Dear Friends of Wine,

Welcome to Schrader Cellars. We are extremely proud to present a compelling portfolio of single vineyard wines from the Napa Valley's most historic estates along with our efforts in California's dynamic emerging appellations. Our philosophy is to bring together the finest grape-growing resources available with the brightest talent in winemaking and then let the natural brilliance of this partnership shine through in the wine.

Our programs focus on classic grape varietals that are grown in exceptional vineyard estates and handcrafted to reflect the highest expression of the vintage. We pursue a "no-holds barred" approach to winemaking. Our wines are produced in very limited quantities and are often defined by a single clone of a grape variety, a specific block within a remarkable vineyard or in some cases, a matrix of the two. This intricate and involved method offers an extremely provocative and rewarding exploration of the influences of clone selection and terroir on the resulting wine.

The 2011 vintage was unexpectedly cool and wet through late spring. The good news is, with the unseasonably warm weather in July and August, our vineyard sites have bounded back and are now near normal harvest levels. In the cellar, our 2010 wines are resting quietly in barrel and we are delighted to report these young wines are super-dense and richly colored with great weight and stunning perfume aromatics.

Heading into the 2011 harvest, we are thrilled to announce this will be our 12th vintage together making wine. Beginning with a modest 5 tons in 2000, our prodigious winemaker, Thomas Brown, and his exceptional team have brought forth a collection of wines whose critical achievements have surpassed those of the most renowned wine producers in the world.

In his recent review of California Cabernet, Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate, awarded a complement of 98 to 100-point scores to our 2008 vintage wines and highlighted the significance of our achieving three consecutive years of 100-point scores for the Schrader CCS and Schrader "Old Sparky" Cabernet Sauvignons by saying, "Keep in mind, as my editor pointed out to me, this is the third straight vintage of this cuvee to merit a perfect score, which must be the first of its kind in 32 years of critiquing wines." We were staggered by this acknowledgement.

Complementing this achievement, in a first-ever event for Wine Spectator's critical blind tasting program, Senior Editor James Laube awarded our 2007 Schrader Cabernet Sauvignons a history-making "Royal Straight Flush" — two 100-points, two 99-points, and one 98-points! Never before in the history of the magazine's prestigious review program has an American wine received a "perfect" 100-point score. Needless to say, we were speechless when we received the reviews.

Most recently, Mr. Laube awarded our 2008 Schrader and 2008 Schrader "Old Sparky" Cabernets a stunning 98-points each! For the year, this near perfect rating was the highest score given to an American Cabernet and the achievement marked the fifth consecutive year a Schrader Cabernet has earned the top score from Wine Spectator. (Read the full reviews in our "Press Notes" section.)

For all of the astonishing critical feedback and the tremendous support we have received from our friends on our Mailing List, we are genuinely honored. We sincerely appreciate your faithful patronage and enduring enthusiasm for our wine program. For us, sharing our wines with friends and family is the most enjoyable part of the winemaking process and our highest wish is to create a great experience for you from start to finish.

All our best,
Fred & Carol