Schrader Cellars Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2019

Throughout a remarkable nineteen-year collaboration with vintner Fred Schrader, Thomas Rivers Brown has led Schrader Cellars to an unprecedented record of twenty-seven 100-point scores from some of the world’s most respected wine critics. These single-vineyard stunners, that very few can get their hands on, can go for as much as $500 a bottle. Schrader Cellars has produced benchmark Cabernet Sauvignon from the most prestigious vineyards in the Napa Valley — notably, first-growth Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville for nearly two decades. With winemaker Thomas Brown, they have created a legacy of wines known for their vibrant flavor, joyful texture, and opulent richness. The Schrader program focuses on highlighting the character and profile of three distinct clonal varieties with minimal intervention that allows the true nature of each to shine. As with any great love story that gets better and better, Fred Schrader launched a second program for the brand called Double Diamond just two years after he founded Schrader Cellars. This wine is part of his ongoing mission to make the most exquisite Cabernet Sauvignon that Napa Valley could offer, at an even more accessible price.

Prepare to be dazzled by this wine, with its harmonious integration of decadent fruit, refined structure, and exotic spice components. In the glass, the wine possesses a dark plum-purple hue. Intriguing aromatic notes of Mexican chocolate, nutmeg, brambly fruit, spearmint, and violets swell from the glass in concert. The mouthfeel is voluptuous, sleek, and inviting while also exhibiting a silky tannin profile to provide a complex framework. The palate is very rich and juicy, suggesting aromas of black currant, blackberry, freshly cut leather, crushed rock, and allspice. This wine is delightful and showing well today, but with 3-5 years in the cellar, it will develop into an even more beautiful expression of the vintage. The fruit for each bottling of Double Diamond is a culmination of all of Schrader’s top-of-the-line vineyards, including Beckstoffer To Kalon, Georges III, and Las Piedras. I mean… could it get any better than this?!?!

The 2019 is exquisite, like a fine satin ribbon with richness and full-bodied juiciness. This vintage is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 50% new French oak barrels for 16 months. I have so much admiration for the legacy this brand has created and continues to produce year after year. Double Diamond is the ultimate gift made possible by Thomas Brown at a fraction of what it may cost to collect Schrader’s classics. It’s one of the most captivating wines that we taste each year; a must-have if you are in search of Napa Valley’s best of the best!