Wine Spectator Names Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon #1 Wine of 2022
James Molesworth writes that Double Diamond “provides an emphatic answer to the Napa Cabernet value question, punching above its weight while costing well below the triple-digit entry point for top-flight Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. And it comes from Schrader Cellars, […] whose winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown, is acknowledged as one of the valley’s best.”
“With the pedigree of a great vineyard under the hand of a great winemaker, a second wine should never be overlooked,” Molesworth wrote of Double Diamond. “For its compelling combination of quality and price in a category that is awash in expense-account bottlings, the Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Double Diamond 2019 is our Wine of the Year for 2022.”
Wine Spectator Reviews Vintage 2019
Wine Spectator reviewer James Moleworth calls Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon a "value play".
"Schrader's Double Diamond bottling is made predominantly from To Kalon fruit, but checks in at just $80, well below the standard entry point of $100 for Napa Cabernet...
Packs in generous steeped plum, boysenberry and mulberry flavors backed by a broad swath of roasted alder and bittersweet cocoa. Brimming with dense fruit, and is squarely in the not-shy style. The long finish has a serious loamy tug, too. Best from 2023 through 2035."
Jeb Dunnuck Reviews Vintage 2019
"In addition to the single vineyard releases, this estate also releases a more value-priced Cabernet. The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Double Diamond (which is still 70% To kalon) offers a forward, medium to full-bodied, incredibly sexy style as well as classy notes of cassis, tobacco, incense, orange blossom, and flowers. Readers looking for a touch of that Schrader magic at a slightly more affordable price are going to love this beauty. It's already drinking nicely, and I see no need to delay gratification."