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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.6 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 566 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by vinolovers on 4/2/2022 & rated 87 points: Clean cork with a nice cherry red color. A burst of red fruit on the nose which faded quickly. Very thin on the finish. (1490 views) | | | Tasted by ARiverofPisoni on 10/23/2021 & rated 90 points: Needed an hour of decanting
Past it’s peak but was enjoyable once it opened up. (1791 views) | | | Tasted by iamandyc on 7/14/2021 & rated 92 points: Still going strong - needs about an hour in the decanter to deepen, build some mouthfeel and add secondary flavors. Not a blockbuster but strikes a good balance of flavor and lightness to be suave for a Central Coast pinot, even at 14 years old. (2307 views) | | | Tasted by Ghoulardi on 7/2/2021 & rated 89 points: Seems to be holding together fine, but it’s a bit primary and one dimensional for my tastes. (1977 views) | | | Tasted by davudvl on 4/19/2021 & rated 91 points: Delicious (2033 views) | | | Tasted by NY Wino on 3/13/2021 & rated 92 points: Drinking nicely (1084 views) | | | Tasted by wynlvr on 1/14/2021 & rated 92 points: PJHR says it perfectly with the note of: "Lovely aromas and flavors of raspberry, cherry, forest floor, and cedar with delicious resolving tannins and tasty acidity on a long finish." (1016 views) | | | Tasted by Callybrian on 10/4/2020 & rated 89 points: Very light nose that only reveals some earthiness. Bold berry taste with an undertone of earthiness. Finish hits with alcohol. Not bad at all. (1041 views) | | | Tasted by pjhr on 8/20/2020 & rated 94 points: Found this buried in the cellar! Maturing gracefully since my last bottle 5 years ago. Lovely aromas and flavors of raspberry, cherry, forest floor, and cedar with delicious resolving tannins and tasty acidity on a long finish. (1078 views) | | | Tasted by PVJC on 8/13/2020 & rated 92 points: Kept longer than planned, but good move, wine drinking well & much better than the last bottle we had in 2013 (952 views) | | | Tasted by tfesmgk on 3/30/2020 & rated 91 points: Time did this wine well. Definite improvement. Darker, longer, richer. Finish of dark cherry & wood. (1121 views) | | | Tasted by iamandyc on 12/23/2019 & rated 92 points: Getting more serious and darker fruited with age. More tannins than last bottle and more body but definitely not heavy. Can see the transition from the earlier vintages which were almost syrah like to the lighter style of the past 8 years. Some light spice. (1254 views) | | | Tasted by grafstrb on 6/19/2019: -- decanted immediately before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over 2 – 3 hours --
NOSE: high-toned (perhaps some lift from the alcohol); mostly red-fruited (ripe red berries), veering just a bit towards the purple fruit spectrum.
BODY: garnet-ruby color of medium depth with slight bricking throughout; medium-light to medium bodied.
TASTE: a bit oakier than I'd prefer, but it's not ruined; medium acidity; not tannic; a touch alcoholic (14.5% labelled); ripe; big, but not comically huge; perhaps drying out now, so drink up; not funky. Drink Now. gut impression score: 90 – 91. (1459 views) | | | Tasted by Vinnut on 2/23/2019 & rated 92 points: Subsequent notes on this wine from over four years ago. Deep, rich, dark garnet in color with slight clearing at the edges. Full, forward & aromatic nose of ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries & plums with overtones earthy & smoky notes, some floral notes, dried herbs, minerals, spices, anise & a hint of oak/vanilla. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, rich, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & blueberries with spices, cola, earthy, herbs, minerals & some toasty oak/vanilla. Smooth lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present but at 12 years of age is at or near its peak of development, so drink up! (1686 views) | | | Tasted by Djfermentation on 11/6/2018 & rated 91 points: Took a 1.5L to Bouchon tonight to share with friends. The well stored bottle still tasted fresh and showed plenty of fruit still. A nice beverage, held back a bit by a little extra ripeness/alcohol. Tasty nonetheless and no where near over the hill from the magnum. (2015 views) | | | Tasted by Blake Brown on 3/4/2018: 2007 SEA SMOKE SOUTHING STA. RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- a gracious 14.5% abv; it had a deep dark purple colour befitting it youthfulness; the nose gave intense ripe black fruit and the taste had jammy black cherry, plum and blackberry; this and many of the other wines would have benefitted from being decanted. (1635 views) | | | Tasted by sbwino on 12/17/2017 & rated 88 points: Ready to drink (3025 views) | | | Tasted by TheFoodieTraveler on 12/9/2017 & rated 89 points: Better than some recent tasting notes IMHO, but Drink up (2757 views) | | | Tasted by fishncanuck on 12/2/2017 & rated 81 points: Seems past its prime (agree with most recent note). Noticeable alcohol, a mild tartness/bitterness follows prevalent tannin. No fruit to combat all the rest. I have another bottle, will revisit notes when I drink that one (will be soon given this one). Day 2 notes = Day one notes. (2255 views) | | | Tasted by jon_goodman1 on 6/2/2017 & rated 90 points: High alcohol content. It was passed it's prime as the fruit seemed have died (4058 views) | | | Tasted by ARiverofPisoni on 5/29/2017 & rated 89 points: On the downside... still enjoyable, but I should have consumed this one earlier. (3910 views) | | | Tasted by Miamidivorcelawyer on 4/22/2017 & rated 97 points: An absolute winner! Huge in structure and body with a surprising slightly burgundy profile than expected, still no doubt it was a California wine.
Lush big waves of ripe strawberries and flowers with the structure to carry all the complex undertones of violets, spice and dried stone fruit.
Plenty of tannin left and I think it still has several years before it may be on the decline. (3301 views) | | | Tasted by Vinyljunkee on 3/18/2017 & rated 89 points: Consumed with a group of friends on St. Patty's Day (how does that make sense?). A crowd pleaser but I love this wine much earlier in it's maturation. My last bottle. Drink up if you have any! (3343 views) | | | Tasted by ARiverofPisoni on 2/18/2017 & rated 89 points: Opened for 30 minutes... definitely on the downside.. enjoyable, but definitely lacked the vibrancy of its youth. Going to grab the other 2 I have left and drink soon.. and hope the 1.5L is showing better. (3625 views) | | | Tasted by judgepalmer on 12/29/2016 & rated 93 points: Really takes awhile to open up but it's worth the wait. Intense red fruit and spice with bracing acidity. A hair heavy on the oak for me but I'm nitpicking - overall I'm very impressed with this bottle. (1000 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2009, IWC Issue #147
(Sea Smoke Cellars Pinot Noir Southing Santa Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (10/25/2009)
(Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing) Medium dark cherry red color with pale meniscus; rich cherry, baked cherry, vanilla, caramel nose; tight tart cherry, tart red fruit, mineral palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish 92 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Sea Smoke Producer website.
At Sea Smoke we believe that the vineyard is the wine. For this reason, we produce Pinot Noir grown exclusively on our estate vineyard in the heart of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County, California. We focus on the meticulous management of each vine to achieve ideal vine balance and very low yields, while incorporating sustainable, environmentally sound farming practices. Each of our ten clones of Pinot Noir is hand harvested, and individual vineyard block/clone combinations are kept in separate lots throughout the winemaking process, enabling us to develop an intimate knowledge of the way Sea Smoke vineyard expresses itself. These individual lots form the basis of a complex flavor palette from which final blending decisions are made. This results in wines of exceptional complexity and grace - each one, we believe, a reflection of the unique terroir of our estate vineyard. We hope you agree, and we welcome your comments.
2007 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing Sea Smoke Winemaker Notes: The 2007 Southing is a marriage of complexity and elegance. The seductive nose begins with a combination of dried and fresh flowers, then blueberries, fresh chanterelle, and a hint of guava. The voluptuous mouthfeel and fine tannins are balanced by our estate vineyard's characteristic cool climate acidity.
WINEMAKING: We sorted clusters in the vineyard and then gently de-stemmed following an evening in our cold room. We removed all ‘jack stems’ on the sorting table. Musts were cold soaked in open-top fermenters for one to four days, then inoculated with cultured yeasts to begin slow fermentation. Each tank was manually punched down one to three times per day, with a total maceration time of fourteen to eighteen days. Upon completion of primary fermentation and maceration, all free run wine was transferred to tank for settling. We pressed at extremely low pressure (0.08 bars) to avoid extracting bitterness from the seeds. After settling overnight both free-run and press wines were racked to barrels.
CHARACTER: The 2007 Southing is a marriage of complexity and elegance. The seductive nose begins with a combination of dried and fresh flowers, then blueberries, fresh chanterelle, and a hint of guava. The voluptuous mouthfeel and fine tannins are balanced by our estate vineyard's characteristic cool climate acidity.
APPELLATION Santa Rita Hills; COMPOSITION 100% Pinot Noir; VINEYARD SOURCE Exclusively Sea Smoke Estate Vineyard; ALCOHOL 14.5% by volume; PH 3.37; TOTAL ACIDITY 0.7g/100ml; BARREL AGING 16 months; OAK PROFILE 65% new French oak, 35% re-used French oak; (12 different coopers); RELEASE DATE October 2009; SUGGESTED RETAIL 50 U.S. dollars.
Pinot Noir Varietal character (Appellation America) | Varietal article (Wikipedia)
Pinot Noir is the Noble red grape of Burgundy, capable of ripening in a cooler climate, which Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot will not reliably do. It is unpredictable and difficult both to grow and to vinify, but results in some of the finest reds in the world. It is believed to have been selected from wild vines two thousand years ago. It is also used in the production of champagne. In fact, more Pinot Noir goes into Champagne than is used in all of the Cote d'Or! It is also grown in Alsace, Jura, Germany, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Romania, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, and so forth, with varying degrees of success.
Pinot Noir is one of the world's most prestigious grapes. It is very difficult to grow and thrives well in France, especially in Champagne and Burgundy. Pinot Noir thrives less in hot areas, is picky on soil, and deserves some oak storage.
Pinot Noir, or Blauburgunder / Spätburgunder in German, is a blue grapevine - and, as the German name suggests, the grape comes originally from Burgundy in France.
The grape, which thrives in calcareous soils, is used primarily for the production of red wine, and it is widely regarded as producing some of the best wines in the world. The wine style is often medium-bodied with high fruit acidity and soft tannins. It can be quite peculiar in fragrance and taste, and not least in structure - which may be why it is referred to as "The Grapes Ballerina".
Pinot Noir is also an important ingredient in sparkling wines, not least in champagne since it is fruity, has good acidity and contains relatively little tannins.
The grape is considered quite demanding to grow. The class itself consists of tightly packed grapes, which makes it more sensitive to rot and other diseases.
Pinot Noir changes quite easily and is genetically unstable. It buds and matures early which results in it often being well ripened. Climate is important for this type of grape. It likes best in cool climates - in warm climates the wines can be relaxed and slightly pickled.
In cooler climates, the wine can get a hint of cabbage and wet leaves, while in slightly warmer regions we often find notes of red berries (cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants), roses and slightly green notes when the wine is young. With age, more complex aromas of forest floor, fungi and meat emerge.
In Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary, it often produces light wines with less character. However, it has produced very good results in California, Oregon and New Zealand.
With its soft tannins and delicate aroma, it is excellent for white fish, chicken and light meat. For the stored wines you can serve small game. Classic duck breast is a matter of course, a Boeuf Burgundy and Pinot Noir are pure happiness.
Pinot Noir loses quality by over-harvesting.
Pinot Noir is prone to diseases, especially rot and mildew. Viruses cause major problems especially in Burgundy.
Pinot Noir are large round grapes with thin skins. Relatively high in alcohol content. Medium rich tannins and good with acid.
As a young person, Pinot Noir has a distinctly fruity character such as raspberries, cherries and strawberries.
A mature Pinot Noir, the taste is different. Cherry goes into plum and prune flavors. It smells of rotten leaves, coffee, moist forest floor and animal wine. This must be experienced.
In warm climates you find boiled plum, some rustic, little acid.
If the grapes are over-grown, the wine will be thin, with little color and flavor.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Central Coasthttp://www.ccwinegrowers.org/links.html
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/regional-wine-organizations/
http://beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/list-of-winegrowers-association-in-central-coast-california-274.htm
Central Coast AVA Wikipedia |
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