Schrader Cellars Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2021

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 as it 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 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon stands to outshine the award-winning 2019 vintage with even deeper concentration and complexity. On the nose, the wine leaps from the glass with ripe blackberry, cassis, black cherry, and red plum, with a lovely herbaceous undertone. The palate expresses juicy red and black fruits with hints of black tea, damp earth, vanilla bean, lavender, and just a touch of flint. With fine-grained tannins and mouthwatering acidity that lingers through the long finish, this wine is ready to drink upon release but will cellar well for years to come."