Yes, I know that this is a horrible picture, but I’m still using the i-Phone 3. You’re welcome for the laugh.
Always one of my favorite producers, Scherrer Winery does everything well in the cellar. Whether its zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, chardonnay or their superb rose, Scherrer crafts some of the best wines for both near-term drinking and for the long term. This 2006 Syrah Russian River Valley is another standout from Fred Scherrer. The wine has a wonderful perfume of both blue and red fruit as well as a firm structure, flavors of berry and spice and a fair amount of freshness that you don’t often find in syrah. I tend to think of syrah as more of a roughhouse, hard edged and wild type of wine, but this one definitely veered towards the more feminine and elegant side, which made it all the more interesting.
The best chance you’ll have in obtaining wines from Scherrer is to join his mailing list. There are no minimum order requirements, prices are very fair and they offer a winery pick up option, which gives you a chance to taste current releases and the occasional back vintage and barrel sample. The website also allows you to order from a bevy of back vintages of all varietals, which is a great way to back fill your cellar and also taste older wines to help you assess future purchases from this winery.
The Grape Crusader 
Wow, two posts in as many days. Excellent writing and commentary. Keep em coming.
Yo Mark
Amazing what happens with my blog every time I’m in between jobs yah? Good to hear from you, let’s see if I can find something to drink tonight to keep you coming back.
Shoots
Andre
Hi Andre –
I helped make this wine! Fred allowed me to tag along at the winery for about a week in 2006 and this was in the tank at the time, and in need of punching down while I was there, so if you feel like there is a particularly nice balance to the tannins, it’s Fred’s fault. If you felt like they were clumsily integrated and rough, then it’s most certainly my fault…
A few additional notes. My time with Fred at the winery and here in Chicago where we distribute the Scherrer Winery at Candid Wines has lead me to work on a series of videos with him on every subject that might have come up in the winery or while working with chefs on pairing his wines. We have a page up on YouTube called “Ask a Winemaker” that was born out of Fred’s responses. We also use a guitar riff that Fred wrote and played as the lead for all our videos. Here is the page with all of Fred’s videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDQA2TCdd18&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL60BA50DBFAAF2E0A
Second, one of our customers here in Chicago has an extensive collection of Fred’s wines for sale as well. The folks at Flickinger Wines absolutely love Fred’s stuff and regularly buy back vintages from us. You can see their list here: http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/ScherrerWinery.asp
Finally, when I was at the winery in 06 we took the Helfer Vineyard Chardonnay from vine to barrel during the week I was there and the process allowed me a front row seat to the harvest and crush process. I have the story of “How To Make Chardonnay” up on our new website if you are interested: http://66.147.244.204/~candidwi/how-to-make-chardonnay-on-the-vine-at-the-helfer-vineyard-part-i/
The site is in beta and the address will change to a http://www.candidwines.com/something address soon, but we have not transferred yet.
Cheers,
Damien
Hello Damien
Well look at that! It must be nice to see your handy work come full circle. Coincidentally, we also enjoyed drinking the 06 Helfer Chard
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and information filled comment. The links you provided are totally awesome and I’ve already begun to spend some time watching the videos. It’s nice to see you spreading the Scherrer gospel in the mid west. It looks like you have a quality portfolio and I’m glad that you also have Porter Creek alongside Scherrer in your portfolio. I think their wines are fabulous too.
Thanks again for stopping by and I hope to see you around.
Cheers
Andre