2013 Scherrer Winery, Zinfandel, Old and Mature Vines, Scherrer Vineyard, Alexander Valley
Drank with: Sally (actually, Nancy). Does not taste like Sally.
Provenance: Previously owned by Fred Scherrer. Been in my home for a couple of hours. Served near room-temp, but was outside for a while on a cold Chicago night.
Decant: None. Popped-and-poured.
Stemware: Riedel glasses (rhymes with needle). Not sure of the series, but they are red glasses of some sort.
Color: Beautiful purple-to-red color, ruby.
Aroma: Not getting strong aromatics.
Impressions: This is an easy to drink wine. Goes down easy. Nice on its own, and good with food.
Flavors: Had more red fruit at opening. Now seems heavy on blue and brambly fruits, blueberry, blackberry, some raspberry. Some pepper notes. Some tartness, and seemed to get tarter the longer it was open. Balanced, not too jammy or in-your-face Zin, more restrained. Not too tannic, nice acidity. I bet this winemaker also makes Pinots.
Food Pairing: Had it with beef quesadillas. I would say this would pair well with a lot of foods you would associate with a Zin.
Score: While I like to score, I’m not good doing it when I drink.
Drink window: Seems to definitely be in the window of Now. Not sure aging is going to help, but not going to hurt. I would go with Fred’s recs.
Personal Note: Berserker Day wine.
I gave up on Zins awhile ago, because there were just too many jammy ones with 16.5% alcohol. Seghesio Home Ranch was the only one I liked. After reading Paul’s review I may just have to dip my toe back in the Zin pool and give Scherrer Zins a go.
I’m in Sebastopol this week and stopped to see Fred and pick up my Hallberg vertical. I planned to take these home, but this thread is tempting me to open one before I get home.
Must be nice, I life 3 minutes away and can’t find time in my day to stop by for my wines. I miss half of the 3 day open houses for the same reason! #1stworldproblems
You don’t have to ask me twice. Dava came out of the cellar the other night with a 2005 Scherrer OMV and asked
“I grabbed a Zin, is this one ok?” She’s not much for secondary flavors so I told her I’d grab something a little more in her wheelhoise and we had a ‘17 Shane Pagani Ranch Zin that was a winner. The ‘05 OMV reminded me that I had some other older Scherrer wines stashed away so I pulled this tonight to take a look. In hindsight I should have left it stashed but here are my thoughts from tonight. I didn’t ask Sally what she thought.
2005 Scherrer Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Scherrer Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (2/5/2020)
Library purchase during an Open House back in 2016. Day 1 about 2 hours in. This is still a baby, dark fruit is prominent, a real mouthful but not like HonestBob mentioned in the prior note. There’s nothing sticky about this. Plenty of ripe tannins with some nice pyrazine notes, mouthwatering acidity. Keep this lying down for another decade at least. While enjoyable it has so much more to offer as it ages. I’ll check back in tomorrow but am not expecting much to change. I’ll just enjoy it’s youthfulness for now. Now, to reload.
Yes, the 2013 OMV was delicious . Yes I’m certain it will continue to develop for the next 20 years. Not sure why I bothered drinking it since I knew those would be the outcomes.
Huh by coincidence we opened a ‘15 old vines zin last night. My first bottle of Scherrer ever!
It was actually quite open and accessible I thought. Nose was a mix of red fruits and darker zinberry. There seemed to be just a little coconut oak in the background. The mouth was balanced acidity and tannin, also very nice. 14.5% abv but felt balanced without alcoholic heat. Very much on the red fruited elegant side of the Zinfandel spectrum. Also pretty young but should age beautifully, I hope that background oak I noticed will age away. Paired with burgers and baked yams perfectly. A winner.
My wife and I opened the '13 Old and Mature last night. I got red raspberry on the palate, with spice notes (baking spices, perhaps). And for the first time ever, I got brambly notes. Have heard that used before but I’ve never noticed it in a Zin until now. Well done Mr. Shcerrer!