Siduri

TRL/Staff/Wine: 6/10/10

For new people, walking into the warehouse where Siduri makes their wines and seeing a dozen people at a dozen tables ready to to pour 2-3 wines might be quite intimidating. We've been at it for so long, and have tasted at Siduri so many times, we're often a tad crestfallen when they're only tasting 7-8 wines (see October 2007). For you rookies, hold on to your glass...this will be a long and bumpy ride.

Note that Siduri doesn't have a wine club (they don't need one), so the second-of-three prices will be the "event" price, discounted for barrel tasting, for select wines.

2008 Russian River Valley Viognier: 22/17/-

2008 Chardonnay Rosellas Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands: 24/19.5/20
Lemon is the predominant note, with a little toast. No real buttery feel. Easy to drink.

2008 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir: 30/33
East to drink; nice nose. Simple fruit.

2008 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir: 30/40
Smoky and well-balanced. More complex.

2007 Sonatera Pinot Noir: 29/44Multi-layered. Great spice/fruit balance!!

2007 Keefer Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/29/39
Makes me think of rain. No real spice but rounded; needs to settle down. Open for 4-5 hours prior to serving.

2007 Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/34/34
Sharp nose, but so smooth all the way down. Very nice. Green nose, but unmatched palate.

2007 Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/29/38
Soft palate, good nose but doesn’t draw you in.

2008 Gary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir: 50/38
Mild-to-bland palate/nose. The finish had merit.

2008 Cargasacchi Vineyard: 50/39/43
Spicy/smoky nose with bright fruit on the palate.

2008 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir: 55/39
Bright fruit; very accessible. Full mouthfeel, fruity, but too expensive.

2006 Stolpman Vineyard Nebbiolo: 19.50/29
Strawberry!

2009 Lewis Vineyard Pinot Noir (Futures): 39/-
Developing fast for something harvested 6 months ago. Has good fruit potential but little hints of spice/smoke. Still a little effervescent (for which I would usually cry foul) and tangy, but you can feel/taste the fullness of the fruit. A bit smoky.

2009 Sierra Mar Vineyard Clone 943 Pinot Noir (Futures): 45/-
Bright fruit on the nose. Palate falls short; needs more time in the barrel to develop. Has some potential.

2008 Simpson Vineyard Grenache (Futures)
Driest Grenache I’ve ever tasted. Makes your cheeks pucker.

2008 Carlisle Vineyard Zinfandel (Futures)
No notes, but worthy of splitting a half-case.

2006 Page Nord Syrah
Lackluster

2006 Sapphire Hill Vineyard Syrah
Great fruity nose, but the palate bombs.

2006 Judge Family Vineyard Syrah
Great, full nose with strong notes of truffle. The acidity on the palate hides the fruit, however.

2007 Christiansen Vineyard Syrah: 19.5/25-36 (opinions differ)
Nice fruit, uncharacteristic of a syrah. Not earthiness, but some spice.

2007 Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah: 27/32
Nice, accessible fruit with mild tannins. Late spice on the finish. The nose really is appealing.

2007 Rosella’s Vineyard Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands: 33/33
Meaty nose; classical earthy syrah. Fruit is not as accessible as other syrahs, but good, nonetheless.

2007 Gary’s Vineyard Syrah: 33/30
A “light” version of Rosella’s Vineyard syrah. Consistently lighter, smoother, and less bold.

2006 Pinot deals
Oddly labeled, I know, but the long and short of this is that one of Siduri’s distributors returned a batch of their 2006 vintage pinot noirs. Nearly all of them were well priced at $40/bottle; these were selling for $15/bottle! The most notable pinots included the 2006 Sonatera Vineyard and the 2006 Amber Ridge Vineyard.

2009 Hirsch Pinot Noir
Great nose! Good smoky flavor. Keep an eye out for this – it’s going to be great!

So this is the point of the story where I get to brag a little and substantiate why I keep returning to Siduri. Lisa and I were poring over our notes in an attempt to build a modest, two-case order when Jody (whom we met the very first time, years ago) recognized us and came up to greet us. After pleasantries were exchanged, Jody finds Adam (co-owner and winemaker) and sends him our way. Naturally, this wasn’t the first time we’ve enjoyed his company and his free reign in the winery. After a brief conversation, he directed us back into the barrel room. Now, we had been taking notes on all of the aforementioned wines, which bored the three friends we’d brought with us to the extent that they had been waiting out by the car for a bit. After conferring with Adam, however, I ran out and passed along the command, “grab your glasses, Adam is taking us into the back.” Two of the three friends knew exactly what this meant (having been with us during previous events) and grabbed their glasses without question and chased after me, dragging the questioning “rookie” behind them. Meanwhile, Adam is setting up in the barrel room to offer us a couple of recent formulations. I must confess, at this point, that the Gewurstraminer that he poured us, while interesting didn’t compel me to take notes. Honestly, I was still a bit wrapped up in the special experience. After another wine, he led us to the purpose of my mission… Behold, as he thiefed from the barrel, I heard the angels sing!

2008 Simpson Vineyard Syrah (5o cases)
WONDERFUL! OMG! Mere weeks from being released, it happens to be my favorite vineyard-designated syrah from Novy (Siduri is Pinot Noir; Novy is the label they use for everything else).
2008 Susan’s Hill Syrah
Big fruit, mild spice. Needs more integration. The spice is awaiting its turn, but it’s still very accessible.

2007 Susan’s Hill Syrah
Well integrated, nice spice, great nose – not as full fruit, but the fruit does show.

2007 Simpson Vineyard Syrah
Smoky, like a pinot, but earthy like a syrah. Smooth – not so fruity.
The 2008’s are going to be the better wines, in my opinion.

2009 Oley (dessert wine)
Muscat nose. So sweet! Caramel, honey, orange, peach. Delicious without making you sleep or stop. So GOOD! Also to be bottled in April. Adam says that this will be the best wine in his library, and I have to agree. On its merits, it is the best of their wines. Fun note about this tasting: Adam thiefed from the stainless steel barrel and then from the oak barrel that he was aging the wine in. It gave you the experience of what the two components were like before he blends and integrates them before bottling. Fascinating!