From the June 15, 2005 Newsletter

Earlier in the spring, I had the opportunity to visit and taste with Adam Lee at Siduri in Santa Rosa, Calif. Any of you who know Adam and Dianna Lee and have been to Siduri know that tasting through “the line” is not a trivial or fast activity—it is on the other hand a great opportunity to taste a whole bunch of really nice Pinots.

We started with a few of the barrels that Adam thought would be interesting. The first, a 2004 Pinot Meunier from the Van der Kamp Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain was ripe with cranberry flavors and great acidity. Two other barrels, clonal Pinot Noir selections from the Ewald Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, were equally impressive with rich and ripe red cherry flavors.

Siduri’s “appellation series” of Pinots carry regional appellations and are blends of some of the vineyards Adam works with in each region. They are great values—the 2002s were priced at around $25—especially when you consider the pedigree of each vineyard used in the blends.

2003 Willamette Valley: This Pinot had really nice structure and good rich fruit.

2003 Sonoma County: This is a blend of Van der Kamp, Olivet Grange, Sapphire, Keefer Ranch and Lewis vineyards. It’s rich and ripe, showing a lot of nice cherry fruit.

2003 Russian River Valley: This is a blend of the best barrels from Keefer Ranch, Olivet Grange and Sapphire vineyards; it’s deep and lush with great balance and a nice silky mouthfeel.

2003 Santa Lucia Highlands: This is a blend of Pisoni, Rosella’s and Garys’ vineyards; it’s rich and full with the trademark black cherry and smoky bacon flavors—really delicious.

2003 Santa Rita Hills: A blend of Clos Pepe and Cargasacchi vineyards, this Pinot was full and ripe with berry flavors and a touch of pepper; a big wine with incredible balance.

The Siduri vineyard designated Pinots are where Adam and Dianna really stretch their legs and explore individual sites for Pinot from the Willamette Valley in Oregon all the way south to California’s Santa Rita Hills.

2003 Willamette Valley Arbre Vert Vineyard: Earthy with cherry/berry flavors; good structure and acidity.

2003 Willamette Valley Muirfield Vineyard: Spicy and a bit closed; some savory spice and dark fruit notes on the palate.

2003 Willamette Valley Shaw Mountain: Blueberry, spice,earthy with good structure; a lot here, needs time.

2003 Sonoma Mountain Van der Kamp Vineyard: Deep, earthy, smoky with that classic Van der Kamp funk (the good kind).

2003 Sonoma Coast Sonatera Vineyard: This is a new vineyard for Siduri located south of Santa Rosa, near Cotati; rich and ripe with lots of red cherry and spice.

2003 Sonoma Coast Hirsch Vineyard: Deep, beautiful perfume, spice, earth, complex aromas, deep and balanced on the palate, delicious flavors.

2003 Russian River Valley Olivet Grange Vineyard: Deep and rich with lots of nice aromatics, rich, dense and toasty on the palate with a silky mouthfeel.

2003 Green Valley Keefer Ranch: Rich and juicy core of red cherry fruit—beautiful, lots of layers, silky on the palate.

2003 Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella’s Vineyard: Typical Rosella’s—pretty, spice, black cherry, smoky with good depth and a lot to like.

2003 Santa Lucia Highlands Garys’ Vineyard: Spicy, black cherry flavors—a real core of deep fruit flavors, silky, some smoky bacon notes.

2003 Santa Lucia Highlands Pisoni Vineyard: Deep, full, lots of concentrated fruit, slight pine notes, good structure—textbook Pisoni.

2003 Santa Rita Hills Cargasacchi Vineyard: Extremely deep and complex, with a great core of black fruits.

2003 Santa Rita Hills Clos Pepe: Deep and smoky with lots of black fruit; big and powerful but also well balanced.