Winemaker's Notes
Watching the wonderful early development of the 2016 vintage I look at this upcoming bottling with great anticipation. There’s some of that typical stone fruit character and a good bit of savory elements as well. This area presents itself a bit leaner than the Old & Mature Vines bottling and it possesses less dark fruits on the nose and middle palate, yet more red fruits and nectarine. What it offers are Pinot-like layers such as Royal Ann cherries and beet root, along with some light herbal notes, especially on the finish. It’s no surprise people describe this as Pinot-like. But I guarantee it is 100% Zinfandel.
Due to the positive response from those who missed the futures offering but still wanted a couple bottles of this, we have continued to hold a small portion of this back in order to have some available at release. We kept less this time, so it should not last very long. Limit of 6 bottles.
Judi Scherrer –
California Grapevine – July 2019
Medium to medium-dark ruby; attractive, fragrant, spicy, earthy, red berry and blackberry jam aroma with hints of black pepper and tobacco leaf; full body; rich, ripe, cedary, red and dark berry fruit flavors with good depth and acid balance; medium-full to full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Enjoyable to drink now, or over the next three to five years. Very highly recommended. My Score: 91/100. Nick Ponomareff
Judi Scherrer –
Vinous – April 2020
The 2017 Zinfandel Scherrer Vineyard Shale Terrace is endowed with superb depth and a vertical feel that is impossible to miss. Red cherry, iron, game, smoke, licorice and dried herbs infuse the Shale Terrace with quite a bit of aromatic and flavor nuance to play off its natural richness. This is yet another compelling wine from Fred Scherrer. 93 points. Antonio Galloni