Adam Lee has his hands in many projects. The former founder of Siduri, Adam has made wines for 25 years from Oregon to the Santa Rita Hills. A unique winery project, Clarice Wine Company has a membership of over 600 people. As part of their community members have the chance to interact with each other, sharing wine opinions and wine list guidance, as well as recommendations for wine travel, restaurants, hotels, events and more.
Lee got his start in Texas and was working in wine sales in the 1990s. In 1993 he and his wife, moved to California and, while working in direct sales at various wineries. It was 1994 when they started Siduri which became one of the state’s top producers of Pinot Noir. Their brand grew from 107 cases in 1994 to 25,000 cases in 2015 when they sold to Jackson Family Wines.
Clarice Wine Company is named after Lee’s grandmother who was his closest friend growing up. The wines are sourced from the Santa Rita Hills and come from some of the state’s great vineyards. I adored the new 2021 Clarice Wine Company Pinot Noir (OB, 94) which is beautifully textured and shows fantastic underlying finesse. Learn more about this exciting newer winery project at https://claricewinecompany.com/ and here is my review of the new 2021 Pinot Noir by Clarice and winemaker Adam Lee.
2021 Clarice Wine Company Pinot Noir- The outstanding 2021 Clarice Wine Company Pinot Noir comes from the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA (Rosella’s and Gary’s Vineyards). Stored in 30% new French oak, this is rich and layered Pinot Noir that is already drinking beautifully. Tart pomegranate seed flavors combine with wet stone, crushed mint, cloves and shades of satsuma orange zest. This is quite simply delicious juice that will cellar well for another decade or more. Drink 2023-2035- 94