2019 Schrader Cellars Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Spectator’s Argument for Schrader Cellars’ Wine of the Year

Wine Spectator’s argument for Schrader Cellars’ Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon being named their 2023 Wine of the Year is partially anchored to the idea that this is considered a value wine. At this point, you might be scratching your head, wondering how the heck an $80 bottle of wine is considered a value bottle (As of this writing, it is now selling for $350 online). It all has to do with Napa’s obsession with “cult wines,” highly allocated Cabernet Sauvignons that run anywhere from $200 to $600 a bottle – and up.

These wine labels produce fewer and release fewer bottles than their counterparts, so their prices are driven by a constrained supply, in addition to a high-quality wine. Harlan, for example, releases around 2,000 cases a year, BOND releases 2,500, and Scarecrow releases 800. This bottling from Schrader Cellars’, on the other hand, saw 10,000 cases produced, which is significantly higher than the premium bottlings. We should mention, however, that Schrader’s top bottling is close to $500 and follows the same model as the above-mentioned brands.

The best way to think of the Double Diamond is that this wine is basically an entry-level product from an ultra-premium brand. 

The Vineyards

Schrader Cellars makes no secret about its love of Andy Beckstoffer’s premium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon grapes; in fact, the label almost exclusively crafts its wines with Beckstoffer grapes is a major selling point to its clientele. After Constellation purchased Schrader Cellars from Fred Schrader, the brand expanded its grapes to include Wappo Hill vineyard, which is owned by Jean-Charles Boisset and his Boisset Collection, and Monastery Block, which is owned by Constellation Brands by way of the Robert Mondavi label.

Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown

In Napa Valley, Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown is in high demand. This self-taught winemaker, who started off in the world of California Zinfandel at Turley Wine Cellars, has since become one of the most highly touted winemakers in California, particularly when it comes to Cabernet Sauvignon.

In addition to Schrader Cellars, he consults for almost 50 other wineries and oversees the production of more than 40,000 cases of wine in any given vintage. Brown’s profound influence in the world of luxury Napa Valley Cabernet is somewhat thanks to his clients’ sourcing roughly 90% of the grapes harvested from the To Kalon vineyard, which is one of the Valley’s most consequential growing sites. 

To Kalon fruit is so highly sought after that those ultra-premium wineries – those that charge $300+ per bottle – will pay over $50,000 per ton of Beckstoffer’s fruit. This is some serious Cabernet that Brown works with.

As for the grapes used in the 2019 Schrader Cellars Double Diamond, Brown sources them from a few vineyards in the Oakville District and from the aforementioned To Kalon. If you’re wondering how that math works out on an $80 bottle when others charge three figures for their wines, it all comes down to which grapes are used. Brown gets around these expensive grape prices by sourcing from the vineyard’s youngest vines, the ones that were recently regrafted. Because regrafted vines don’t produce prime fruit for several years, and Beckstoffer can’t fetch top dollar for them just yet, Brown gets something of a deal.