By focusing solely on Pinot Noir from the most prestigious vineyard sites in California and Oregon, and by vinifying each barrel separately by lot, clone, yeast and cooper, we champion individuality of place and intensity of flavor in each wine we produce
Production & Technical Data
Alcohol: 14.74%
pH: 3.67
Total Acid: 0.568
44% new, Francois Freres
Winemakers' Comments
Once again, the Clos Pepe Vineyard has produced one of our most concentrated, deep, dark, Pinots Noirs from the vintage. Unfortunately, this type of concentration comes with a price. Much like 2002, yields were anemic at only .75 tons per acre from the vineyard. Since we pay for our fruit by-the-acre those type of yields are hard to take. However, we take comfort when the wine turns out to be so good!
The 2003 Siduri Clos Pepe Pinot Noir was picked on September 17, 2004 and fermented in one-ton bins. It was punched down by hand twice a day during the cold soak and throughout much of the fermentation, ultimately backing off to only 1 punchdown per day at the very end of the fermentation process. It was drained, and then pressed, by gravity directly to barrel after 20 days on the skins, on October 7, 2003. The wine remained in its original barrels, where it underwent indigenous malolactic fermentation, until it was drained and bottled by hand in August, 2004.
Although the Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir is one of the biggest of our Pinot Noirs in 2003 it is also one of the most lush and accessible. The nose is reminiscent of white flowers while the palate is full of black cherry liqueur and blackberry flavors. Full bodied and rich, the finish is lush and long with the balancing tannins surrounded by the sumptuous presence of the wine.
- Adam & Dianna Lee
Accolades for the 2003 Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir
90 Points -
Among the bigger, gutsier, more fully extracted entries in this month's parade of Pinot Noirs, Siduri's Clos Pepe bottling treads dangerously close to excess but finds surprising balance for such a big wine and matches its obvious ripeness with a full serving of fruit. It is in all ways a wine with broad shoulders that needs drinking with appropriately flavorful foods, and richness rather than refinement is its forte.
93 Points - Ripe, rich and lively, with a zesty medley of plum, blackberry, blueberry and hints of raspberry. Tightly focused, with delicate oak shadings peeking through, this is a wonderful expression of Pinot Noir fruit. Drink now through 2008. - (JL)
Score: 91 -
The deep ruby/purple-colored 2003 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard offers a glorious perfume of charcoal smoke, black cherries, minerals, and flowers. Medium to full-bodied and elegant yet authoritatively flavored, this is an impeccably made Pinot Noir with loads of character as well as a long, persistent finish. It should drink well for 6-8 years. - Robert Parker
Deep and smoky with lots of black fruit; big and powerful but also well balanced.
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