Medium ruby color; cherry, blackcurrant, plum; black cherry, plum, blackcurrant, raspberry, strawberry, oak, vanilla, baking spice, pepper on the palate.
Dry; light-medium body; supple, well-behaved tannins. Some balancing acidity, but that is not a feature. Very smooth and lissome in the mouth. Delicious fruit. Medium-plus finish, but the delighting activity comes mainly in the mid-palate. Oak influence from aging 15 months in 30% new French wood, but it is appropriate background note not a command for attention. 14.4% 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 2020 is solid, lively, smooth from a master of pinot noir. Rich, ripe fruit dominates and enchants. It is both demure and enchanting while commanding your attention. Velvety in the mouth. Easy drinker that can pleasure a host of palates. Pair with salmon and other rich fish; turkey; roast pheasant; duck confit; venison; lighter beef dishes. Cheese—goat cheeses, brie; humbolt fog, gruyère, comté, emmenthal, gouda. $35-40
Extended YouTube interview with Adam Lee
