'01-'04 Siduri Russian River Pinots Blindtasting
Rich and Peggy's Home in Los Altos, CA
Tasted Monday, May 14, 2007 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 597 views
Introduction
Introduction by Ross B. our tasting organizer
Vineyard-designate bottlings:
Siduri Winery specializes only in Pinot Noir, drawing from top vineyards ranging from the Willamette Valley in Oregon to the Santa Rita Hills near Santa Barbara. Although the winery is located in the Russian River Valley, one of the best places to grow Pinot in California, the winery made no Russian River Pinots up through 1999 and only one each in 2000 and 2001. However, since then the winery has made up for lost ground. Of the 17 different Pinot Noirs that Siduri made in 2004, six were from the Russian River.
The Russian River vineyards that Siduri works with provide a happy medium for the winery. Winemaker Adam Lee generally drives for a ripe, lush, very California style of Pinot. However, the somewhat cooler vineyards in the Russian River Valley help to scale this style back to a more structured, minerally style that fills out nicely with aging.
Tonight, we'll taste a spectrum of Siduri Russian River Pinots spanning the short history of this winery's forays into grapes from this valley, and giving us a few chances to see how these Pinots develop with age.
Flight 1 - My TNs and scoring (8 Notes)
This tasting brought home to me what a good value Siduri's generic, Russian River appellation bottlings are. There was a surprising range of nose, concentration, and flavor amongst these Russian River Pinots by the same maker. Nonetheless, the two Sapphire Hills were so similar that it was clear to me they had to be from the same vineyard, and I was correct. The color of most was medium garnet red, although the '02 Sapphire Hill was a bit lighter, and the '02 Keefer Ranch was much darker. The Keefer Ranch was notably the most concentrated and over the top, with its kirsch nose and fruit, which made it a divisive entry, garnering three first place and four last place votes. The '03 Sapphire Hill was another one you either liked or hated, with three first place and 5 last place votes, and no seconds or thirds. My number 1 and 2 rank wines were the '04 and '01 Russian River bottlings. The group's number 1, '04 Ewald Vineyard, was also quite impressive, with good concentration and grip, and several years to go before it reaches full maturity.
Flight 2 - post tasting blind wines (4 Notes)
Odd mix of Pinots from Germany and New Zealand, with a mini-vertical of Rosenblum Syrah Hillside Vineyards.
2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Ewald Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #1 (my #5) – 52 pts; 1 first, 4 seconds, 4 thirds, 0 last place – nice ripe strawberry nose; grippy entry, concentrated, ripe cherry and red fruit, with some depth and quite youthful; medium-plus finish
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 92 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #2 (my #1) – 56 pts; 3, 2, 3, 2 – intriguing tart strawberry and raspberry noes; lovely ripe red fruit with good depth and balance; medium finish 92+ pts.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2002 Siduri Pinot Noir Sapphire Hill Vineyard 87 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #3 (my #7) – 65 pts; 2, 0, 3, 1 – lightest in color; nice vanillin, caramel and cherry nose, with a tangy note; tight, high-pitched tart red fruit; short-medium finish
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Amber Ridge 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #4 (my #4) – 66 pts; 1, 2, 3, 1 – rich, ripe strawberry and strawberry jam nose with mineral note; solid, ripe cherry palate with some depth, needs a few years bottle age; sweet medium finish
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 92 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #5 (my #2) – 71 pts.; 0, 5, 0, 1 – lovely Burgundian, strawberry nose and sous bois; big, tart, juicy cherry and red fruit palate with a silky, elegant quality; medium finish (still quite youthful)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2003 Siduri Pinot Noir Olivet Grange 85 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #6 (my #8) – 72 pts.; 1, 1, 0, 1 – tight, narrow nose that's faintly savory; hot entry, disjointed, alcohol dominating the tang, tart red fruit; medium finish
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2002 Siduri Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #7 (my #3) – 72 pts.; 3, 1, 2, 4 – darkest in color; over-the-top framboise, Kirsch and vanillin nose; most concentrated of the bunch, with Kirsch cherry fruit, sappy, a little one-dimensional right now, but should be quite nice in another 4 to 5 years; medium-plus finish 91+ pts.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2003 Siduri Pinot Noir Sapphire Hill Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Group's #8 (my #6) – 86 pts.; 3, 0, 0, 5 – strawberry jam and vanillin oak nose; tight and high pitched on entry, with some sweet strawberry edges, but a little disjointed; short-medium finish 88+ pts.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No