2015 Old Sparky


Our 2015 Beckstoffer To Kalon Old Sparky 1.5L will be shipped in a Schrader Cellars wooden box.

Every year as we pass through the cellar and taste our young wines aging, we are compelled to individual barrels that possess a particular brilliance, the outliers. These exceptional wine possess limitless depth, richness of character, and a timeless quality that are the hallmarks of a classic wine. It is from these special barrels of Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet that we craft our 2015 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Old Sparky. With the superb conditions of 2015, we are extremely proud to present this masterful vintage of our signature cuvée.

  • Vintage 2015
  • Vineyard Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
  • Appellation Oakville, Napa Valley
  • Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Clone Clones 4, 6, and 337
  • Cooperage Aged 20 months in rare Darnajou French oak barrels
  • Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown
  • Tasting Notes

    Every year as we pass through the cellar and taste our young wines aging, we are compelled to individual barrels that possess a particular brilliance, the outliers. These exceptional wine possess limitless depth, richness of character, and a timeless quality that are the hallmarks of a classic wine. It is from these special barrels of Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet that we craft our Schrader Old Sparky. With the superb conditions of 2015, we are extremely proud to present this masterful vintage of our signature cuvée.

  • Accolades

    100 Pts. “A wine that got more than one expletive in my notes, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky is a barrel selection and is mostly clone 6 with smaller amounts of clone 4. Pure crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, white chocolate, and white flower notes all soar from this inky 2015 which is full-bodied, powerful, yet weightless and elegant. Its tannins are covered by a wealth of fruit, it has no hard edges, perfect integration of its fruit, tannin, acidity, and alcohol, and a finish that just won’t quit. This is a crazy good wine that couldn’t be any better.”
    — Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

    97 Pts. “A barrel selection coming from the best barrels of Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Sparky has a deep garnet-purple color and savory/meaty nose of yeast extract, chargrill, sautéed herbs and smoked meat over a core of crème de cassis, cigar box, red currant jelly and wild blueberries plus a touch of powdered cinnamon. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with black fruit preserves, savory and baking spice layers, with a very firm backbone and very long, multilayered finish.”
    — Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate

  • Vineyard

    First planted in 1868 by viticultural and winemaking icon Hamilton Crabb, To Kalon Vineyard® has long been regarded as the source of Napa Valley’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Within the prime vineyard blocks, an alluvial fan provides excellent and varied mineral deposits, and the rich soils are filled with marine sediment that gives our wines their distinctive profiles. The vines receive full sun and optimal heat during the day and are cooled by marine fog at night. These conditions allow the Cabernet Sauvignon planted in the vineyard to display its own unique character, and this celebration of individuality is the essence of Schrader ®.

  • Vintage

    The 2015 vintage was radiant with abundant sunshine and consistent weather that yielded an excellent, albeit small, crop of optimally ripe grapes from all of our vineyard sources. Now resting in barrel, the young wines are showing their brilliance with boundless fruit character that harkens back to the acclaimed 2012 vintage. While it is the fruit profile that reflects these wines, it is the underlying firm structure of the 2015 Cabernets that distinguishes them from their siblings. As Thomas remarked, “fruit sweetness will allow these wines to drink really well while young, yet it’s their looming structure that will allow for long aging.”