2023 Monastery Block

95 Pts. “Dusty mineral notes and dried violets complement the black cherry fruit, enriched by layers of loamy earth. The tannins are soaring, supporting a full-bodied richness highlighted by abundant black cherry and lavish cola spices. Crunchy red fruit emerges on the lengthy finish, adding a fresh, vibrant element. The wine is rich, inviting, and beautifully balanced despite its 15.3% ABV, showcasing depth and elegance. The Monastery Blocks are located near the Carmelite Monastery at the southern end of the Mondavi To Kalon section. These blocks have historically provided the backbone for Mondavi Reserve Cabernet wines from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s—wines that remain vibrant and show beautifully in the glass decades later.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter

95 Pts. “Cassis, darker chocolate, lead pencil, and smoked tobacco all emerge from the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block, a beautifully textured, full-bodied 2022 that has plenty of mid-palate depth, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It doesn’t get much better in the vintage, and while it has the upfront appeal of the vintage, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it evolve gracefully for upwards of two decades.”
— Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

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.”
— James Moleworth, Wine Spectator

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.”
— Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

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.”
— The Wine Advocate

98 Pts “A fine, effusive quality from the sandalwood, violets, black pepper and blackberry concentrate. Quite a denser and more muscular expression, yet you won't feel any chew from the tannins, as they melt into the dark fruit. Long and focused. Much better if you can wait for a few years. Try from 2026.”
— James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

97 Pts “Revealing a vivid purple hue as well as a powerful, more black-fruited, iron, tobacco, and scorched earth-like aromatic profile, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is full-bodied, has a rich, powerful attack, great mid-palate density, and brilliant tannins. Coming from a famous block located on the western side of this great vineyard, brought up in new barrels, it's another 2019 that has a rounded, supple, approachable style while also bringing impressive density, depth, and structure.”
— Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

96 Pts “A dark and winey style, with loads of plum, blackberry and black currant preserves tumbling through, enlivened with apple wood, anise and bramble along the way. The finish is underscored by a swath of loam and tar but the fruit keeps the upper hand, ending with a flourish of additional spice, incense and iron. A wine that flaunts it—because it can. Best from 2024 through 2038.”
— James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

97-100 Pts “The full-bodied palate reveals wonderfully impactful black and blue fruit layers with a to-die-for backbone of very finely grained tannins and fantastic freshness.... Very impressive!”
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate

98+ Pts. “Only the second vintage of this new Schrader label, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Monastery Block To Kalon Vineyard comes from clone 169 planted on the Monastery Block of the Robert Mondavi section of To Kalon vineyard in Oakville. One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, it is was aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels for 18 months. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose is shut down, requiring a fair amount of swirling to unveil pronounced black currant cordial, stewed plums and blackberry preserves scents with hints of crushed rocks, tar, licorice and camphor. Medium-bodied, the palate reveals a lot of energy and tension, offering glimpses of mineral and spice accents among the tightly knit, muscular black fruit layers, supported by a solid wall of firm, grainy tannins. It finishes with great length and a lively burst of freshness. 302 cases were made.”
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate

98 Pts. “An expressive and complex cabernet sauvignon with notes of plum, blackberry, toasted oak and earthy undertones. Lots of blue fruit. The palate is full and tannic with firm tannins and a long, powerful finish, showing so much black currant, blue fruit and dark chocolate. Solid. Better after 2024.”
— James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

97+ Pts. “Coming from the historic Monastery Block in this Grand Cru vineyard, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard MB offers a beautifully layered, full-bodied, yet structured profile that's going to benefit from bottle age. Lots of blackcurrants, gravelly earth, dark chocolate, and liquid violet-like nuances give way to a concentrated 2018 with a wonderful mid-palate, building tannins, and a great finish. Do your best to hide bottles for 4-5 years, and this puppy should be long-lived!”
— Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

96 Pts. “This is laden with vibrant fruit, showing flavors of cassis, kirsch, linzer and acai berry, while violet, apple wood and melted licorice notes fill in where they can. Shows a bramby hint through the back end, adding good energy to the massively endowed fruit core. The finish echoes and echoes with fruit. Best from 2022 through 2038.”
— James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

97+ Pts. “Very deep purple-black colored, it bursts from the glass with a fruit explosion of blueberry compote, freshly crushed black plums, black cherry preserves and cassis, giving way to touches of red roses, cigar boxes, yeast extract and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a fantastic frame of bold freshness and very finely grained, firm tannins, impressively supporting the mouth-coating blue and black fruits, finishing very long and very perfumed.”
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate

95 Pts. “Fabulous aromas of crushed black currants, licorice, tar and violet. Inkwell, too. Medium body and tight, linear tannins that are polished and chewy. Driven finish. Needs time to open. First vintage of this wine and from Constellation's To Kalon holdings. Drink after 2022.”
— James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

94 Pts. “Shows a beautiful range of warmed sassafras, sage and bay leaf aromas, with black tea and juniper hints, all of which impart a sense of lift and volume to the steeped plum and açaí berry core. Reveals a smoldering loam note through the finish. Best from 2021 through 2036. 646 cases made.”
— James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

94 Pts. “The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is always terrific, yet I always find it more linear and foursquare compared to some of the other releases in the lineup. Nevertheless, it offers a terrific bouquet of gravelly earth, ground herbs, chocolaty dark fruits, and some obvious minerality. This full-bodied Cabernet is going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 15-20 plus.”
— Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com