2009 Siduri Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
I’ve been on the Siduri mailing list for at least five years but had somehow gotten off-track with my excessive preoccupation with California syrah and Rhône almost anything. Recently, that’s changed insofar as I’m into pinot noir again (but I’ve hung onto my other table-mates for now, too. “The more the merrier” and “variety is the spice of life,” blah, blah, blah…)
Apparently “Siduri” is the name for the ancient Babylonian goddess of wine. She was famed undoubtedly for her amusing parties and witty conversation as well as for having the “wine for eternal life.” (Though what wine doesn’t aspire to that?)
Dianna and Adam, the husband and wife team behind the wine, have an amazingly romantic story. They’re both Texans. Adam’s a native from Austin and Dianna grew up in Ennis, near Dallas. They met working in Big D at Neiman Marcus. As their passion for one-another increased, so did their love of wine. They moved to Sonoma County in the Nineties, learned more about viticulture and produced their first vintage pinot noir in 1994.
There’s a cool story of how they snuck a bottle of the wine into the hotel room of Robert Parker when they heard he was staying nearby, and the rest, as they say, is the rest. You can follow the link for the exciting details.
They’re one of those producers that make you get on a mailing list, though I’ve seen the wines for sale at K&L and the Wine Club in San Francisco. I understand that you can arrange for a visit to the Santa Rosa winery, which I hope to do soon.
These folks produce lots of single vineyard pinots from throughout California and even into Oregon. This one, labeled “Russian River Valley” makes me think that it might be a blend. I’m not sure.
This was a deep purple red color with a wonderful nose of mocha, tar, tobacco, black coffee, charcoal and maybe even root-beer. Full bodied with ample red fruit, especially raspberry, it also had pepper notes. This wine really filled your mouth with flavor. I thought that it was really exciting. The finish is long and satisfying. This one is worth a look.