Medium ruby color; cherry, plum, pomegranate, nutmeg, forest floor on the nose; cherry, black plum, boysenberry, raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant on the palate.
Dry; light tannins; good, bright balancing acidity (3.52 pH). Very smooth, easy texture. Juicy, fruity, fun. Medium body. Nicely extended finish where the tannins make cameo appearance to add a bit of drama and suprise. Appropriate oak—15 months in 35% new French oak delivers some cinnamon notes; 14.1% ABV.
Siduri is made by cult pinot noir winemaker Adam Lee. The Siduri story began when Adam and his wife Dianna moved from Texas to California. In Texas, he was the wine buyer for Neiman Marcus and she worked in the epicure department (department dedicated to refined tastes, especially in food and wine). Adam came to California with hopes of being a wine writer. He and his wife put their savings into the adventure. They found a grape grower who sold them grapes from a single acre.
The Lees nursed the vineyard, then produced four barrels of pinot noir. In a charming story available on a video on the Siduri website (worth watching), Adam recounts how he and Dianna drank a bit too much of the wine one night and recklessly left a bottle with the concierge at a hotel where Robert Parker was staying. As recounted in the video, they woke up next morning and asked “what have we done?” Not to worry. Parker loved the effort and ranked it among the highest pinots of the year. A business was born. And then it flourished. Texas kids make good on the Left Coast.
It did not end there. In 2015, Kendall-Jackson Family Estates acquired Siduri and the Lee’s non-pinot label, Novy. Lee remains the winemaker. Kendall-Jackson pushed new money into the operation—renovating the tasting room and other improvements and opened a second tasting room in Healdsburg. There are two dozen or more individual labels in the Siduri pinot noir efforts, plus non-pinot offerings under the Novy label, which emphasize syrah and zinfandel.
Siduri is the Sumerian goddess of wine. She welcomed the hero in the Epic of Gilgamish to a garden with its tree of life hung with ruby red fruits with tendrils. She is a wise female divinity associated with fermentation of both wine and beer. Her name means “young woman.”
Siduri Pinot Noir Anderson Valley 2017 is another superb Siduri effort. Nice oak notes and delicious red fruits. Supple, silky. Wine gains complexity with time in glass. Ten percent whole cluster fermentation to add tiny—and appropriate—notes of herbaceous, complexity, earthiness, and a dollop of tannin. Nice acidity on the finish. Pair with seafood—salmon, red snapper, swordfish; charcuterie; patés and terrines; lamb; pork; mushrooms; mild cheeses. This also works as a solo sipper with neutral wine crackers during engaging conversations, or even sipped when you are alone with a good book or while binge watching Netflix. $36-40
Extended YouTube interview with Adam Lee
