2001 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Bottled - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (4/10/2009)
Had next to 01 Siduri Sapphire Hill. Aromatically showing some age. A bit gamy. Pretty red and blue fruits. High acid. Somewhat simple. Just goes right by. Opened up with some time. Pomegranates, cranberries and violets. Long tart finish. I enjoyed this because I like acid but I could see this being a little much for many. I think this wine still needs time but don’t think it will ever be an intellectual experience. (90 pts.)
2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Sapphire Hill Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (4/10/2009)
I had this over 2 nights next to the 01 Mt Eden. This is a wine that I picked up multiple bottles of as I began to explore Siduri. It had been 5 years since I tried it. At that time I enjoyed everything but the bitter astringent finish. I was curious as to what would happen with this wine. So here are my new thoughts. At first the nose seemed a bit oxidized and seemed to show VA. As the evening went on the nose mellowed. Very big sweet fruit at the fruit but the same astringent finish. That kills it from going to the next level. The front palate is very nice. Where the Mt Eden had very high acid it almost made this seem soft but it was far from flabby. This worked equally well by itself as with food. Can’t figure out the finish. (88 pts.)
Cheers,
Jason