It’s always an extreme pleasure to visit with Adam Lee. The wine is delicious, and the conversation is always engaging and far-reaching – a wine focus, sure, but we always stray into other interesting areas. I don’t put these notes in CT format because I don’t like to create a new vintage of a wine just to drop in a note on tasting a barrel. Grateful thanks to Adam for his time … great fun as always!
Siduri
The 2009 Siduri Pinot Noirs show more structure and tannins I recall in any other recent vintage. There is excellent concentration, more along the lines of 2007 than 2005, but significant tannins. In fact, 2009 is the most tannic vintage for California Pinot I’ve seen in my short time. At Siduri, the wines retain excellent balance and plenty of fruit concentration. At this early stage, it seems like they might be long agers.
2009 Clos Pepe: Barrel sample. This is the most serious and layered of the wines at this point, showing black Pinot fruit and notable oak and spice. The back-end structure is big, but it seems more in balance than the Garys’ or Rosella’s at this stage.
2009 Garys’: Barrel sample. The most fruit forward of these wines, with great purity and that same strong structure. A big-boned Garys’, with dark fruit and plenty of tannins.
2009 Rosella’s: Barrel sample. Classic grapefruit on the nose already, with dark berry fruit and tannins. The wood spice is more noticeable. Very tasty.
2009 Pisoni: Barrel sample. Dark and brooding, this is really young. The fruit is ripe and plush, but the oak is still pronounced. The most significant tannins.
2009 Sierra Mar: Barrel sample. The young vineyard. Very pretty, almost restrained, as if shy in the company it’s keeping right now. Really delicious fruit but showing less concentration than the others. A strong first effort here.
Novy
2009 Gewurztraminer: Tasted from tank. Absolutely bone dry. Not showing off so much of the flowery Gewurtz character, this was all about the fruit, with strong acidity and a beautiful, clean finish. Adam had yet to filter this wine, which was scheduled for just before bottling. He said it would bring out more of the wine’s floral notes, but he – and I concur – is a fan of the absolutely bone dry finish.
2009 Blanc de Pinot Noir: Tasted from tank. This is just like terrific flat sparkling wine. Pure fruit, crisp acidity, and a clean finish. Slightly copper-tinged color. Really enjoyable. This wine seems to get better with each vintage.
2009 Viognier: Tasted from tank. Like the Gewurztraminer, this had not yet been filtered, and it was also strikingly dry. No RS here. Terrific nose of fruit and stones. Brisk acidity. Solid finish. This is a Viognier even I would drink.
2008 Rosella’s Syrah: Tasted from tank. Brooding and young. Signature grapefruit on the nose. As brooding on the palate as it is in color, with tight fruit flavors that are layered and just wound up at the moment. Very strong structure. Needs plenty of time.
2008 Napa Syrah: Tasted from tank. Much more open than the Rosella’s. This was quite generous with its meaty fruit notes, although it still had strong structure.
2009 Oley dessert wine: Tasted from tank. Easily the best version of this wine. It is like pure nectar. Full of honeyed fruits like apricot and dried peach, with shockingly refreshing acidity. An absolute winner that was stunning.
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