2018 Schrader RBS Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville 750 ml

Schrader Cellars epitomizes the top class of Cabernet—the kind whose uncompromising quality and larger-than-life cachet make spotting a bottle in the wild feel like a celebrity sighting. Their accolades are endless: Schrader has racked up nearly 30 100-point scores in two decades.

Fortunately, the ultra-rich, revelatory, I-didn’t-know-wine-could-be-like-this Cabernet in a Schrader bottle more than merits its aura, its praise, and its price. We’re thrilled to announce that we have a rare allocation from Schrader: The 2018 RBS Cabernet Sauvignon, grown on Napa’s greatest vineyard, To Kalon, and crafted by peerless winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown.  

The 2018 RBS is the latest edition of this marquee bottling, which hails from the unmatched Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. It’s composed solely of Cabernet clone 337, which is known for its small berries, moderate yield, and lush texture. Super-bold and seductive, with mocha and red fruit layered atop one another, it’s got an attractive, rich mouthfeel with elegance and power and an endless finish. The Schrader RBS is a cellar showpiece that will never, ever fail to impress (and please) anyone with whom you choose to share it. 

Grown in a stellar vintage, the just-released 2018 has been making waves since well before its bottling date. Wine Advocate praised its “beautiful freshness,” while it was still in the barrel. Jeb Dunnuck likewise raved over the unreleased Cabernet, calling it “elegant on the palate,” and noting its “up front appeal.” We took one sip of this exhilarating, dark-fruited Cabernet and secured as much as we could. 

Thomas Rivers Brown has made 100-point Cabernets for a slew of wineries. But only Schrader can rightly claim to have made Thomas Rivers Brown. That’s because when the young Turley winemaker met Fred Schrader, he had yet to make his first Cabernet Sauvignon. Fred recruited him to the Schrader team in 2000, and just two years later Thomas would craft his first 100-point wine.

It would be the first of many at Schrader, where quality has been uncompromising ever since Fred’s interest in wine was piqued in 1988 at the Napa Valley Wine Auction—which he attended by serendipity. It was a moment that drove Schrader to pursue wine, and it was an unforgettable sip of Cabernet in 2000 that determined the course of Schrader Cellars. The wine epitomized everything that Fred wanted his wine to be, so he went to the source: the Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyard in Oakville. 

Schrader and Brown started with a small amount of Beckstoffer fruit. Over the years, Schrader’s claim to Beckstoffer has grown, and now their bottlings stand as some as the purest expressions of To Kalon’s famed terroir and array of Cabernet clones—not to mention Thomas Rivers Brown’s golden touch. Cabernet collectors wait years for the opportunity to get on the Schrader list. Don’t miss this chance to skip the line and gild your cellar with some of Napa Valley’s very best.