasty, smoky oak in the background. Drink it over the next 30 years." — Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

    95 Pts. "Pure, clean crushed berry and floral aromas are the introduction to this vibrant, robust and deeply flavored effort, with cascading blackberry, wild berry, anise, cedar, tobacco leaf and melted licorice notes, ending with a long, sustained aftertaste that keeps echoing the core themes. Best from 2020 through 2035." — James Laube, Wine Spectator

  • 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

    In 2013 the grapes enjoyed month upon glorious month of effortless sunny days followed by clear, cool nights. Warm spring temperatures gave way to an early budbreak and the consistent, dry weather afforded an optimal fruit set. The favorable conditions seamlessly continued through the summer and we faced none of the rogue heat spikes or rain threats that might otherwise challenge a strong vintage. Once in barrel, the wine continued to develop and gain profound flavors that led to winemaker Thomas Brown stating "These are the finest wines I have ever made."

All Beckstoffer To Kalon Vintages

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2012
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