Aged 20 months in French barrels. Pure Heritage Clone (Clone 31) from the N2S block located in the south of Mondavi's To Kalon Vineyard. First release in 2018. This is a plot that is unique to Mondavi To Kalon, and since Schrader's parent company Constellation owns Mondavi, Thomas Rivers Brown was able to use Mondavi To Kalon. At that time, we decided to make a block single of this clone alone, which is very distinctive and small-grained with a concentrated flavor, and an unprecedented wine was born. It has a sparkling freshness with concentrated blueberries, blackcurrants, and blackberries.
Wine Profile
The Heritage Clone Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested from a single block planted with a unique, long-established clone within the Mondavi To Kalon Vineyard.
This clone was planted in a separate plot in the 1980s as part of a project led by the University of California, Davis to identify historically superior quality clones from vineyards in California's major wine-growing regions.
The clone dates back to the 1950s and is believed to possibly even date back to the original vines planted by HW Club at To Kalon Vineyard in the 1860s.
This clone is characterised by tiny berries in impossibly tiny clusters smaller than a human fist, resulting in very low yields.
However, the quality is unquestionable, producing dense, complex and distinctive wines whose appeal is enough to justify continuing to cultivate this clone for decades to come.
This elegant and expressive wine has a well-balanced combination of concentrated fruit, rich flavor, and lively acidity, and offers exciting and diverse flavors such as ripe red cherries, shaved chocolate, mandarin orange peel, and sweet-scented earth.
Vintage Information
2021 was a vintage full of classic Napa Valley style and, for many, it marked a recovery from the disasters of 2020.
Several years of dry vintages created ideal conditions for the vines, resulting in low yields, but small bunches and tiny grapes that produced dense, flavorful fruit, and Mother Nature's blessings ensured that the grapes ripened at optimum ripeness.
The viticulture team and winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown are confident that 2021 will be an outstanding vintage, surpassing the 2019 vintage in both quality and complexity.
In creating the 2021 wines, we aimed to capture the power, complexity and elegance of the vintage.
Tasting notes from barrel by Jeb Dunnuck
96-98 points
"The 2021 To Kalon Vineyards Heritage Clone Cabernet Sauvignon is a single-clone Cabernet Sauvignon wine with incredibly small bunches and extremely low yields. These beautiful, inky grapes offer incredible aromas of blackcurrant, crushed stone, graphite and chocolate, and like our Monastery Block, will produce a concentrated, full-bodied and structured wine. This 2021 vintage will once again be a wine that deserves aging."
Jeb Dunnuck February 16, 2023
Field Information
To Kalon Vineyards
First planted in 1868 by the charismatic winegrower and winemaker Hamilton Club, To Kalon Vineyards has long been recognized as the source of some of Napa Valley's finest Cabernet Sauvignon.
In our prime vineyard locations, the alluvial fans are rich in fine and diverse minerals and the fertile soils contain many marine deposits, which give our wines their unique character.
The vines receive ample sunlight and optimal temperatures during the day and are cooled by cool sea mists at night.
This celebration of individuality and commitment to local origins and quality is at the heart of Schrader Cellars.
Vintage: 2021
Capacity: 750ml
Type: Red wine
Taste: Full-bodied
Main variety: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of Origin: America
Region Name: California
AVA: Napa Valley
Nested AVA, Other: Oakville
Vineyard: To Kalon Vineyard, Clone 31 only
Winemaker: Thomas Rivers Brown
Aging: Aged in new French barrels (D'Arnajou & Tarançao)
Cap: Cork
Alcohol content: 15.4%