American Pinot Noir producer Adam Lee wears many hats: he was a co-founder of Siduri Wines (and remains a consultant and winemaker), founded the Clarice Wine Company, and co-founded Beau Marchais Wine with famed vintner Philippe Cambie.
In this chat with JamesSuckling.com Associate Editor and Taster Claire Nesbitt, Adam talks about his approach in making pinot through whole-cluster fermentation and why he varied whole-cluster percentages for the 2017-19 vintages.
Claire also asks Adam for his thoughts on the uncertainty of the final product and whether whole-cluster fermentation can affect a wine negatively, to which Adam responds: “Yes, there is a risk you could have unripe stems … [but] one of the things I have found on stem ripeness is it has to do with the length of hang time and does not correlate with sugar maturity.”
Check out the rest of their conversation for more of Adam’s thoughts on pinots and their future on the West Coast.