Wine with Micah
Elconin
Peter Scott Fraser has worked hard to get where he is today. The grand opening of Scott Cellars over Memorial Day weekend was the end result of a sustained work/study program that he designed for himself, and I have to tell you, he’s done something right along the way.
Mr. Fraser’s road to Scott Cellars began over a decade ago. He got a job selling wine for a local wine merchant and within a few years, moved up the ranks to brokering wine himself. After five years of selling great wines by day and reading everything he could find on wine by night, he decided it was time to get his hands (and feet) wet. He landed a job making wine for Leeward Vineyards and worked as their winemaker for the following five years. Only after creating a solid grounding for himself in both sales and production did he begin the project that is now known as Scott Cellars.
I stopped into Scott Cellars recently and had a wonderful time tasting and chatting with Mr. Fraser and his wife Jennifer. Mr. Fraser not only owns Scott Cellars, but he is the winemaker and tasting room manager as well. While this may be a little hectic at times for Mr. Fraser, it’s a rare treat for wine enthusiasts in the area. Tasting wines under the guidance of the winemaker himself is always a memorable experience, and this couldn’t be truer when it comes to Scott Cellars. Mr. Fraser’s knowledge of, and love for, wine is immediately noticeable through his presence and the wines he produces. The cheese pairings offered below are straight from Mr. Fraser himself.
Scott Cellars is located at
05 Pinot Gris –
This might be one of
the best Pinot Gris that I have tasted in the Valley. Aromas of green apples
are followed by an incredibly balanced mouth feel. Unlike many Pinot Gris, this one has a
great mid palette feel (often times Pinot Gris feels watery on the mid
palette). What’s the
trick? Mr. Fraser blends in just
under 1percent of heavily oaked chardonnay. The end result is that the apple in the
nose gets dipped in just a little bit of butterscotch. A nice Triple Crème Brie is the perfect compliment to this
one.
05
Chardonnay – Bien Nacido Block 1
This Chardonnay was
aged for a very short time in new oak.
This quick but strong oak aging creates a wine that has great body but
also acid that is loud and clear. Match
that up with the pear and pineapple aromatics and you got yourself a great
everyday Chardonnay. Mr. Fraser
likes this one with a slightly aged goat cheese like Peak Pyramid which is made by Haystack
Creamery.
05 Pinot Noir –
Mr. Fraser calls this
a masculine pinot. Its flavors are
assertive and the wine has a very full mouth feel. The nose offers great toast notes as
well as a prominent cherry candy component. The wine feels a little tight still on
the palette, but all the components are there. A good decanting or a few years in the
cellar are a must for this wine to show its true colors. When the time is right try it with Cow Girl Creamery’s Red Hawk
cheese.
05 Syrah – Black Oak Vineyard
This warm climate that
the grapes in this wine came from creates a whole lot of dark fruit flavors in
this wine. Not really peppery like
some of the other great Syrahs in the area, this wine
is more similar to an Australian
05 Cuvee J
J is for
Jennifer. A blending of 78%
Zinfandel and 22% Syrah leads to a very big wine that is full of alcohol
(16.9%) and flavor. The idea behind
this one was to use the Syrah to fill out the Zinfandel which already had good
red fruit flavors and a lot of punch.
The end result is a highly refined Zinfandel that moves smoothly across
the palette yet still heats up the back of your throat. Forget the cheese on this one and go
straight for 71 percent
Cocoa Dark Chocolate.