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Jeb Dunnuck
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
2019 Schrader Cellars 'Old Sparky' Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA.
Our 2019 Beckstoffer To Kalon Old Sparky 1.5L will be shipped in a Schrader Cellars wooden box.
“We conceived Old Sparky when we decided we needed something really special out of To Kalon. And we're always looking forward towards what that blend is going to be. What's it going to taste like? Because each year, it's completely different.” — Fred Schrader
VINTAGE
2019
ALCOHOL
14%
VINEYARD
Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
APPELLATION
Oakville, Napa Valley
VARIETAL
Cabernet Sauvignon
CLONE
Clones 4, 6, 337
COOPERAGE
Aged in 100% new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels
WINEMAKER
Thomas Rivers Brown
Tasting Notes
Each vintage, our Schrader Old Sparky represents the finest blend of Cabernet Sauvignon barrel lots from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. These wines are set apart by their remarkable depth, richness of character, and sublime resonant quality, the hallmark of a classic wine. With the phenomenal conditions of the 2019 vintage, we are especially thrilled with the blend winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown has crafted. Garnet-purple and inky opaque, the wine delivers a perfumed cavalcade of ripe blackberry, black currant, and mixed plum aromas complemented by enticing notes of warmed earth, savory aged tobacco leaf, pencil lead, anise, floral incense, and mandarin orange. Full-bodied and generous, the massive fruit core is beautifully supported by the well-woven tannins, great balance, and fine acidity. This silky-smooth, polished wine glides seamlessly across the palate and continues to expand and enchant throughout the very long, satisfying finish.
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
A cool vintage overall, the picking windows for 2019 were very long, which gave us the luxury of harvesting each different vineyard block at the perfect level of ripeness. The moment we pressed the grapes, we knew this wine was heading toward greatness. It’s exhibiting remarkable freshness that perfectly balances its flavor concentration and compares to the exceptional 2001/2002 vintages for tannins and acidity. Wonderfully enjoyable at release but will also be an ideal addition to your cellar for many years to come.