The long awaited offer for the Schrader lineup of 2011 Cabernet Sauvignons arrived this morning. Schrader has once again held the line on pricing at $175 bottle. Admittedly this is not an inexpensive wine but given what the wine sells for in the aftermarket, Schrader should be commended for not raising prices. Below is the offer letter from Schrader.
“I tasted the 2011s twice from barrel, once in April and second time in October of this year. The Schrader 2011s are some of the best wines of the year.”
— Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate, 11/18/12
Dear Friends of Wine,
It is our immense pleasure to let you know that the amazing Thomas Brown and his rock star team produced another exquisite line up of Schrader Cabernets in the 2011 vintage. Now resting in barrel, these intensely rich wines show incredible power and depth, and are loaded with dark fruit flavors and classic Cabernet character. Ultra-concentrated, their massive structure and exquisite balance make them a phenomenal representation of the vintage.
Exciting news — we are thrilled to announce the introduction of the Schrader LPV Cabernet Sauvignon to our portfolio. This monumental wine is made from grapes grown in the finest blocks of the Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena, an estate renowned for its exceptional terroir. In this vineyard, the vines contour the gentle slope and live in a rocky soil that creates a perfectly stressed environment, ideal for Cabernet. The resulting fruit is remarkably dense and wonderfully concentrated, abundant with a provocative and elegant minerality, and bursting with deep, lush blue and black fruit flavors. We feel this gorgeous wine is a truly compelling addition to our family.
We are thrilled about this release, yet want to mention that a couple of friends are absent from our portfolio. The extreme weather conditions of the season took particular aim at two vineyard blocks and as such we are not able to offer our Schrader flagship or Schrader GIII Cabernets for this release.
I don’t have much more to add, but I’m curious: What do you think?
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One vintage report, which Caymus includes GIII wine also:
“……Cabernet thrives in the warm, dry weather that is the Napa norm but was AWOL in 2011. There simply wasn’t enough heat to turn the tables on a year that tested winegrowers at just about every turn, from a cold, wet spring, a late fruit set, a mild summer and a harvest that dragged on into November, bedeviled by rain and rot. “It was a horrible year for Napa Cabernet,” said Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards.
Yes, I would agree one needs to proceed with caution on the 2011’s from Napa. The Schrader newsletter went into detail on the steps taken to salvage the vintage. I bought although part of my motivation was access to the 2012 vintage.