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.
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| 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!
