Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. Pleasing combination of black cherry reduction sauce, black raspberry preserves and caramel apple aromas. Fruit-laden but carefree, with uplifting flavors of black cherry and black raspberry that attack the mid palate with purpose. Quite luscious and juicy, with modest tannins, a bright thread of acidity, and a very long, fruit-laden finish.

Plump and sumptuous, with a rich core of plum, cherry, blackberry and licorice flavors, retaining juiciness and firming on the finish, where gravel and oak elements add backbone and dimension.

Red Plump and sumptuous, with a rich core of plum, cherry, blackberry and licorice flavors, retaining juiciness and firming on the finish, where gravel and oak elements add backbone and dimension.

Bright violet. Spice-accented red and blue fruits, violet and smoky minerals on the deeply scented nose. Juicy and expansive in the mouth, offering concentrated raspberry and cherry compote flavors that pick up candied rose and allspice notes on the back half. The red fruit and spice notes linger impressively on a smooth, very long finish that's framed by velvety tannins.

Moderately dark reddish purple color in the glass. The nose seduces with aromas of blackberry, black raspberry and spice. Very giving on the palate with a well-ripened onslaught of purple and black fruits tempered by ripe tannins and a tender dose of oak. The silky texture and lingering finish are both special features of this fine wine.

One of the bigger boned and riper releases in the lineup, the 144-case 2014 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard dishes out tons of black raspberry, blueberry and passion fruit as well as notes of violets, earth and spring flowers. Rounded, voluptuous and sexy on the palate, with excellent purity and bright acidity, it's another wine that held up beautifully over multiple days. It should continue drinking nicely through 2022 easily.

Made from five different parcels in the vineyard, all of which are planted to different clones, the 2014 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard is a pretty, feminine and elegant wine that offers lots of passion fruit, sappy herbs, flowers and violet aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied and silky on the palate, with sweet tannin, it has impressive mid-palate depth, notable tension and vibrancy (which is the hallmark of this site) and a great finish. Drink it through 2022.

Black pepper and orange rind complement one another aromatically before riding a medium-bodied layering of soft, seductive texture and acidity, additionally highlighted in rhubarb and black tea. As the wine builds complexity in the glass, it shows a minerality marked by earthy mint on the finish.

This is a well-integrated and beautifully layered wine from a wild, high-elevation vineyard site that provides vibrant acidity and jolts of forested earth. Baked plum and Asian spice form a happy alliance of flavor and intensity along a carpet of velvety texture.

A dark, mysterious wine, the 2014 Pinot Noir Van Der Kamp Vineyard offers a beguiling interplay of dark-fleshed fruit and expressive aromatics, with plenty of support from the mountain tannins. Plum, sage, menthol and licorice add further shades of nuance.

Brilliant red. Fresh raspberry and cherry on the highly perfumed nose, complicated by notes of star anise and candied rose. Juicy, lithe and appealingly sweet, offering sappy red fruit and floral pastille flavors and a hint of cola that comes up slowly on the back half. Fine-grained tannins add shape and grip to a clinging, spice-tinged finish that strongly echoes the floral note.

One of the producer’s consistently top-notch vineyard designates, this vintage maintains the mystique, coaxing out earthy sandalwood, smoke, char and truffle around richer overtones of butterscotch, clove and baked plum. Balanced and succulent, this is a fun, complex wine.

Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. Inviting aromas of fresh, ripe strawberries and pie spices. Delicious mix of black cherry and dark red and black berry flavors. Impressive balance. Modest in weight but big in flavor with a succulent finish. The juicy fruit is a little riper in this vintage. Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir is always a standout.

Medium ruby color; deep, herbal cherry aromas; forward, cherry flavors with herbal and forest floor notes; silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish. Earthy, herbal Pinot with nice texture. Originally published in issue #99

Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. Very fragrant with uplifting aromas of black cherry, spice and toasty oak. The fruit core really sings in this wine, featuring flavors of black cherry, black raspberry and plum, with accents of black tea and anise. The vivid fruit is brought to life with juicy acidity typical of Sta. Rita Hills. A touch heavy-handed with oak, but the fruit really pops in this wine, and the finish has amazing length. I continue to be impressed with wines from this vineyard.

Arguably the richest of the new Siduri Pinots yet a wine that is unstinting in deep and defined, black cherry fruit, this full and patently juicy young wine is as extracted as any and uncannily well-balanced at one and the same time. It is wonderfully supple in feel with the first signs of varietal velvet promising fine things ahead, and, while unabashedly ripe, it hides its alcohol with fruity substance to spare. Its outgoing manner is certain to tempt early drinking, but, as good as it is now, it has the pieces in place to get better and better with age.

Saturated ruby-red. Candied red berries and potpourri on the seductively perfumed nose. Sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering energetic raspberry and cherry-cola flavors and a refreshingly bitter touch of blood orange. Pure, focused and seamless in texture, finishing with an echo of juicy red fruits , excellent persistence and silky tannins.

One of the more complex and upfront reds in the lineup, Adam's 2013 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard offers beautiful notes of Asian spices, forest floor, dried flowers and sweet red fruit to go with a forward, supple, polished and incredibly easy drinking feel on the palate. Already ready to go, there's no need to delay gratification here and I'd enjoy bottles over the coming 4-5 years.

Supple, seamless and sexy, with lots of clove, dried flowers, mint and sweet red and black fruits, the 2013 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard is medium-bodied, nicely concentrated and more structured and tannic than I remember from barrel. While I thought it lacked a touch of mid-palate depth right on opening, it filled in nicely with air and has plenty of fruit, integrated acids and a great finish. It will be better in another 6-12 months and drink nicely through 2023.

Adam Lee takes hold of one of the appellation’s iconic vineyards and delivers clean, fresh aromas of mushrooms, raspberries, mocha and graphite. The palate shows soy, shiitake and more raspberry, an excellent study of the grape done in the Siduri style.

Bright ruby. A sexy, deeply perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and dark berries, woodsmoke and incense, with a suave rose pastille quality building in the glass. Stains the palate with sweet , vivacious black raspberry and cola flavors. Delivers a suave blend of depth and energy, with slow-building, fine-grained tannins adding grip to the solid finish.

A funk of truffle and foresty pine resin is joined by orange peel for an inviting and intriguing opening to this wine that is otherwise velvety, structured and intense. Juicy on the finish, it shares flavors of black cherry and black tea.

Bright ruby. Black raspberry, cherry-cola and floral scents are accented by white pepper and Asian spices. Fresh and focused on the palate, offering vibrant red fruit liqueur flavors and a sexy rose pastille flourish. Shows very good energy and lift on the seamless finish, which features silky tannins and an echo of candied rose.

Siduri’s Sonatera offerings are perennial favorites hereabouts and the latest hits the mark smartly once again. If just a touch lighter than some of its more fully fleshed mates, it nonetheless exhibits a fair bit of complexity and richness with hints of sweet cream and dusty roses accenting its very deep and defined, ripe cherry fruit. It is not a big-impact wine, but neither is it demure, and it reminds, as better Pinots Noirs do, that refinement and richness can co-exist.