An Afternoon with Rick Sayre

Rick Sayre has been the winemaker at Rodney Strong Vineyards more than 20 years, and like most winemakers, he's a man with a considerable breadth of knowledge.  I've known many winemakers over the last few decades; most are interesting people with a lot to impart, and most are happy to share their knowledge. Sayre, like most people in his position, wears a lot of hats.  He's a farmer who has to know about soils, pests and fertilizer.  He deals with ampelography (the study of grapes), and understands the biology and genetics of the juicy little jewels.  His work is subject to the vagaries of the weather, but he must be a successful forecaster when it comes time to begin the harvest.  And then once the grapes are at the winery, chemistry and physics and food science come into play in terms of contact with yeast, time of fermentation, length of aging and so on. But after all these measurable facets of turning grape juice into wine, perhaps the most important aspect of the winemaker's art is blending, at which point science becomes art of the nose and the palate.  Aging the wine, first in barrel and then in bottle, asks another type of knowledge, and the same senses, aroma and taste, come into play again. And then, after all these pieces of the puzzle have come together, and the wine is in the bottle, then people like Sayre go out on the road to sell their wine and to talk with restaurateurs, sommeliers, wine-sellers, wine-drinkers, wine writers. So Sayre and I sat over lunch last week, sampling five new red wines under the Rodney Strong label – the '99 cabernet sauvignon from Sonoma County; the ‘98 cabernet sauvignon from the Alexander's Crown vineyard in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County; the ‘97 cabernet sauvignon from the Alden vineyard of the Alexander Valley; the ‘97 reserve cabernet sauvignon from northern Sonoma; and the ‘97 Symmetry, a Meritage blend of mostly cabernet sauvignon grapes. In the order described, they range in price from the high teens to about $55 at a retail store. All are excellent.  None is yet at its peak, but they're close. Sayre looked as proud as a father sending his five children off to school.  He loves all of them, and he smiles tightly when someone asks his favorite.  "How do you choose your favorite child?" is the question asked in his eyes. The 51-year-old Sayre, his dark hair graying elegantly at the edges, has been making wine in California since 1970, beginning at Simi under the leadership of the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff, one of the winemakers who proved that great wines could be made in California. An incipient perfectionist even at that age, he refined that talent under Tchelistcheff, noting, "Andre taught me that a winemaker must live with his wine.  Even the smallest details can have an effect, so it's important to be aware of everything." Barrels, whether for blending or aging, add a vital component to wine, and Sayre became one of the first American winemakers to establish an in-house cooperage, specializing in the toasting of American oak barrels.  Much of the American oak, by the way, comes from the Missouri Ozarks. One of the important aspects of coopering (the art of making barrels) is toasting; the inside is charred, from lightly to heavily, to help release flavors and aromas into the wine. Sayre discovered that while French coopers built small charcoal fires inside the newly made barrel, watching them carefully to reach the proper toast level, American coopers tended to use a blowtorch, which was faster but less effective.  Winemakers have individual, often idiosyncratic, desires of how heavy the toast. "Wood is very important," Sayre said. "Different trees have a tighter or looser grain, which affects everything from the solidity of the barrel to the way it releases its various chemicals.  Taking this in-house made it easier to figure out exactly what we wanted and able to explain it to various makers." French oak is about three times as expensive as Missouri oak (roughly $600 to $200 a barrel), but the native variety, much of it growing in the Ozarks, imparts flavors faster. Sayre tends to use barrels for white wines for a year, then turns them over to his red wine program. All the reds are wonderful with beef and lamb, and they can handle a variety of spices and herbs in sauces and seasoning. Taking them in order, this taster's notes look this way: * 1999 Sonoma County, 79 percent cabernet sauvignon, 12 percent merlot, 9 percent cabernet franc: About 6-10 months more bottle age will bring it to peak drinkability, but it's very good today, with fresh bread (that's the yeast), cherry and boysenberry in the aroma, plenty of cherry in the flavor along with a little oak and a hint of smoke.  Sayre would serve it with fusilli pasta and wild mushrooms, and I'd like to be at the table. * 1998 Alexander's Crown Vineyard, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, 80 percent cabernet sauvignon, 11 percent merlot, 9 percent cabernet franc: A wine from the wet year of El Nino, this has fruit up front and a deep plum color surrounding aromas of blackberries and chocolate.  Blueberry and cassis show in the flavor, with an aftertaste showing a little spiciness and a touch of oak.  Very much in the Bordeaux style; perfect with a grilled filet mignon, ready to enjoy around New Year's Eve. * 1997 Alden Vineyards, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, 86 percent cabernet sauvignon, 8 percent cabernet franc, 6 percent merlot: A little farther up in the hills than the Alexander's Crown vineyard, this is potentially my favorite of the group, with lush richness, splendid acid-alcohol balance and a long, sturdy finish.  Deep purple in color, with an aroma showing berry and mind, and a flavor that hints of chocolate and blackberry. Already a veteran of more than two years in barrel, this will last a dozen years more, and will be perfect next Valentine's Day with both a steak under a red wine sauce and a decadently rich chocolate dessert.   * 1997 Reserve, northern Sonoma, 81 percent cabernet sauvignon, 11 percent cabernet franc, 8 percent merlot: The year was a splendid one in terms of weather, and the fruit took full advantage of it.  Sayre says this is the best of all the wine made from northern Sonoma grapes that year, with each lot of wine from hillside and valley grapes closely monitored before final blending.  It displays a deep garnet color and an aroma of berries with  a touch of vanilla.  Cassis and dark fruit flavors and a finish with hints of black pepper.  For beef tenderloin stuffed with morels or a leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary.  Not too much rosemary.  Ready by Thanksgiving. * 1997 Symetry, Alexander Valley, 60 percent cabernet sauvignon, 31 percent merlot, 9 percent cabernet franc: A meritage wine, besides being a winery's most expensive, wears a proprietary label because the winemaker does not want to be forced into using a single grape for 75 percent of the wine.  This one has already been through four years of aging, two each in barrel and bottle, with all grapes from the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County.  Plum and dark chocolate come forth in the aroma, and the first taste brings dark berries and perhaps a hint of a chocolate brownie.  There's a splendid touch of softness at the end of the finish.  Superb. Sayre serves it with duck legs braised in red wine; maybe next time he'll invite me. Rodney Strong has been a well-known label for many years, was the 13th winery to be bonded in Sonoma County, an early zinfandel producer and the owner of 10 different vineyards in the county.  Klein Family Vineyards bought the winery in 1989.