John Scharffenberger, who originally founded the winery gave up control in 1996. Control is now with Roederer and the day-to-day wine team at Scharffenberger has remained the same with Tex Sawyer leading the way. Tex has been the winemaker at Scharffenberger since the late 1980s and has seen the producer through the change from Scharffenberger to Pacific Echo and back to Scharffenberger. The purchase also carries on the tradition of investment in Scharffenberger from a Champagne house. Scharffenberger originally partnered with Pommery when it started in 1981, and then saw investment from Veuve Clicquot (and LVMH when they purchased Pommery and then sold it off, but kept Scharffenberger) starting in the early 90s. Now it is Roederer’s turn.

Roederer bought Scharffenberger for a couple of reasons. No matter what you hear, the biggest one was to get more land to increase Roederer Estate production. Scharffenberger owned 275 hectacres (not all of it is planted) and Roederer was looking to expand Roederer Estate production, but only uses estate grown Anderson Valley Fruit. How do you get more estate fruit? You buy another vineyard. This means that more and more of the fruit that goes into Scharffenberger will be brought in (confirmed by Roederer and Scharffenberger). Is this bad? I don’t think so, as I never really liked Scharffenberger/Pacific Echo. As long as Roederer raises the quality, I don’t care. My first thought was that Roederer would simply keep the land and sell the label and stocks of Scharffenberger, but they do not plan on doing this.

The second reason Roederer bought Scharffenberger was to make them a US version of Deutz.  Roederer had great success raising the quality of Deutz in Champagne and making money from the deal. They are looking to duplicate that with Scharffenberger right down to the tasting rooms. At Roederer Estate there are write-ups and displays on Louis Roederer Champagne and you can buy Louis Roederer’s complete line-up there. At Scharffenberger, this same format is followed except that it is Deutz that is highlighted. Roederer has said that they intend to keep Scharffenberger as a completely different style of wine, but would like to raise the quality.

As for Roederer, they are kicking along as a high quality producer, but I think they are having some quality problems, as the demand for their wine is high and as mentioned above, they only use estate grown fruit. In my opinion, this has caused a few of the NV wines to be released a little too soon and take on green notes. Across multiple bottles, I noticed that both the NV White and Rosé Bruts have been uneven. I think time will help it, but I also think that the drop in time spent lees aging will end up costing the wines a bit of future complexity. Outside of this, the wines are well made and the most Champagne-like of any of the California sparklers. This is my only other argument with Roederer Estate. It is clear that Roederer has top fruit and a great team, but I think they spend a bit too much effort embracing Champagne and not enough embracing California. I think adding in a slight bit more California style would lift the wines up even more. It is a minor complaint, but I’ve always found that tilting too much towards California or Champagne can stunt the full potential of what could be accomplished. This is seen in the fact that a common characteristic of the Roederer Estate L’Ermitage vintages as they age is something that I call “slippery citrus”. It is kind of a funky early maturing citrus flavor that I find in sparkling wines (from anywhere) that are trying to be something they are not; in this case, Champagne. I do not know what causes it, but it is not a plus, though in small amounts is only a minor defect in my eyes. However, when it really stands out, it is a huge defect and can develop into a yucky, slimy citrus flavor. All of the L’Ermitage cuvees from 1996 and before showed this in at least a minor way with the 1993 really showing it.

Regardless of any criticism I level on Roederer Estate, it is one of the best sparkling wine producers not only in California, but in the world. I just see potential to be even better.

Some quick facts/thoughts/opinions on Roederer Estate:

• The Roederer Estate Brut is 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir with at least 2 years of aging on its lees. The cuvee includes 11-15% of reserve wines which were oak aged.

•  The Roederer Estate Rosé is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay with at least 2 years aging on its lees. The rosé is made by a 5% addition of red wine. 10-20% of the cuvee is made up of oak aged reserve wines. This bottling is actually produced in lower numbers than the L’Ermitage Brut (but not the L’Ermitage Rosé).

• L’Ermitage is normally around 50/50 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a slight majority of Chardonnay; Even though it is vintage dated, it includes a few percent of oak aged reserve wines. The base of the dosage for this wine is a previous vintage’s L’Ermitage base wine aged in oak casks.

• The Roederer Estate Extra Dry is a higher dosed version of the Roederer Estate Brut.

• Dosage levels on the wines are in the 11-13 g/L range with 12 g/L being the norm.

• All Roederer Estate sparklers are made from estate grown fruit.

• L’Ermitage is normally disgorged anywhere around 3-3.5 years after it is put in the bottle for second fermentation (add on an extra 6 months to the 3 years to date back to harvest.

• Magnums are aged a minimum of 1 extra year on their lees vs. 750 mL bottles (as is the practice at many producers).

• I did not taste the L’Ermitage Rosé. The L’Ermitage Rosé is made by the red wine addition method and follows the dosage of the other brut wines (which follow the Louis Roederer dosage tendencies) and is at 12 g/L for the first release in 1999. As with the regular L’Ermitage it is around 50/50 Chardonnay  and Pinot Noir with a slight majority of Pinot Noir. It also includes a small percentage of oak aged reserve wine and has a dosage based on a prior vintage of L’Ermitage. Basically, this is the L'Ermitage with some still Pinot Noir added to it... and an extra $30-$35 added to the price tag.

• I really think most Roederer Estate wines need some bottle age after purchase to reach their full potential. A minimum of 1 year for the NV wines and 3+ years for L’Ermitage.

As with many other California winemakers, I think all the Roederer wines would be better with an extra year spent aging on the lees. The proof is in the tasting. I wish economics weren’t an issue and this could be done. Please note that I don’t think you should age sparkling wine on its lees for as long as you can, but many new world sparkling wine producers age their wines far too young for how they have crafted their cuvees.

As with all my other California notes, these wines were tasted between September 12 and October 15 of 2006. They came from the following sources: purchased at the winery, supplied by the winery, tasted at the winery, new releases purchased from a store, and older vintages from my cellar. Some of the wines were tried multiple times and almost all were evaluated over a minimum of a 1 hour period. Glassware was not consistent. With any older bottle, bottle variation can run high. When a bottle was clearly flawed and there was no backup, I have noted it. I have had many of these wines (and others not included below) before and that has helped in shaping a perspective for when a wine is dying and was not flawed.

Roederer Estate Wines

NV Brut
Fresh peaches, citrus, and honeysuckle on the nose with flavors of fresh squeezed citrus juice and toast. I tasted quite a few bottles of this and some were a bit green and clearly needed time. The magnums show a bit more fruit oomph and maturity to them. I like the wine, but my only complaint is that sometimes bottles seem to be released a bit too young when compared to a couple years ago. I would encourage storage of at least a year unless you are into variation. Or, you could just buy magnums.    B  Find this wine

NV Brut Rose
I love the strawberries, biscuits, and citrus cream that weave their way through the nose and palate, but I wish it had a bit more depth or power. This has the potential to be one of the top couple of California sparklers, but always seems just a bit too thin to get there.    B 
Find this wine

NV Extra Dry
A higher dosed version of the regular Brut. This shows a candied nose and a light, fluffy palate with sweet pears and citrus. Not bad, but I prefer the Brut.    B-  Find this wine

1990 L’Ermitage
Biscuit spice, bland citrus, and pears make up the wine mix. The typical cream also enters in. I would drink this up as it seems to be fading a bit .    B-  Find this wine

1991 L’Ermitage
This is still kicking with plenty of citrus and creamy yellow apples on the nose. The palate is no slacker either, with allspice and honey highlighting a slightly sweet biscuit, pear, and citrus parade.    B+  Find this wine

1992 L’Ermitage
Creamy, candied, pie crust on the nose leads into a fluffy palate that is highlighted by graham crackers, peaches, and pears. This is showing a strong sweetness that I think holds it back just a bit and costs it a higher grade. That said, it is the most exotic of the L’Ermitages I tasted.    High B+  Find this wine

1993 L’Ermitage
This is very creamy and dominated by citrus. The downfall is that the citrus seems to be going over and getting a tad slippery (you can really pick up on this as the wine warms up). Some oxidation is sneaking in. It does show good apple and pear fruit, but this bottle stood a rung below its peers due to the predominance of the slippery citrus flavor. Maybe a bit of bad storage or heat damage brought the slippery citrus more to the fore on this bottle?    High B  Find this wine

1994 L’Ermitage (disgorged October 1999)
A honey-kissed and floral spiced biscuit nose greets me with a warm hug. It then shows off its rich, creamy body with a note of sweetness and serves me a side of Crème Brûlée. For an encore, this beautiful wine covers itself in baked apples, citrus, biscuits, and pie crust. I’m in love. One of the best wines I tasted during my adventure. If you think this is good out of the bottle, try it out of magnum (I didn’t taste it out of magnum for this note, but the mags have been knockouts in the past). One interesting note about this wine: because there was no 1995, this wine was released and disgorged across a couple years. Because of this, many bottles saw extra time aging on their lees when compared to other vintages of L’Ermitage. I think this helped add to the quality of the 1994 vintage especially if you drink one of the late disgorged bottles. I’ve had this out of bottles disgorged in 1998 and out of magnum. It has always been an A- wine with the magnums and 1999 disgorgements showing up at a higher A- level.    High A-  Find this wine

1996 L’Ermitage (disgorged April 2000)
A spicy, honey citrus nose with excellent doughy notes. The palate shows gorgeous flavors of baking spice, apples, cream, and biscuit. It is an apple pie in a bottle and gets better with air.    A-  Find this wine

1997 L’Ermitage
Tart citrus and doughy notes with highlights of peaches and pears dominate the profile of this wine. It shows an out of place fluffiness and a finish that is a little short. This stands out as having excellent potential, but isn’t quite there yet. As the bottle sat open, this improved quite a bit.    Low B+ with the potential to become a very solid or high B+  Find this wine

1998 L’Ermitage
Corked! No backup!! I located some at a local shop and they informed me that they had bottles, but that they were cooked!!! I guess I was not meant to taste this wine right now.

1999 L’Ermitage
Very smooth and creamy with young dough and citrus blossoms weaving in and out of the nose and palate. This is very clean and has a nice toasty finish. Will improve with time, but stay in the B+ zone.    B+  Find this wine

Some quick facts/thoughts/opinions on Scharffenberger/Pacific Echo:

• The Scharffenberger Brut is 67% Pinot Noir and 33% Chardonnay with a dosage of 9-12 g/L

• The Scharffenberger Extra Dry is identical to the Brut except that it has a dosage of 20 g/L

• The makeup of the Cremant is very similar to the above wines only with a slight bit more Chardonnay. The dosage is 28 g/L.

• All wines see 100% malolactic fermentation. If there is one change Roederer makes, I hope it is this.

• They will be bringing out a Rosé in the coming year. No decisions on vintage dated cuvees have been made yet. Roederer appears to be taking a wait and see approach.

• The one thing to remember is that Tex Sawyer has led winemaking going back to the original Scharffenberger label and I have not seen any changes through the years of transition. So, regardless of the label, what is in the bottle is consistent. We will have to wait and see if the Roederer control changes things.

Scharffenberger/Pacific Echo Wines

NV Scharffenberger Brut
Very easy to drink with lots of apple notes, but nothing else stands out. A very ordinary and inoffensive wine, but also a very yawn inducing wine.    C+  Find this wine

NV Scharffenberger Extra Dry
Same wine as the Brut only with a higher dosage. I think the dosage helps it out here as this is a bit lighter and fluffier with powdered sugar and peaches joining the apple profile and giving it some expression.    B-  Find this wine

NV Scharffenberger Cremant
Mucho malo on the nose. Both the nose and palate are a bit thin and light. I like the way the lightness matches with the very sweet flavors, but the only fruit present is clumsy fat apple.    Low C  Find this wine

NV Pacific Echo Cremant
Simple aromas of shriveled (but not yet moldy) peaches, sugar, and flowers. Not very attractive. The taste is bitter and has flavors of sugary, spoiled peach juice mixed with some flowers and watered down Budweiser. Very odd. I do not like this. D+ Find this wine

1997 Pacific Echo Brut Rosé
Ripe citrus and tart red berries mix with a good serving of biscuits to lead a nice nose into a biscuit filled palate. Joining the biscuits are strawberries and red citrus. The finish is short and this is starting to fade so drink up if you have it.    B-  Find this wine

And, since this Scharffenberger is a kind of “US Deutz”, I thought I would throw in this tasting note from when Deutz had their own US operation (joint venture between Beringer and Deutz). It was my last bottle. No tears were shed.

1990 Maison Deutz
A mature golden color highlights this wine. I’ve noticed that many California sparklers not only mature faster in flavor, but also in color. I wonder why? The nose on this wine is citrus and sherry. The palate is full of thin slippery citrus, dry sherry, and toasty notes. It is clearly oxidized, but interesting, as it isn’t made anymore and harkens back to a time when everyone in Champagne and their brother were starting California sparkling wineries. This is a wine on its last legs or dead already and as so, I won’t grade it (though it was never very good in its prime). If you want to make a grade up for it, you could use any of the last 23 letters of the alphabet and I wouldn’t argue with you.
__________________
Brad Baker

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