Three sides of Sonoma

There are many things to love about Sonoma County wine, and variety is definitely one of them. It was the theme of the final day of wine tasting in California’s North Coast regions in April 2013. We visited three very different producers – beginning in Santa Rosa at the Punchdown Cellars facility to visit Ceritas Wines, on to Chalk Hill and Calluna Vineyards, and finally into the heart of the Russian River Valley to Scherrer Winery in Sebastopol.

Ceritas Wines is the brainchild of John Raytek and Phoebe Bass. Their mission is to produce site-specific Chardonnay and Pinot Noir most notably from the family vineyard – The Porter Bass Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, just 8 miles inland in Forestville. There the vineyard rolls along slopes situated between ridge lines, benefiting from gentle fog, bright sunshine and cool nights. They sort grapes in the vineyard prior to harvest. In the cellar fermentation begins naturally without inoculation, and the wines are made without acid-addition. They avoid a cold-soak of the Pinot Noir, and ferment with 25% to 75% whole clusters.

Ceritas

We tasted three 2011 releases, as well as two barrel samples of 2012 Pinot Noir. My standouts included the 2011 Ceritas Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, which shined with bright citrus and floral notes, along with underlying depth of earthy minerals and dried herb – showing a dynamically rich structure with plenty of nervy tension. Very nice. The 2011 Ceritas Coastalina Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast showed clean tart fig and raspberry flavors along with deep notes of pine needle, tea leaf, and earth and brown spice – fine, silky, vibrant and complex. The 2012 Ceritas Porter Bass Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast from barrel was deeper and darker with black cherry and fig notes along with earth, forest, and savory spice that framed beautiful high-toned juicy mineral notes through the palate.

Calluna Vineyards

I first wrote about Calluna Vineyards after a visit three years ago. The vineyard was planted by David Jeffrey in 2003, and his moderately cool-climate site for Bordeaux varietals is producing balanced, powerful, and graceful wines – full of pleasure and sophistication. We tasted the current 2009 and 2010 releases.

Jon and I in the vineyard with David Jeffrey (photo by Justin)

My favorite was the 2010 Calluna ‘Aux Raynauds’ Merlot, Chalk Hill – showing plenty of mineral, floral, cedar, lead and leather sophistication, along with ripe currant fruit, all seamlessly layered and velvety on the palate, and finishing with plenty of brightness and firmness. What an awesome wine, it really shows the seriousness and sophistication that Merlot is capable of in California. I also really liked 2009 Calluna Vineyards Estate, Chalk Hill – this is a blend of the five Bordeaux varietals featuring Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot most prominently in the blend. This showed cassis and currants, with tea, floral, cedar, tobacco and black pepper notes, layered with big supple/firm tannins and juicy acidity on the finish. Also, look for the relative value of the 2010 Calluna ‘CVC’ CallunaVineyards Cuvee, Chalk Hill. This is another Bordeaux blend, that shows really well at a lower price point.

Scherrer Winery is located in an old warehouse building out on the far side of Sebastopol. Fred Scherrer produces wines from his family’s estate vineyard in Alexander Valley, as well as from numerous other sites in Sonoma County. It’s not a program that focuses solely on Bordeaux, Burgundy or Rhone varietals – instead it’s all of the above, along with Zinfandel too. Fred built production through the late 1980’s while working at Dehlinger Winery, finally moving into his own facility in 1997. Today production is between 4000 and 5000 cases. Fred’s winemaking philosophy often centers on minimal handling and non-interventionist techniques, and varies by varietal.

Fred Scherrer pouring for Justin

We tasted through a broad range of wine, with favorites ranging from the 2009 Scherrer Old Vine Scherrer Vineyard Zinfandel, Alexander Valley – a broad and brambly dark fruited Zinfandel with lots of cola, spice and cedar depth, polished and rustic with a nice finish. A trio of 2008 Pinot Noirs shined- 2008 Scherrer Pinot Noir, Sonoma County and 2008 Scherrer Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley both showed nice, forward, spice-laden red fruit with earthy rhubarb notes. The 2008 Scherrer Platt Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast showed similar flavors with more depth and a more bracing structure. A 2005 Scherrer Cabernet Sauvignon Scherrer Vineyard, Alexander Valley showed the warm friendly dark fruit of Alexander Valley with plenty of cedar, leather, dried herb, and vanilla notes, along with a rustic feel and sweet ripe tannins. Finally, the sleeper of the lineup was the 2008 ScherrerTimbervine Vineyard Syrah, Russian River Valley – showing beautiful crushed rock, tobacco and cedar, along with robust blackberry and savory earth on the palate. Elegant and balanced and very nice.

In many ways Scherrer’s wines embody Sonoma County. Not just in the variety and flavors in the bottle, but also in the down-to-earth workmanlike aesthetic of Fred and the winery. Fred’s even got a band room off to the side in the winery – jammed full of big amps and drums and guitars.

This was a fine lineup of three very different producers - click here to see all tasting notes from the day. It’s always a little sad to leave Sonoma County. Until next time!