2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky
Buying options
Tasting notes
Really deep, yet scented, with dark spices, minerals, flower extract, black tea, graphite, pine needle, sandalwood, incense and purple fruit. There is a linear quality to the immaculate tannins, which are dense, but delivered in a melted, chocolatey way, cutting through from the entry to the finish. So svelte and cocoa-powdery in the finish, giving it attractive savoriness. Very ripe and extremely long and precise.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A best-barrel selection made by Thomas Rivers Brown and bottled in magnums, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is truly great stuff. Full-bodied, rich, velvety and all-enveloping, it delivers near-endless waves of black cherries, red raspberries and complex but gentle spice notes. Long and mouthwatering on the finish, it seamlessly eliminates any gap between power and elegance, leaving scant possible reaction except Wow!
A selection put together by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Old Sparky is one of the true gems in the vintage, as well as a perfect wine. Thrilling black fruits, crème de cassis, tobacco, tapenade, and iron notes all emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied and has a similar purity to the CCS release, with ultra-fine tannins and one hell of an incredible finish. Napa Valley Cabernet, or red wine for that matter, doesn't get any better. Give bottles 2-4 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following two decades or more.
About the producer
Schrader Cellars is one of Napa’s cult names. It focuses on pairing specific clones with the perfect site to produce the ultimate expression of Napa Cabernet. The results regularly receive the very highest scores from critics, with 19 100-point scores from the Wine Advocate to date.