Schrader Heritage Clone To-Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 750ml

Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville, Napa Valley, California 

Notes from the Winemaker

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.

Reviews and Accolades

98 Points/Wine Spectator
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 Points/Jeb Dunnuck
All Clone 39 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 Points/Wine Advocate
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.