Tell Me About Scherrer

WINE TALK
1

Looking at buying some Zins

07 and 05 OMV

What is the Shale Terrace like and the Special Cuvee?

Do you recommend spits?

TIA

2

Spits? Splits? Pits? Sitz? Spitz?

I could go on and on about how Fred and Judi Scherrer have absolutely no egos and the fact that they make wine in a style that I love (lower alcohol, higher acid, not spoofalated, etc.), but I won’t. I’ll just tell you that you should simply buy all you can afford and let your own palate be your guide on choosing your favorite of the three. I dropped off the list along with all my lists several years ago, but memory says that the Shale Terrace shows, as you might expect, a little minerality from the vineyard and that the Special Cuvee is the stuff that didn’t make it into the other bottlings, but I could be wrong. It doesn’t really matter though, because they’re all wonderful.

Oh . . . and throw a bottle of cabernet in there someplace.

3

Good

4

SPLITS…I failed the Polish spelling bee blush

5

Succint and to the point.

6

For me, the OMV are insanely good; not such a fan of the shale terrace.

7

X2

I like the Shale Terrace, but LOVE the OMV, and both '05 and '07 are great vintages to buy. His Zinfandels are my favorite, but his cabs and Pinots are also excellent, always well priced, and consistent vintage after vintage.

8

Todd,

I just emailed Judi and said you recommended them. [berserker.gif]

9

I’m sure it’s not the first time she’s heard it…

10

Fred worked with Tom Dehlinger many years ago. Two outstanding producers not to be missed.

11

Great guy making great wines - and a pleasure to talk with as well!

Cheers!

12

Well…she just said since you referred me, there is no wine for me [pillow-fight.gif]

13

We met up with Fred in November. Down to earth guy making wines that reflect his personality. I bought a few bottles at his winery, and bought a bottle off of Cyrus’ winelist that evening. I called him when I got home and bought a bunch more.

14

super cool guy, we love his PN, Zin & Cabernet - drink this stuff up. like others i prefer OMV to Shale.

Fred’s wines are on the list @ Taste in Plymouth if you find yourself in The Foothills.

15

all this love and Dildine hasn’t even posted in the thread yet!!!

16

Another big thumbs up for Scherrer. Not sure how long the family has been in the wine/vineyard business. I know Fred’s father has owned vineyard land for a long time. Fred is a Davis grad, and very experienced winemaker. He worked as Tom Dehlinger’s winemaker (not sure if that would be classified as “assistant” or not). That was during the 80s/90s, when Dehlinger may have produced some of the finest Pinots and Syrahs made in California. Fred is one of the most experienced and down to earth winemakers around, making beautiful wines at very fair prices. A visit to the rustic old apple processing facility turned winery in the heart of Russian River is an experience not to be missed. The Zins are some of the best, most traditionally styled around, Pinot and Chard are outstanding, and the Cabs can be very good.

17

Fred is an outstanding winemaker, and the Scherrer wines are great values – excellent, well made, ageable. I’m not a Zin guy, although I’ve tried a number of Fred’s. The OMVs are always good.

18

Bob - I’m going to be on the road most of this month, but would be happy to pour you a representative sample of Fred’s wines sometime. I personally love his Pinot Noirs, particularly with some bottle age, but he produces structured beautiful wines with a number of different varietals. PM me if interested.

19

Doesn’t seem necessary to add to the kudos, but I will anyway.

I used to sell Scherrer Chard in my shop and found it to be just about the best California Chard I’ve ever had. I don’t recall a vineyard designation on the label, but I know if was unfiltered and just plain wonderful. Vintages would probably have been '04 and '05.

The only problem I ever had was with a customer who brought it back because it wasn’t crystal clear like her beloved Rombauer. No amount of attempted education about unfiltered wines would pacify her. She and her husband would not even taste it. Just wanted to exchange for something else. [truce.gif]

20

I really hate it when I miss a Fred-fest. Here’s the thing. All of his wines are great and superb values.

But for me, his Zins are extra special. His family has owned one of the world’s best old vine vineyards for decades. He understands his estate grapes as well as anyone understands any vineyard. Scherrer zins are distinctive - red fruit, feminine, with exquisite balance. They are really like no other.

The last three vintages (05-07) of OMV have been fantastic. I’m not sure what Fred has left (if he has any 07 left it is in spite of my efforts), but for a nice sampler I might try 05 OMV, 07 OMV and 07 Shale Terrace.

All of the other good stuff written about Scherrer here is true. I didn’t see any negative stuff, but if there is any - it is false! [berserker.gif]

Disclosure: I’ve never met Fred in my life. I think he’s impervious to kiss-ups anyway.