2012 Chardonnay 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.