The 2009 was a breeze compared to the challenges of 2008. A long, cool, even keeled growing season was perfect for getting all of our Russian River vineyards to ripen evenly. To produce outstanding 2008 Russian River Pinots we spent a lot of time selecting the best lots to build a superb Russian River blend. This proved to be some work, but after much trial and error (doing all that tasting can be rough) we settled on a blend that is 33% Keefer Ranch, 33% Pratt Forestville Vineyard, 16% Sapphire Hill, and 17% Ewald Vineyard Pinot Noir. This wine is also a blend of many different clones, including Dijon Selections 114, 115, 667, and 777 along with Pommard, Wadensweil, and Clone 23. The hope, of course, is that this combination of components produces a wine that is greater than the sum of its parts.

We feel very confident that the 2009 Siduri Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is superior to what we believed was a fantastic 2008 blend simply because the vintage is so much better. The wine simply shows a bit more of everything, with typical Russian River flavors of cola, bing cherry and spice, along with great richness of black cherry and raspberry fruits, and a mouth filling, velvet texture. This wine is definitely ready to go right now, and should make superb drinking over the holiday season, but it should improve as well for two or more years.

Cases: 1350
Released: September 2010