2012 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard

Readers will find plenty to like in these new and upcoming releases from Siduri. On average, the 2012 Pinots from the Santa Lucia Highlands are more consistent than the 2012 Sonoma Pinots, as yields were held a bit more in check, which meant that the wines required less bleeding in the cellar. This year, I also noted significant differences between the southern and northern parts of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Warmer microclimates and generally poorer soils were assets in 2012, a year in which yields were very hard to control. Interestingly, yields were also high in 2013, but by then the vines are in the second year of a drought cycle and the wines generally possess greater depth and complexity. Siduri's Sta. Rita Hills Pinots will be reviewed in our upcoming article on Santa Barbara County.

Although his winery is based in Santa Rosa, where he and his family live, Adam Lee and his assistant winemaker, Ryan Zepaltas, are probably making a larger number of different Central Coast pinot bottlings than any other producer, including the locals.Lee has made a conscious decision over the last few years "to try to get more elegance and less overt oak" influence in his wines, "and that's not just because of colder vintages, it's an overall style decision."In that regard he has much in common with many of his colleagues, especially in the North Coast, who moved away from making Xtreme wines, especially pinots, in the mid-2000s.

Proprietors Adam and Dianna Lee have done a terrific job with their 2011s. Not surprisingly, the 2012s are potentially even better. As always, I have a soft spot for the appellation Pinots in the Siduri range. The vineyard designates are usually terrific, but for the money and pure value it's hard to beat the entry-level Pinots. The 2011s are the result of a very strict selection process. The willingness to make those hard choices, especially hard in low yielding vintages, is what separates top wineries from the rest. As an example, in 2011 there are no John Sebastiano and Cargasacchi Pinots. All of that wine went into the straight Sta. Rita Hills Pinot, along with most of the juice from Clos Pepe. Adam Lee describes 2012 as a year with excellent and consistent ripening but late malos that will ultimately result in some of these wines being bottled a little bit later than normal.