This steep, south facing parcel always yields a mineral-style of wine and the 2013 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard lives up to expectations. Currants, rose petals, forest floor and crushed rocks all emerge from this medium to full-bodied,... Read More
Rhys' 2013 Syrah Horseshoe Ranch Vineyard is a downright peppery, gamey, olive and bloody meat-scented Syrah that offers more than a touch of Cornas-like character. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully concentrated and balanced,... Read More
One of the greatest young Chardonnays I've ever tasted certainly has to be the 2013 Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard, from the very old vineyard planted in 1990 with the Robert Young clone of Chardonnay. It was cropped at 1.5... Read More
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Calistoga, which comes from the so-called Olmo clone (the same as the Eiesle clone), exhibits an opaque purple color, sweet créme de cassis and blackberry fruit as well as licorice, wet pebbles giving... Read More
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard comes from a five-acre, valley-floor vineyard just north of St. Helena near Vineyard 29's Aida. There are 450 cases of this magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon. Notes of Mediterranean... Read More
Bright ruby-red. Pungent, high-toned aromas of red berries, graphite and licorice, with a suggestion of menthol. Then cool and bright in the mouth, with herbal elements complementing the delicately flinty red berry flavors. Finishes... Read More
Beguiling, with Lapsang souchong tea, singed cinnamon, clove and warm cassis aromas leading the way for a rich and silky core of crushed cherry and raspberry fruit flavors. Everything glides together through the refined, incense-filled... Read More
The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of beautiful and noteworthy elegance. It shows a fine and delicate quality of fruit, with wild berry and dark cherry at the front. That fruit intensity builds slowly as the wine warms... Read More
Leading off the wines tasted from bottle, the 2013 Booker Vineyard is one of the prettier, more elegant and pure examples of this cuvee I can recall. A blend of 67% Syrah and the rest Mourvedre, fermented with 30% whole cluster,... Read More
Incorporating more Petite Sirah than normal, and the first time there's been less than 50% Syrah, the 2013 Syrah Broken Stones is made from 48% Syrah, 22% Petite Sirah, 17% Grenache, 6% Mourvedre the rest Tempranillo and Roussanne.... Read More
The 2013 James Berry Vineyard Proprietary Red is made from 45% Grenache, 29% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah and 8% Counoise (which Justin commented was a blend that was put together relatively late). It saw a big chunk of whole cluster... Read More
The 2013 James Berry Vineyard Proprietary Red is made from 45% Grenache, 29% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah and 8% Counoise (which Justin commented was a blend that was put together relatively late). It saw a big chunk of whole cluster... Read More
One of the more accessible 2013s is the 2013 Paderewski Vineyard, which checks in as a blend of 34% Mourvedre, 33% Zinfandel, 13% Petite Sirah, 12% Syrah and the rest Tempranillo. Its deep ruby, vibrant color is followed by sensational... Read More
The prodigious 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, including fruit from some of the oldest Cabernet vines still in existence in Napa. This full-bodied classic displays notes of forest floor, earth, crème... Read More
The 2013 M. Etain Cabernet Sauvignon, which is hardly a second wine by any means, offers beautiful blackcurrant fruit with some cedar wood/sandalwood notes, an opulent, full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning purity, and that layered... Read More
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky, which is essentially made from clone 4 from two separate blocks, clone 6 and clone 337, is another perfect wine from the Schraders. I suppose it's a little boring to say, and perhaps... Read More
2013 was characterized by slightly more clusters, but they were smaller with very tiny berries. The vintage itself was another warm, drought year, but like 2012, there were no real spikes of heat. Growing conditions - other than... Read More
There is something ethereal about the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS, a wine that I tend to give more perfect scores to than of the other Schrader offerings. This is clone 4 from a special block of the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard... Read More