2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Scherrer Vineyard

I was quite impressed with Fred Scherrer's wines this year. There is something very genuine about Scherrer's down to earth approach and operation. Scherrer releases his wines first to his mailing list, then offers them to the trade a few years later, when he thinks they are ready to be drunk. Prices are a throwback to a time that seems long gone at so many other properties. These aren't the fanciest wines readers will come across, but they have a down-home earnestness and humility that makes them quite distinctive. Stylistically, the wines occupy a middle ground; they are neither picked excessively early nor late, but somewhere in the middle. In the cellar, the approach is hands-off, with minimal racking and little overall oak influence, which can at times cause the wines to not show their true potential in barrel.

Fred Scherrer is one of the most unassuming winemakers in Sonoma. Working out of a simple, functional building in Sebastopol, Scherrer makes a range of wines from sites in Sonoma and Alexander Valley. These are generally mid-weight wines that spend more time in barrel than is the norm these days, with minimal rackings and a generally non-interventionist approach. Scherrer releases to their mailing list before the wines are put into distribution, sometimes by as much as a few years, so readers may see a wide range of vintages in the market between what is available at the winery and the current releases in shops and restaurants.