WTN: 2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard

Thanks to the moderator who introduced me to California Pinot Noir, Siduri and aging.

2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard This 2001 is in a great place. Tannins and acid out of the way. Fruit, vanilla and chocolate integrated in a finger licking fashion. The wine was perfect for what we ate tonight. The wine is balanced, fruit forward and lovely. I was taught that proper aging of well made California Pinot would provide great results. It reminded me of examples of Rocioli, Siduri and Wilyem Selem I was treated to many years ago that were respectfully given several years of aging. I notice on Cellartracker someone saying the bottle outlived its fruit. Nonsense. This is not my last bottle. Yea.

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Hi David,

I have been aging some 2007 Clos Pepe pinots for some time now. Two are from Clos Pepe (Wes Hagen) and one is from Brian Loring. I am thinking about opening them together (minihorizontal) and see which one aged the best in a few years. Could be a nice surprise, or a disappointment. You never know until you open them up.

Tom, I have several 06 Clos Pepe and 1 09 (too expensive). Yes it is hit and miss but if Brian is continuing to build quality pinots and the year is not terrible, his wines should last 10 years from growing or 7 years from bottling from this vineyard based on past history. if I recall, Gary's vineyard which is now even more expensive than Clos Pepe was more forward when i bought it when he first started his business. Certainly, it would be disappointing to have what is supposed to be a large pinot from a reliable winemaker and vineyard die young. Anyway, to me your 07 is still a bambino which many will disagree with me. It is worth the wait based on the lovely wine we drank tonight.

[Jenise]

Hi David,

I have been aging some 2007 Clos Pepe pinots for some time now. Two are from Clos Pepe (Wes Hagen) and one is from Brian Loring. I am thinking about opening them together (minihorizontal) and see which one aged the best in a few years. Could be a nice surprise, or a disappointment. You never know until you open them up.

You might want to take winemaker intent into account. Brian doesn't make his wines for the long haul. They typically have enough structure to survive mid-term cellaring but I haven't pushed them past six-seven years myself.

Jeniise

I held an early Pepe many years. I thank you for your guidance.

Hi David,

I have been aging some 2007 Clos Pepe pinots for some time now. Two are from Clos Pepe (Wes Hagen) and one is from Brian Loring. I am thinking about opening them together (minihorizontal) and see which one aged the best in a few years. Could be a nice surprise, or a disappointment. You never know until you open them up.

You might want to take winemaker intent into account. Brian doesn't make his wines for the long haul. They typically have enough structure to survive mid-term cellaring but I haven't pushed them past six-seven years myself.

Is there many data points out there for this? I ask because I thought the same thing about Martinelli until I left a couple of the Blue Slide Ridge go about a decade and found them better for it.

Hi David,

I have been aging some 2007 Clos Pepe pinots for some time now. Two are from Clos Pepe (Wes Hagen) and one is from Brian Loring. I am thinking about opening them together (minihorizontal) and see which one aged the best in a few years. Could be a nice surprise, or a disappointment. You never know until you open them up.

You might want to take winemaker intent into account. Brian doesn't make his wines for the long haul. They typically have enough structure to survive mid-term cellaring but I haven't pushed them past six-seven years myself.

Is there many data points out there for this? I ask because I thought the same thing about Martinelli until I left a couple of the Blue Slide Ridge go about a decade and found them better for it.

Hi Brian,

My brothers and I have been getting Loring pinots for years. Our experience, in general, is to drink them early. They tend not to age well beyond 3 or at most 4 years. However, Brian has been easing back on the fruit throttle in recent years, so aging may be a option especially for the wines from better vineyards like Clos Pepe, but still a crap shoot. Wes, on the other hand, has always made his wines to age. They are much more likely to get better with at least midterm aging.

My brothers and I have been getting Loring pinots for years. Our experience, in general, is to drink them early. They tend not to age well beyond 3 or at most 4 years. However, Brian has been easing back on the fruit throttle in recent years, so aging may be a option especially for the wines from better vineyards like Clos Pepe, but still a crap shoot.

Thanks Tom. Have you let any go a decade or have you drank them up by then? I keep coming back to my Martinelli experience where the wine really shined at around 9 years of age. Of course I never thought those wines were that good young, big and hot, so maybe not a good comparison.

Thanks Tom. Have you let any go a decade or have you drank them up by then? I keep coming back to my Martinelli experience where the wine really shined at around 9 years of age. Of course I never thought those wines were that good young, big and hot, so maybe not a good comparison.

Hi Brian,

No aging for that long. I think the first ones we bought were like 2001 or 2002s. My brother aged some 5 or 6 years at most. Lost fruit and did not have the tannic backbone to last. They were lackluster at that point. I don't think I have aged any more than 4 years until this last Clos Pepe.

My 2006 Lorings are still drinking quite well..While I don't have any left and I drank up my stash early on and did not age any of them, the 2001 Loring Clos Pepe remains one of the best Cal PN's I have tasted..Brian's 2001 Garys" was also fabulous and dramatically different from the Clos Pepe.. I wd call the Garys' "Hedonistic" while the Clos Pepe was more Burgundian in style..Have also enjoyed Wes's Clos Pepe PN's as well as a visit several years ago to Clos Pepe with my family when Steve and Wes were kind enough to invite us to their annual party.

I will open in the next few weeks an 06 Pepe and check it out. Thanks