2007 Syrah Sasha Russian River Valley

I asked Fred Scherrer to give me a quick generalization of the styles of wine he's made in recent vintages. His response: "2009 is about balance, 2008 is about aromatics, 2007 is about intensity and 2006 is about texture." He added that he's "far more comfortable putting pinot into new oak than syrah. Oak adds structure and tannins to pinot, which are qualities that syrah already has built in. You want to use wood to break up the naturally reductive character of syrah but you shouldn't have to make it more tannic. Quite the opposite, actually." Scherrer told me that his late-release program satisfies his desire to put the wines out when they've lost some of their primary character and have begun to develop their personality. "It also means that my customers have a head start on drinking or serving them."