Supple, generous and expressive, dancing deftly while offering black cherry, smoke and pepper flavors that come together on a harmonious finish.
A smoky nose with mushrooms, dried cherries and dried herbs. Fruit-forward with round tannins. Not overwhelming. The acidity pulls it all together on the finish.
Pleasantly rich and elegant without being weighty, with plum, blueberry and blackberry flavors accented by spice and light oak hints. An exciting and enjoyable style.
Moderately dark reddish purple color in the glass. Riper and more darker red fruited than usual for Rosella’s in this vintage, but the quality of the fruit really shines from entry to finish. The fruit has a slightly cooked quality, but still seduces. The oak is deftly managed, the tannins are complimentary, the texture is smooth, and the fruity finish is noticeably generous.
Among the richer, more immediately fruity of the new Siduri Pinots and a wine that earns high marks for its varietal precision, its admirable depth and its very careful construction, the 2014 from Rosella's Vineyard shows plenty of volume without ever tipping the scales in the direction of being too much. Its juicy appeals definitely invite early drinking, yet its concentration and balance provide reasons enough for a few years of waiting.
Tastes sweet beyond ripeness, with a rich, juicy core of cherry pie that fans out to blueberry and wild berry flavors, gaining depth and structure. Reveals a gravelly earth edge that offsets the ripeness.
Tastes sweet beyond ripeness, with a rich, juicy core of cherry pie that fans out to blueberry and wild berry flavors, gaining depth and structure. Reveals a gravelly earth edge that offsets the ripeness.
An instant charmer, pleasantly plump and juicy, with a fruity core of blackberry and blueberry flavors shaded by light cedary oak. Ample backbone and depth emerge toward the finish.
Moderately light reddish purple color in the glass. A very savory and distinctive wine of great interest. The nose leads with the scents of cherry, tea leaves and dried herbs. The mid weight essence of black cherry fruit has an earthy underpinning as well as accents of green tea and subtle oak. Nicely balanced with silky tannins and a generous finish that speaks more of unrefined, composted and feral nuances than fruit.
A very deeply pitched nose is composed by notes of plum liqueur, briar and a hint of crushed herbs. There is excellent richness to the rounded and impressively dense medium weight flavors that also possess a caressing mouth feel before culminating in a focused, complex and mildly dusty warm finale. I suspect that if given a few years of bottle age the dusty aspect on the finish may very well successfully age out.
Aromas of mushrooms and bay leaf with a core of dried raspberries. Generous thanks to plenty of upfront fruit and a bright backbone of acidity that holds it all together.
The 2014 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard is one of the more aromatic, high-toned Pinots in the Siduri range. Expressive floral notes meld into sweet red cherry, plum, spice and new leather. This parcel is a blend of Pommard and Martini clone Pinot. A dollop of whole clusters on the Pommard section adds an attractive lifted character that is especially evident on the finish.
Here too there is a whiff of herbal tea present on the slightly riper array of red currant, black cherry and subtly spiced nose. There is very fine verve to the round, supple and attractively textured medium weight flavors that are quite rich yet manage to retain good precision while offering fine length and depth on the powerful and focused finale. Once again there is a hint of warmth but it's not enough to materially detract from the overall sense of harmony.
Medium ruby color; tight, earthy nose with cherry and spice notes; firm, black cherry flavors, with tea and cola notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Earthy, tight Pinot; this one needs time to open up.
Coming more from the southern end of the appellation (it's mostly Pisoni and Sierra Mar), the 2013 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands has come on like gangbusters since I tasted it from barrel last year. It gives up lots of blackberry and darker styled fruits, mint, cloves, crushed rock and underbrush to go with a medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, fruit-loaded style on the palate. Possessing beautiful fruit and no hard edges, it represents a killer value in Pinot Noir and should drink nicely for 4-5 years.
Medium ruby color; full black cheery aromas with savory spice and herb notes; some black cherry flavors with tea and mushroom notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Good fruit and earthiness highlight this Pinot.
There is a whiff of herbal tea to the cool, airy and pure red pinot fruit, raspberry and sandalwood-scented nose. I very much like the refined mouth feel of the delicious, vibrant and equally cool medium weight flavors that like several of the wines in the range display lovely delineation on the firm, dusty and ever-so-mildly austere finale. There is a backend hint of warmth but overall this beautifully complex effort should also reward a few years of cellaring.
Picking a favorite from the very impressive Siduri lot is no easy task as the best bottlings offer very different looks at the grape, but this distinctive, very complex, beautifully balanced working contends for top honors. Its intense, neatly composed aromas of ripe cherries, wildflowers, caramel and cream are followed up by deep, exceptionally well-focused, very long-lasting flavors that deliver fully on promise. It is so outgoing in character that it runs the risk of being drunk in haste, and it comes with a plea for three or four years of cellaring.
Fermented with 15% whole clusters (the vintage had tiny berries and Adam said that even this small percentage yielded almost more stems than berries), the 2013 Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard offers soaring notes of stems, spice, underbrush, flowers and juicy berry fruit in a forward, sexy and fruit-filled style. Called a love it or hate it style by Adam, it seemed classic Pinot Noir with stem influence to me. I'd happily drink it anytime over the coming 4-6 years.
A much more expressive nose speaks of ultra-fresh aromas of red cherry, raspberry, exotic tea and an interesting hint of lavender. There is lovely delineation and energy characterizing the medium weight flavors that deliver very fine depth and length on the dusty, intense and balanced finale. Like the Bucher this should definitely benefit from a few years of bottle age as it is presently quite firm. In a word, excellent.
Firm and rich, focused on a tight core of licorice-laced blackberry, cedar, anise and savory herb flavors, this turns tamer toward the finish, finishing with a full-bodied aftertaste.
Firm and rich, focused on a tight core of licorice-laced blackberry, cedar, anise and savory herb flavors, this turns tamer toward the finish, finishing with a full-bodied aftertaste.
Here the nose is comprised of essence of both red and dark cherry, dark raspberry and lovely spice nuances. I very much like the mouth feel of the sleek medium weight flavors that have good energy and detail before terminating in an intense, dusty, well-balanced and beautifully long finale. This is not especially refined as the tannins are prominent but this should be excellent with time. That said, this isn’t going to make for especially interesting drinking in its youth and would best be purchased by those who are willing to cellar it for at least 7 to 10 years.
Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. Glorious fruit is on display in this wine with aromas of blackberry and blackest cherry replicated on the palate. Flavors of spice and dark chocolate chime in. Smoothly textured, with lacy tannins and a charge of fruit on the juicy finish that leaves a hint of warmth in its wake.