Schrader vs Maybach

Can anyone describe (generally speaking) the similarities or differences between these two stalwarts? Thanks in advance.

I tasted the 08 and 09 Maybach, and would say both were open for drinking. I’ve popped a couple of '07 Schraders. You will find them enjoyable, but they don’t taste the way I’d imagine they will in 5 - 10 years.

Thanks Dan. My sole experience with either was the 09 Maybach which was very open for business (and delicious).

Schrader is better, and is routinely one of the best tasting young wines you will ever taste. I’d say that about the Maybach if there was no such thing as Schrader.

+1. The Maybach is excellent, but for me it does not have quite the purity/complexity of the Schrader. I have been wowed with every bottle of Schrader I have opened.

I would tend to put Schrader a bit more in the finesse camp and Maybach leaning towards more power and ripeness. Both are delicious. Schrader typically requires more aeration at an early age (12-24hrs) whereas Maybach usually only requires 1-3hrs decant.

For me, Schrader’s fruit expression is blue where Maybach is red. IMO, Schrader is a bigger/denser wine but still maintains the cool fruits expression with cassis as the dominant fruit profile. Maybach is always jammier. IMO, this is the reason why Antonio rates Maybach lower than what some cal cab lovers would expected.

Having had every vintage of each, some numerous times, I will add my 2 cents: on first ‘go’ at it, I would say the Schraders tend to be the darker & denser of the two while the Materium more plushy and round. To go deeper, I find that vineyard sources tend to declare the direction each run with the Schrader’s Tokalon adding more creaminess/cola/cassis driven notes in the mid palate and the Materiums Weiss being more ‘sweet’ red/black fruit core and slightly more dimensional with added elegance. I prefer the Materium. In years like 2006 (a more ‘elegant’ leaning year as compared to 2005 where power was in control) the difference is stark where the Schrader is awkward and cloying compared to Materiums grace and finesse. Grace and finesse will always win out over power and glory.

Mike do I recall you indicated Rivers Marie Panek is Schrader-esque?

I did. Schrader-lite? (in a really good way)

Power could be hard to control. Schraders are made to Fred Schraders preferences, and its one that has gotten lots of attention obviously (and points).
Finesse could be harder to pull off, but takes center stage when it has been. The RM has more finesse, just not in the Materium color wheel…

I would reach for a RM Panek over a Schrader on any given day. Half price means something too.

not half price… much different tariff… and availability…Plus, it’s nice to support the winemaker directly, although i suspect TRB does ok either way

It is half price. RM Panek is $75. Schrader is $150. Not to mention Schraders utilizes a costlier shipping scheme. Shipping is included in the RM Cabs offer price.
I would not be schocked if the final cost(s) of RM turns out to be more like 42-45% of the Schraders total cost(s).

What if we throw Kapcsandy into the mix? How would you compare it to these two?

my bad… was thinking about the regular RM cabs… sorry

I dropped Schrader and stuck with Maybach for several reasons, including:
Multiple bottles of the same wine
Cost difference, particularly when you count packaging and shipping
Depending on vintage, there is little to no drop in quality with Maybach
Customer service
I don’t find myself considering selling my Maybach for profit due to 10-fold increases in market value

Schrader is $175. With shipping and tax $200.

Right. I thought 150 was a mistake.

You were also mistaken that Maybach is better than Schrader.

IMHO neither is worth the price.

If we are lucky, really lucky, this discussion will devolve the way it would if we were asking whether old world wine was better than new world.