WTN: 2002 Siduri Rosella's x 2

[Jenise]

We felt like pinot the other night for sitting around the fire pit with company from out of town, and I figured one of these Siduri's should be drinking splendidly right now at a little over 4 years after release.

Well, not quite.

First bottle: sour milk nose that was also present in the mid palate where the sweetness of the fruit should fruit should have been. And when I sipped the wine I found myself reflexively searching for fizz--the two often go hand in hand. It wasn't there, but the wine was a tad cloudy--I've seen worse but this was enough to merit comment. So I went to get the other bottle (I had originally bought two).

Second bottle: slightly better--a bit less cloudy and therefore, seemingly, a bit more pinot flavor, but the sour aroma/flavor was also there and over the period of another hour, it persisted and worsened in the glasses we'd set aside to watch while we drank something else.

Crap! Since the August West Rosella's is kind of a gold standard in central California pinot for me, I'd really looked forward to this wine. But two losers? So unfair.

I was just pondering how fickle Pinot Noir can be after drinking a very open and friendly 2002 Evesham Wood and comparing it to a closed and reductive 2002 Belle Pente. I had heard that a lot of the 2002 Oregon Pinots are shut down, and was surprised at how the EW showed.

Your description of the Rosella's sound more than just closed, a bacterial flaw maybe?. A shame, as those bottles should have been really good.

[Jenise]

I don't think these wines were closed. I might have wondered about the second bottle had I not had the first, but instead it seems more like some kind of bottling line flaw. There were no oxidated flavors, but perhaps some heat damage along the way is responsible--out of fairness to Adam Lee, I should mention that I acquired these second hand.

When these Central Coast Pinots are "on," they are terrific, and perfect wines for sitting around a fire. However, I am finding flawed bottles too often. The first producer that comes to mind is Roar. I loved 2001 and 2002 when first released, but all of these wines have deteriorated, as well as subsequent vintages. I no longer purchase Roar. I'm still a fan of Brian Loring's wines, but, he too, had problems with a bottling line, and I had a couple of undrinkable bottles. He stands behind his wines and refunds or credits for bad bottles, but it's disappointing to open a wine and then have to replace it. I agree with you on August West. His Rosella's are terrific. I was about to take a 2004 with me to dinner tomorrow night, but remembered that I promised Tom Mortimer the next time I open a Pinot, it will be one of his Le Cadeau's.

[David M. Bueker]

I opened a 2001 Siduri Pisoni last night and was underwhelmed for a different reason. Certainly the wine was pleasant and sound, but gosh it was boring. Fruit with reasonably balanced alcohol, and nothing else. Not worth the calories.

In my case I think I am "over" Central Coast Pinot. I'm swearing off my mailers for these wines from here on out.

What do you think has made us fall out of love with these wines? They weren't terribly complex when we first discovered them, but we still enjoyed them. Even now, I will pull a Loring when I don't want to make any wine decisions or think about what's in the glass. It still plays a part in our wine enjoyment, but I did pass on the most recent mailer. The other thing that confounds me, is that many of these wines are still receiving high scores from the critics, and I am finding unbalanced wines an alcoholic mess with many. I've also seen these wines on wine lists with high price tags at fine NYC restaurants. I wonder how many customers are returning the bottles in these restaurants.

CC Pinot Noirs have a place in my cellar, but you can count me among the group for whom the "thrill is gone." Indeed, I was never totally in love with the more over the top examples in the first place. I favor finesse over power in Pinot Noir, and there are still examples being made in that style in the area. (Arcadian, Lane Tanner, some of the Hitching Post bottlings, Point Conception)
I use the bigger ones as cocktail substitutes - people seem to enjoy them quite a bit in that context. I find when trying to pair them with food, more often than not, I wind up with a headache.

Bummer. I am no Rosella's fan (at least for pinot) but those do sound off. You might write Adam to see if he has tasted the 02 lately.

Interesting commentaries about central coast Pinots.

Jason

[David M. Bueker]

Diane,

It's funny that you mention the idea of "not thinking about what's in the glass." That's exactly how I use the wines I do have. They also make great wines to bring/open with non-geeks. The bright fruit and easy buzz both seem to appeal.

But I have about a 3 years supply of these things, so no more for me.

[Jenise]

Bummer. I am no Rosella's fan (at least for pinot) but those do sound off. You might write Adam to see if he has tasted the 02 lately.

Interesting commentaries about central coast Pinots.

Jason

There was definitely something off. And if there hadn't been, I can't say I thought there was a great wine behind the flaws the way you can often tell that TCA has affected an otherwise great wine. Tasted tired, on it's last legs.

Diane, I haven't had your problems with the CC pinots, but then I haven't really been buying them lately. With the exception of the Christian David vintage (99 I think), I've had some trouble with some Siduri's lasting through the three to five year period I would expect a wine that costs what a Siduri does to last. I own too much wine to have to worry about slurping them down that fast. And for awhile I had so much Siduri and Loring that I didn't have room to buy anything else. I've been trying to drink those down and not get myself back in that predicament. I've otherwise been buying to have Biblical knowledge of the wines I read talked about, like ROAR, and rebuy of those the ones that wowed me (like Arcadian and August West and from further north, Copain). The only pinot producer I've stayed with year in and year out is from Oregon, St. Innocent. The wines always excite me, and they age.

John, you remind me, a friend gave me a catalog of Lane's library wines, which he can buy. After that 86 you and I discussed awhile back, I'm excited about a chance to buy some of her aged stuff.