Drank over 2 days separated by 2 days. On day 1, it was a bit stewed and to my palate seemed perhaps past peak and heading down. Still enjoyable and I'd give it 92 points. I only had half the bottle, stored it in the fridge, and then finished it 2 days later. The wine was much better! Brighter, fresher, more fruit!? Quite a surprise and demonstrates this wine has many more years of development to go. Legend lives.
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Agree with other recent notes. Drinking beautifully. A bit of tertiary aromas and flavors adding to the complexity. Drink now, I do not think it will improve much more.
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Pleasant, light nose of strawberries. Fine, detailed fruit on the palate, strawberry and spice. Fine tannins, beautiful acidity, great balance. Finishes moderately long with red fruits, primarily strawberries. This is very nice, but might be just a hair past prime. No matter, it's delicious still. I'd drink over the next 3 to 4 years.
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A real surprise. Popped and poured, and was half expecting this to be a hot mess. Previous experiences with young Sea Smokes have been tart cherry heat, but this was softer, with strawberry as the dominant fruit profile, slight earth/funk notes, and a soft and smooth balance without noticeable heat. A real pleasure -- maybe I should start cellaring all my Sea Smokes for 15 years!
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A nice dark ruby coloring when opened. Tons of cherry notes, followed by some strawberry. Needed about 30 min. to really open (didn't pre-open or decant). At it's peak and my last bottle. What a shame!
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Poured revealing a nice medium dark red color. Lots of cherry followed by both strawberry and raspberry notes. Balanced, smooth, without any tannins or vanilla notes. Absent the earthiness funk, reminded me of the Chalone Reserve pinots from back in the 80s and 90s. Delicious!!!
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From Magnum...bought from winery and stored in a temp controlled cellar on release. Wasn't sure when I'd drink this...so Thanksgiving 2019 made sense :). a bit gelantous, pure, but closed upon opening. translucent raspberry color. after 30 mins...really integrated, subtle, and nuanced. Cranberry, strawberries, a touch of kiwi...all in the right balance. long finish...acid still there but not tart at all. great to pair with food.
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Surprisingly good, and testament to good wine making and storage! Medium bodied, with a light'ish hue of crimson on the rim. Reticent nose, some sandalwood, red fruits and baking soda on the nose. Clean bright fruit on the palate, cranberry, raspberry with almost a crunchy minerality on a delightful fresh and persistent finish. Quite fine, complex and elegant !
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This was one of a tasting of mature new world Pinot Noirs I organized for an Easter ham dinner. The tasting consisted of a 2006 Sea Smoke Southing, a 2008 Kosta Browne Kanzler and a 2005 Beaux Frères Ribbon Ridge. All were very good to excellent with mature earthy flavors predominant. The Kosta Browne retained a bit more fruit than the others which made it the favorite with the young palates at the table but it was my #2 wine just ahead of the Southing. My preference was for the Beaux Frères which had a somewhat lighter palate with outstanding balance and excellent acidity and more life left in it for further aging if desired. All were very enjoyable and provided an excellent broadening experience for everyone's palate.
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Not a good showing. Opened for an hour before consuming. Color still deep red and shows no signs of fading. First sips reveal cherry and some red fruits, but dominant impression on palate after more sips is monolithic heat. Seems hot and simple without much complexity or other nuances of flavor. Just didn't enjoy this -- atypical of other Sea Smokes I've had, so either over the hill, or hopefully an off bottle.
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Needs time to open. After a decanted hour supple and balanced with good new world body and spice. Complex dark fruit in background though out. Drinking well. Solid aged sea smoke pinot.
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Drank from magnum. Popped and poured. The cork was soft, but the wine was still in great shape. It was perfectly balanced, with fruit and acid still present. the back half of the bottle was really amazing, glad we had a 1.5 instead of a 750ml. Odys and Penelope only charged us to open a 750.
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2006 SEA SMOKE SOUTHING SANTA RITE HILLS PINOT NOIR- magnum; certainly not kool-aid, this was the antithesis of the Hitching Post Pinot just before it; the colour contrast went from a light red in the HP to a dark almost inky purple here; also, this was full bodied, highly expressive, hugely extracted, long and the opposite end of the Pinot Noir fruit profile with super ripe black cherry and plum notes; a small pour was just perfect.
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We really enjoyed this magnum last night at Gallegers before the Hall and Oates show. It drank great, still showing brighter than expected fruits with some earth and a bit of Pinot funk. Delightful and probably could have gone several more years in magnum.
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Lost bottle found in the back of a box in the cellar today! Probably just on the downside, but still drinking nicely. Good fruit and still maintaining some complexity.
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Summer Wine Event 2016 - Houston (Houston): This wine is in a fantastic place. Not sure it will improve but seems as though it will continue to hold for the foreseeable future. Wonderful nose, great fruit, well balance, and long finish.
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From magnum. From the generally poor 2006 vintage, this has finally arrived at a lovely place. The fruit has pulled back and the wine is beautifully smooth and balanced. Not as complex as the better vintages of Southing, but really a lovely wine.
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Fleshy, drinking very well right now. Retains some mature youthfulness, but is clearly an adult. Sophisticated flavors, well integrated, nice mouth feel, just a great time for this wine
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This seems to be in a good spot and doubt it will improve. Starts pale but deepens with air. It's a pretty wine that is well balanced , perfumed and a nice finish. Mostly red cherry with some black cherry over time. Some light cola and spice notes. Nice acidity and minerality. Wonderful with Thanksgiving dinner. Clearly superior to an 2009 Aubert Sonoma Coast and 2010 Freestone pinot pitted against it.
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About the right time to drink because sliding past it's prime. Cork infiltrated to about half but still intact and with a light fuchsia stain. Soft purple color, guest detected chalky favor. Nose present but a bit muted. Fruit was cherry or blackberry and soft but well developed. Time in glass intensified fruit and didn't take long for it to be at it's best, which I credit to the extended aging. No need to hold these. Was overall pleasant and well balanced between the tang of the remaining acidity and the softened fruit.
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Pulled from 55F/13C cellar put on ice and BYO to restaurant paired with roast chicken. Fruit dominant raspberry and red cherry, a bit tight at opening. Notable acidity at opening that mellowed with air time.
Light tannins at mid-palate that blended in smoothly. The wine opened up after 30min, with denser fruit and hint of mushroom. Excellent 20+ sec finish 1 hour after opening. This wine is in early drinking window with many years left at peak. Not as complex as the '06 Ten that we had around 6 months ago but still a very good Pinot!
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Pretty good, the bottle was mature and it seems to have toned down a bit and was reasonably balanced, but still pretty big. Still some fruit left - would drink these within the next 2-3 years.
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Nice wine. Fruit is still holding up but there are earlier elements now present. This is not bright or acidic as a result, which is okay as this is a mature wine. Having a hard time placing flavor but it is either cherry or blackberry. There is life left in this as the fruit is still present, say three years.
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Sea Smoke Southing Vertical (Traci's House): Medium dark garnet with purple around the rim. Nose is very light toast, leather, dark cherry, and must. The core of the palate is a ripe sweet cherry but mid palate fades immediately, hollow through the finish. Light tannins and a little thin but more feminine of the line up.
Nose of sweet cherries, and red currants. Medium-bodied wine with complex flavors, minimal tannins, and plenty of red fruit as well as tart cherries evident on the palate. Wine is beginning to show its age.
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Still bright and fresh, with strawberry and cherry flavors, but also earthy and leather notes which have added to the complexity. This has definitely gotten better with age.
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Very much American pinot, but delicious, and still bright red fruits even at this age. decent finish, alcohol not really noticeable. Served alongside 05 Beaux Freres out of mag, which was a totally different experience. One would have mistaken the Beaux for a 1er cru red burg...not the Sea Smoke. Both very good wines.
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Last bottle of the Southing '06. Very nice. Clearly the time in the bottle softened the acid. Still fruit forward, but with darker fruit flavors. Smooth and tasty. If scoring 91-93.
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Another nice bottle of Sea Smoke. This seems to be aging well, and might be on a plateau or heading down the aging curve. Fruit wasn't as vibrant as in years past, but it worked well with some nice secondary aromas and flavors.
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Drank from a mag, nice example from the central coast, A bit of grit, strawberrys and a touch of moca, and spiced smoke. Seemed to be in a good spot right now but no real hurry to drink.
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Drank 2 bottles with friends. Both opened for 1-2 hours before drinking. The 1st appeared a little past it's prime dark with little nose & fruit. The 2nd was much better. Good CA PN with bright fruit, nice balance and length.
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Very nice. Decanted for 45 minutes. More of a CA pinot. Had this with turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving. Compared "Southing" to "TEN". Bird was roasted with sea salt, rosemary & sage dry rub. The TEN had more of a "french burgundy" balance. Wonderful. The Southing was also very good but had more sweetness and was more of a CA styled pinot. Overall preferred the TEN but both very good. Bottle age required I think.
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Popped and poured. Light ruby in color. Nose at bit reticent this time around. Nice primary fruit, a bit monolithic, but not over the top. Still enjoyable but did fall off quite bit on night 2.
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About a month ago, we drank our last 2005 and were horribly disappointed. We have a fair number of bottles of the 2006 and thought that, if the '05 was any indication, our '06's were going to be well past their prime.
Not so! This wine has all the characteristics Seasmoke fans expect. Great balance, luscious flavors, not overly fruit forward, but definitely leaning that way.
Don't think it is going to get much better. If you have one, drink it now. If you have two, drink one now and the other in a year. Worst case, at least one of those will not have been wasted!
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Deep red in color, this wine showed musky Asian spices, toast, dark red cherry and black raspberry on the nose. The mouth feel brought acacia, black pepper and minerals to the silky tannins. The finish was exotic with high levels of spices intertwined with the fruit.
Pulled from my friend's cellar while visiting him in Ft. Lauderdale, this bottle drank very well and paired excellently with our dinner of swordfish cooked on his grill.
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Bright red color. Beautiful bright cherries, hint of spicy cola. Perfectly balanced, clean, and great acidity. Didn't need any decanting, but did get even better after 20-30 minutes.
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Lite garnet color, not much body. Nose of old socks and earth., like a French nose. Dry, little fruit, taste of saddle, light cacao. Opens with food, developing with more dark cherries and light pepper. Has some notes of chalk and earth.
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PNP. Nose of sweet cherries, and red currants. Medium-bodied wine with complex flavors, minimal tannins, and plenty of red fruit as well as tart cherries evident on the palate.
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Great rally by this wine -- much better than a bottle of 19 months ago. Beautiful translucent ruby color. Aromas of musky cherry turn brighter with notes of orange peel, pomegranite, and baking spice. On the palate, bright cherry and a strong orange/citrus note lead to a spicy attack with great acidity underneath the fruit. Killer good, and a big surprise.
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Decanted for an hour. Lighter reddish-purple in the glass with aromas of cherry dominating the nose. Light to medium body on the tongue with a smooth and somewhat silky finish. Probably a little past its peak - but still paired wonderfully with grilled lamb chops.
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Poured into a big bowl, no name pinot glass. Excellent aromatics. Perfumed / delicate, with a bit of a sour background note with time in the glass. On the palate, fully resolved. Medium full body. There's a hint of heat that isn't at all bothersome to me today, but if I had more of these, I'd be drinking through them. I've had poor luck with bigger Cali pinots from 2006, and this one was a pleasant surprise. But I wouldn't push it much further.
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Good but not memorable. Then again, tasting it side by side with Kosta Browne and Rochioli may be a tad unfair. A little too hot and ripe at 14.7% alcohol.
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I think this one was over the hill. A bit oxidized and tasted like stewed prunes. Not good and inconsistent with my prior experiences with this bottle/vintage.
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Perfectly acceptable juice but nothing really interesting happening in the bouquet or on the palate; it was meh. Entire table agreed it was kicked into the shade by the Surh Luchtel served at the same dinner. But not flawed or corked as with recent bottles. I think this is the end of my relationship with Sea Smoke--it's not good value for money at all at all.
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Our last bottle. Realize I/we rated this wine a 90 last year. Something remarkable has happened in the bottle. It is currently wonderful. Fairly moderate rim variation would indicate some age on this wine. However, cork only lightly stained. Minimal sediment. No flaws. Classic pinot aroma. Classic pinot taste. No tannin. Medium finish. Low alcohol. This is a jewel. Certainly drinkable. Would suspect, plenty of life left in the bottle.
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Maybe my palate has changed, but My recent Sea Smoke experiences have validated my decision to not take recent allocations. They are well made and have their place, but they are not singing to me with complexity and depth. This one was simple fruit, some earth but really not much more. Maybe it was the fact it came after Gracianna and KB?
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Well, I have to take back most of what I've said about SS over the last few years. I've never really liked the wines, found them too hot and cloying with much oak and not displaying subtlety. Perhaps I've just not given them the chance; this wine, tonight, was excellent. From the pop, the nose was great, rich yet earthy and nothing sweet. On the palate, same impression, much less weight than I'd seen before yet still with the formidable density of flavor these guys are known for.
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i will give this 90 if only because it was the best sea smoke ive had in quite some time. seems like the early magic from this winery is lacking in more recent vintages. maybe it is just me. i just dont find the same ummph anymore. so what a delight in the bottle. great pinot color, nice expressive nose of berries, wood, licorice. palate is fairly full and does manage to hhit all parts of the mouth. nice acidity to this. finsih is rather pleasant and does linger a bit.
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Bill's Monthly Lunch - September 2012 (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind. This had a new world pinot red fruit nose with a sour/sweet tone to it (reminded me of sweaty socks, but in a pleasant way) that added some nice character/funk to it. Riper red fruit on the entry with a warm mouthfeel and some heat coming through on the finish. The nose here is nice, but the fruit on the palate is slightly overripe for my tastes. Others enjoyed this more than I did. Good.
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- Crimsom color with medium forming legs and aromas of raspberry and has flavours of cherry with a medium body - Dinner with Roger and Natasha Ross 01Sept2012
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The best pinot noir I have had this year, sweet cherries, and red currants aroma. The complex aromatics are followed by a medium-bodied wine with complex flavors, melted tannins, and plenty of red fruit as well as tart cherries.
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Drinking well now. Great balance and plenty of bitter-sweet red fruit. Nose of dry pine needles and fresh, bright, red fruit. Could be a ringer for a Sonoma Coast Pinot.
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An almost pine-like resin on the palate that I didn't detect in earlier tastings. Best bottle of the 4 I've had, and the last, this one is in a nice place right now, with the resin note keeping it from coming across as tired. If I had more, I would drink them sooner than later.
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Sometimes in life it all looks good. This is just one of those occasions. The body on this wine was stunning. The flavors rolled on and on, fruits, oak, earth, spice, cola. Being rather more partial to Oregon versions of NWP (new world Pinot) I found the bones on this wine absolutely excellent. The only question is which dress size one prefers as it wasn't a mater of form or figure. Compares very favorably to top Oregon producers in this price range. But its definitely "Californian" in terms of size and body. Outstanding.
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Not sure what has happened to this wine over the past two years. This was a disappointing effort, with a reticent nose of dusty strawberry, a hint of blueberry, and some wet rock. Tart and astringent on the palate, with simple notes of strawberry and cranberry. I expect better at this price and from this producer.
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Nose of red fruit and oak. Soft on the palate with notes of cherry, vanilla, some spices and nice texture. Enjoyable wine which is drinking well right now.
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Sam's Farewell Dinner (Nick's San Clemente): Decanted for an hour and dumped back through the vinturi into the bottle for the trip to the restaurant. Nose is consistent with previous vintages but with the addition of a cedar notes. Palate is tart cherry/raspberry fruit, fairly reserve, with very aromatic cedar finish wrapped with strong acidity. While it was enjoyed by all, it's not a blockbuster by any means.
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It's been a couple of years since we last tried this wine. Time has favored the '06 Southing from Sea Smoke. Bright, rich nose of soft florals, white pepper and earth. Layered favors on the palate of cherries, spice and a hint of the oak barrels. Lingering finish.
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Flavours extremely muddled ... while the nose clearly identified this as New World Pinot, the fruit was indistinguishable. On day 2 both nose and flavour less unpleasant, hence the improved score. May try decanting next time.
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1.5 - Opened an hour before eating, decanted for 20 min. then returned to bottle to take to dinner. This wine was too subtle for goose and prime rib... failed to detect much special, but the fam killed the bottle so fast I did not really have time to dwell on it.
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Liked this alot. Started very light in color (rose color) but darkened with air. Somewhat feminine but very layersed and complex after about two hours. Cola, spice, some oak were all in there in a nice balanced package. Same on a beautiful nose. Still seemed like time will improve it.
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Similar notes to last bottle. Splash decanted and served immediately. Paired wuth a goose for Thanksgiving. Consumed over the next hour or so. Chewy, with angular fruit, concord grape tastes with a medium body and a touch of heat. My benchmark for this wine is the 2005, which was Excellent. This is about half of that compared to that sense memory.
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Poured through a Vinturi (purchased at Costco - thought I would try it) into a decanter and let sit an hour. Seemed smoother after the hour than previous bottles. This is my last bottle of this wine and I am sorry to see it go. Balanced with loads of cherries on the nose and palate this time. Long finish.
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Nose: Aromas of clay loam, assorted herbs, tree moss, and cranberry. Palate: Spice and red fruits co-mingle with some minerality and a medium length finish. Somewhat lean with a bit of an off putting bitter quality. Otherwise a good Pinot but overpriced at $50. Slight demerit for the bitterness. Addendum: The bitterness has subsided with air so this has been upgraded to 91 points (from 90). Still overpriced at $50. Other than the Botella bottling (in good years) I'm beginning to think the Chardonnays from this producer are really what define them (see my notes on the 2005 Chard on 8/26/11).
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Found this lurking in the cellar; a gift from a friend. Popped and poured. Medium ruby red; tangy on the nose with much more red than black fruits. On the palate medium bottle a bit of sour cherry/apple and alcohol but this blows off after 15 minutes or so, reasonable finish and balance. Not great but a nice drink if you don't want a fruit bomb.
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Disappointing - oak is a little obvious and the sweet fruit is beginning to fade on the palate, leaving dry leaves and soft plummy tannins. Nose is muted. Still good - butworth no where near the price of admission....maybe signals the end of my Seasmoke purchases
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Black cherries, red plums, plum skin, blood oranges, and a touch of cola. a rich new world profile but nicely balanced with good acidity. Drinking better than most 06 pinots.
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Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Opened and served immediately.
Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of blueberries (light), black berries and black cherries. Flavors of black berries, black cherries, raspberries and bitters. Medium to bright acidity, firm tannins, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold.
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Wife took one sniff and said "This is the bomb." That of course is meant as a compliment. I enjoyed the wine but not as much as the wife (not enough complexity) and the score reflects her assessment. I stopped buying SS after the '08 vintage and this bottle did not change my mind.
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Still don't find the charm in this wine. High ABV is very present in the nose and mouth and finish, it masks any of the fruit flavors, which are thinning on this vintage. Decant for two hours and still not much change in the profile, disappointed. Botella has always showed better and at much less the cost.
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2011 Summer Wine Tasting – Pinot Noir Flight No formal notes taken as I was busy with guests. I have included the wines in the flight as well as first place votes received (all were served blind). 2007 Walter Hansel Cahill Lane (3) 2006 Rhys Alesia Green Valley (2) 2005 Le cadeau Rocheux (2) 2006 Sea Smoke Southing (2) 2006 Rivers Marie Sonoma Coast (1) 2005 Joseph Drouhin Gevrey Chambertin (0)
My personal top 3 in order from 1st to 3rd were: Sea Smoke, Rivers Marie, Le Cadeau
Not to take anything away from the Walter Hansel, but this was very close across all wines (except the JD). 3 others of us agreed that the Rivers Marie could have gotten our first place vote as well and this would have vaulted it in the scoring. It was really almost too close to call as all the wines were outstanding and we were thankful to be drinking them.
The starter Champagne for the evening was a NV Bollinger which was well received by all.
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Blueberry sharp in the nose but round on the tongue. More red fruits in the palate but a sweet juiciness keeps me going back for more. Pop our at cellar temp
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Much improved from the 2009 note, fourth bottle, first in more than a year. Medium garnet going brick red on the rim. Intense aromas of red berry liquor, perfumed flowers, and a strong herbaceous characteristic (mostly basil, though perhaps oregano as well) in the mouth, as silky as a good pinot should be, but this is not a shy wine. Cherries, coriander, dried blueberries, girded by an earthy, spicy core. not too hot, even at 14.5 percent. Acidity is mouth watering, if not a little tart, and the round, firm tannins suggest this wine might drink well until 2015 and beyond. Good stuff, and I regret drinking as much as of as I did in the early years.
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double decanted, then drank 2 hours later. had a moderate amount of sediment. the nose has a floral raspberry note with just a touch of toast. palate has bright raspberry and cranberry with a hint of fennel and lots of spice. front of the palate feels full, but thins out on the back end. acid is a bit high, but not overwhelming. medium length finish. drinking pretty well now, but has plenty of life.
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Hot, bitter and downright offensive at times. Really needs food to set the palate and it really needs to breath. What is all the hype about. I have had an allocation of Sea Smoke for 4 vintages now and they seem really inconsistent. Superb to disappointing.
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If tasted blind I might -- emphasize, might -- have picked this as pinot on the nose. But the palate? I doubt it. This was like drinking lighter fluid. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit. The flavors were decent (well, sort of) albeit way too ripe, but the alcohol simply ruins this wine. The alcohol is supposedly 14.7%, but it seems much higher, and I would have guessed well over 15%.
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Medium dark color, with a quite clear ruby hue. Pretty, if not particularly deep, nose of cranberry, spicy oak, a bit of funk, & some alcohol. Still quite tight on the palate, with moderate acidity & pronounced tannins. Decent depth of fruit; however, the flavors are simple & nondescript. In fact, if tasted blind, I may not have pegged this as Pinot at all. Certainly not Premium Pinot. For the price, I would expect more. [14.7% abv.; $54.00].
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Another delicious Sea Smoke! Lovely aromas and flavors of raspberry, cherry, indian spice, and cedar with moderate tannins and acidity on a tasty finish.
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Decanted for 90 minutes prior to dinner. Consumed during antipasti course. Bright cherries and floral components on the nose. Sour cherry candy on the palate with nice acidity and a lingering finish. Medium bodied and medium cherry red in color.
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OC4POKER IX - Adios Brian & Ashley; 4/2/2011-4/9/2011 (WCC - Irvine CA): Was given a quick sip by some others at wcc. Shows dark cherry and spice with nice mouthfeel. I will visit my first bottle later this year '11. Good news is it looks very age worthy for those sitting on their stash.
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Drank this with Ken V in Albany. He said 'Beautiful spiced red fruit nose. Sweet red fruit and tar on the palate. Nice tannins balanced with the fruit. This is a delicious, serious Pinot. Not overly ripe. A great sense of harmony and balance'. I agree with his notes. Last time I drank this was a year ago. The wine is improving. It was tasty on pop n' pour. Nice nose and tannins. Very smooth. Over the course of 90 minutes, this continued to drink well.
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Hammertime: Sea Smoke Pinot & Corino Barolo (Cafe Capriccio, Albany, NY): Beautiful spiced red fruit nose. Sweet red fruit and tar on the palate. Nice tannins balanced with the fruit. This is a delicious, serious Pinot. Not overly ripe. A great sense of harmony and balance. Quite ready but should drink well for another 5-8 years.
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Battling a cold, but felt this drank very well. Cherry, spicy, a bright but yet smooth. Improved as we started eating lamb and Parmesan broccoli. Honestly, couldn't ask for a better Cali pinot for the price - fruit flavors, good tannins, so slightly oakey, ginger-spicey and great balance of flavors.
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Very Pinot nose. Fairly tart, with some finishing tannins. This drank much better at cellar temperature. I'm not sure where this wine is going as I've enjoyed other bottles considerably more.
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A slightly dark red. Aromas of sherry, strawberry, raspberry, perfume, cedar, and minerals. Medium bodied, with a nice feel. Excellent balance, with better acid and structure. Nice soft tannins on the finish.
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Nice dark color but not brooding. Rich cherry and bright red and dark fruits on a structured delivery. Notes of oak, spice and vanilla lead to a bit of heat on the finish. A bit austere, but still posseses all the qualities of a great wine.
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From Magnum at Boston Wine Festival Opening : No formal notes but maybe the best Pinot I've tasted to date although hard to declare that on just a tasting sample. Stood out at a table of other quality Central Coast Pinot's with remarkable balance and flavors. This was still the wine I am thinking about the next day. I used to Sea Smoke was hype - not anymore.
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Big, strong and full-bodied but with a seamless delivery that pleases all of the senses. Cherries, red currants violets and cedar flavors abound with some peppery spice. Refined tannins and red and dark berry notes add to an enjoyable bottle. Some minerals add to a persistent finish.
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Opened not decanted. Consumed over 2 days. Better on Day 2. Dark, rich tastes of blackberry, blueberry, with some mid-palate tastes of tart red berries. Ends with a semi-drying light citrus finish. Good on Day 1. Very Good on Day 2.
Pop and pour. Very good Pinot leaning towards the big/modern style without crossing the line. Nice dark color yet transparent. Cherry and other bright ripe fruits dominate. Some spice and a little vanilla. Minimal heat on the end detracts just a little preventing it from being an exceptional wine but still very enjoyable. Hopefully that last bit will integrate with some extra time in bottle.
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Decanted for about 2 hours in the bottle before pouring my first taste. Great Santa Rita Hills nose, with black cherry and oak, with some raspberry, strawberry and spice. A bit of earthiness on this as well, but gorgeous. On the palate, this wine still needs some time to integrate I think, but it could also be the vintage. As I've said in the past, I haven't been a big fan of '06 pinot noir compared to prior to vintages. Regardless, some nice fruit of dark cherry, raspberry, vanilla, and even some green tea. By the end of the bottle, this was starting to strut it's stuff, and this was starting to develop into the Sea Smoke that I really love. Next time this needs a good splash decant for 4-6 hours. 90 points.
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Nose of black cherry, vanilla, black tea. On the palate, black raspberry, black cherry, spice, smokey oak. Soft finiish. Very nice. Drink over the next few years.
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Opened and should have let breathe, but it had a nice balance of fruit, and still maintained it's structure. Seems to be more like a RRV style, but really enjoyed. Last two bottles, so will need to explore later vintages, and probably lay down a little longer.
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Tasted in double-blind fashion at Vintage Wines, Ltd. The bottle was kindly provided by Tim Ryan. Medium ruby robe with red rim. Clean nose, showing quite intense aromas of red and black cherries, raspberries, cardamom and cola. Medium-bodied on the palate, with medium acidity, medium sweet tannins and a silky mouth texture. The flavors mirror the nose and the middle palate is solid. At this point, the alcohol (listed as 14.7%) is quite well-integrated, although it should be pointed out that the wine was appropriately served at approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Long, smooth finish. I guessed the wine to be a Russian River Pinot. This is the most "restrained" and structured Sea Smoke Pinot that I have tasted to date. Drink now-12/15.
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The alcohol has finally settled down and I can enjoy the wine more than I have in the past. However, even though this is a well-made pinot, it just lacks that certain something. Drank the last 1/4 on day two and it seemed to have faded.
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Had the same night as 2001 Paul Hobbs Stagecoach vineyard. This was a nice dense pinot that came on more on the syrah/cab style, which I sort of like every now and then. Nice thick coating mouthfeel but no bitterness or off flavors. Some bright tastes as there is a little acidity going on. Very nice pinot in an average vintage. Would call it medium bodied leaning toward full. Far as dense as this was for Pinot, it was never too much which speaks a lot to the balance of the wine. Nothing stood out over other components; the acidity, the fruit, nor the tannins. Would give this another 5-7 years tops. The 4 years in the bottle already have made a more integrated wine, although I didn't have one on release to relatively compare.
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Brought to a tasting dinner. opened in bottle for about 60 min, big full throttle wine, red fruit predominant, touch of cola maybe. very good acidity, and structure...Was well liked at the table but for me was missing that extra gear...very good showing, but not great
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Drinking very well now, but has enough structure to develop for a couple more years. Aromas of cherry, berry, and tobacco are followed by flavors of caramel, cola, and dark fruits.
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Popped and poured. Nice right out of the bottle, but steadily improves as it breathes and opens. Better than the 2005, which seemed to have a lot of bottle variation. Lots of berries and a little tobacco - long finish. Good acidity and body - a nice balanced bottle of wine. Right now it is the perfect match with sitting on a balcony, overlooking the ocean in Shell Beach, not too far from where the wine is made!
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My last bottle of the 06. Caramel and dark fruit on the nose. Needed a couple of hours in the decanter for the dark berry flavors to emerge. This wine seems to have reached its peak and I liked it better about a year ago. Still a very nice bottle of wine.
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Wonderful bright nose of cheery and raspberry fruits with spice and a hint of oak. taste is excellent with a nice clean taste long linger and strong fruit. Picked up a hint of strawberry bt the cherry raspberry really comes through. Excellent wine
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June 11th, 2010 .... Laura called pining for a Pinot. Three glasses later (2 for me, 1 for Laura) and it was history. The wine was predictably excellent and a perfect accompaniment to finger food of goat cheeses and olive tapenade. I'm beginning to favor the Santa Rita Hills terroir above all others.
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Another excellent bottle of Sea Smoke. Needed about an hour in the decanter to open. Aromas and flavors of cherry cola, blackberry, a hint of licorice and perhaps some earthy undertones. Well balanced, well integrated with abit of an acidic core and a nice moderately long finish.
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Aromas of blackberry , cherry cola, rasberries and plums. Flavors of raisins, raspberry, cinnamon and cherry. Some alcohol heat but still a very nicely integrated bottle. Definite oak notes throughout. Not a memorable bottle but a very enjoyable bottle nonetheless.
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Good, but not worth the price of admission in today's economy. A Sonoma Coast from either Sojourn or Sandler is better and for much less money. Made my decision about passing this year easier to swallow. Nose of raspberries, plum and oak. A small amount of heat on the finish.
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Fairly dark ruby. Big, glossy, fruity (cherry and fig), alcoholic Pinot with oaky base. Some enjoyable cinnamon spiciness. Once the fruit faded after about an hour, the harshness of the alcohol was all that was left.
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Ripe raisins on the nose and then a much more delicate mouthfeel and finish. A mostly complete wine now that could use another few years to fully mature. Delightful with the potential for improvement.
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Nose very oaky, very sweet fruit, with alcohol definitely showing. Has a slight overripe, raisiny, stewed fruit edge, but this is very very nice stuff. 93+
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Popped the cork about an hour and a 1/2 before drinking, but not decanted at Berserkerfest 2.5 at Peking Duck House in Manhattan. Soft color in the glass, with a sweet nose of plum, raspberry, cola, spice, and a bit of alcohol. On the palate, this was super tight at first, with some strawberry and cherry. Definitely not as big as other Southings I have had, but still a big wine. As the night wore on, some mint came out, along with some cinnamon and clove. The finish still had some alcohol, and I wasn't overly impressed with this. 88 points. As we went to leave, there was still a 1/2 bottle left, so I re-corked it, took it home, and put it in the fridge overnight with a cork in it. On day two, this wine had mellowed out a ton, and transformed into the Sea Smoke that I have come to love. It still however didn't compare to the '05 in my opinion, but was still a great wine. Pretty much the same nuances as day two, with more cherry, and alcohol and oak that had integrated nicely overnight. Many will say to drink the '06's now, but I tend to disagree, and think that these need another 2-5 years in the bottle before they get to the point at which we truly enjoy them. This will definitely get better with time. HOLD. 92 points on day two.
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This has now reached a degree of maturity where it's very enjoyable to drink. Nothing terribly complex, but a very nice, medium-bodied California pinot style with a fairly lush (not to say extracted) aspect to it. Surprised how well this is drinking right now!
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The 2006 is reaching its maturity and you can now really begin to talk about this wine. It's not as substantial as the 2005, but more playful. Flavors of peppermint, cloves and nutmeg appear and disappear around the cherry core. It's not a memorable bottle, but a pleasurable one to drink.
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To quote the Kinks' song Lola "Tastes just like cherry cola" Bright fruit on the nose with dark cherry and cola on the palate, right balance of oak, acidity and tannins. Not as good as the 2005 but thats a lot to live up to. A beautiful Pinot, its what Sea smoke is all about.
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My first one of the bunch and I probably should have waited even longer to open. Started off extremely tight, but seemed to open over the course of dinner. Dark Rubyish color to it. Dark red fruits on the nose along with some oak. Medium bodied in the mouth with the dark cherries really coming through leading to a med-long finish that had the acidity and tannins giving this some backbone.
I did find one thing strange though, towards the end of the night, the nose had a distinct maple syrup/brown sugar smell to it and that even infiltrated the taste, which is odd as I usually find this with Saxum... I've never had that before with Sea Smoke...
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Popped and poured. Nose of black cherry, vanilla, pie cherry, tea. On the palate, black raspberry, black cherry, vanilla, spice, smokey oak. Finishes smooth. Much softer than most Southings of this age. Probably a vintage to drink sooner than later. Excellent to Outstanding. Pass on value.
Popped and poured with friends at Matisse. Seemed shut down, but perhaps it just needed a couple of hours in the decanter. Nose initially impressed but kind of blew off. The usual Southing taste never really developed and overall the whole thing was ok, but kind of "flat". Based on other reviews I think the '06 needs some more age and/or long decant to realy show its stuff.
Excellent, pure expression of Central Coast Pinot Noir. Initial heat, but that blew off. Inviting but not overdone on the nose. Beautifully balanced and linear, with earthy notes and a fruit finish that goes on and on. Didn't want this bottle to end.
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A brilliant garnet with slight brick on the robe. Aromas of freshly crushed cranberries with a bit of toffee and rose hips. Light and stylish this wine has remarkable acidity that lends the perfect balance between the layers of red berry fruit, minerality, bing cherry, toasted oak, graphite, and pomegranate, for the thoughtful finish. Oh, beautiful wine. Lives up to it's hype. This is real Pinot, not Pinot Syrah...
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This bottle was definately better than what I experienced a year ago but still something is missing. It does not possess that harsh alchohol that it once did but it is still slightly disjointed. I'll hold off another year or two before passing final judgement.
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It's been over a year since I last had an 06 Southing. The wine seems to have picked up a bit of an earthy element on the nose. The rest remains pretty much the same with lots of dark fruit and spice elements. Finish is well extended and overall balance is quite nice. Didn't get the alcohol on the back end that I noted about previously.
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More tang, less fruit than prior bottles. Very nice, but either closed down or declining, not sure which. Relatively light in body, but lacking some of the precision found in the best.
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Disappointing overall for a hard-to-get cult wine. Great color and nice nose. Some muted cherries and raspberries on the palate, and a bit of spice. Tastes a bit dusty. Not very full in the mouth.
This is a decent Pinot, but it comes nowhere close to living up to the label's reputation. Maybe this was an off bottle? I have one more, so we'll see if there's any difference once that cork is pulled.
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Not showing as well as the last time I had this. The red fruit and dusty mocha sweetness was there, but this seemed simple. We'll give some time before the next bottle.
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Yikes. MUCH better than I expected. They've toned down the jam and let the grapes be themselves. Lovely bouquet. Enough acid to hold up to milder poultry. Worth pursuing. Rochioli: do you get it?
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A really great CA Santa Rita Hills area pinot, very typical CA style - big and bold for a pinot, very fruit forward but with less tannins then previous vintages, less likely to hold up for long term cellaring. Enjoyed earlier tonight with Kim and good CT wine buddy neighborbill and spouse Debbie for a second Thanksgiving dinner this week. Highly recommend this wine despite price point being such that this is just much too expensive and hard to find to be a reasonable QPR wine. Very dark, still quite young with tannins mellowing some and still quite acidic with clearl maturation since last bottle, flavors balanced, good mouth feel, medium bodied with good aftertaste. Nose of some brine, floral overtones, dark cherry and black pepper. Primary flavors included stone fruit, dark raspberry, cherry, white pepper and minimal amount of the legendary smoke on the aftertaste. Will sit on remaining bottle for 1-2 years for now.
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Very good next to the 07 which is not ready, but not as good as the 05 in our tasting. Still a solid effort but didn't like the qpr this year which may effect future allocations. maybe it needs more time?
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Needed to make room for my 07's and drinking one made room for six. It's Friday after a long week so maybe i'm jaded but this wine to me, is close to pinot perfection. Beautiful garnet color and a nose that explodes from the glass. Glycerine like legs. Rich red fruits are so balanced I cant pick one dominant aroma. 30+ second finish that is both sweet and tart. WOW. this bottle has not moved since delivery from the winery 16 months ago. I was not as enthralled with my first bottle, 6 months prior.
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Opened this one up in honor of the '07 that is arriving tomorrow but will need a little time still. A little concerned at first at the pale color on the cork, and the thin color in the glass. But don't let it fool you, this is more powerful than it looks. Dark cherries, blackberries, and spice. Still a little heat on the finish.
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Bright red medium body. Somewhat muted nose. Benefited from 2+ hours decanting, particularly to lower the heat. Reasonably well balanced and enjoyable with slight sour cherries. Will benefit from a bit more bottle age.
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First of four bottles. This is a big, bold CA pinot. Wife absolutely loved it but I found it to be too alcoholic at this point in time. Hopefully it will settle down with time. Paired well with NY strip steak.
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First bottle of six. Opened and poured. Medium ruby red. Heavy, ripe and dark with black cherries and plums. A bit of a dark brooding wine that leaves you wanting a glass of water. Hard to make friends with.
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Brought up from the cellar to warm up, then decanted. The wine has continued to improve with time. The bouquet is the cherry, wild berry I would expect. On the palate the fruit is clear but there is a bitterness that prevents the wine from scoring any higher. It could be the acidity, but then either the wine needs more time in the bottle or it is out of balance. I have the Ten from the same vintage and it is superior.
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Popped and poured. Served with baked chicken. Nose of black cherry, cola, spice, and orange zest. Palate of black cherry, bing cherry, cola, and orange zest. Finishes a litte sweet and nice sappiness. Not as structured as past vintages. Drink now. Value not quite there this year. Still an oustanding wine.
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Opened not decanted. Served with baked chicken with friends. Opened but not decanted approximately 1 1/2 hours. Syrupy nose of black fruit. On the palate: black cherry notes with a somewhat heavy mouth feel ending with a sweet orange finish. Good to Very Good. A little heavier and less complex that the 2005.
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Um, wow. This was revolting. A combination of under ripe aromatics (cranberries, vegetation) and over ripe aromatics (bruised apple, rotten plum) led into a mid-palate that was, frankly, choke inducing. No finish, thankfully. Decanted and served blind to a pack of experienced Pinot Noir drinkers and this was universally loathed. Dumped into the brush next door. Amazing that this is what passes for cult status wine.
As an amendment since this apparently got some folks' gander up. This wine was tasted with 7 people all of whom are in the wine business (and have been for double digit years) or are avid and well-rounded collectors. The wine was purchased at a reputable shop with good temperature conditions. The bottle was shipped but was done so in early April when weather was not an issue. The bottle went into an extremely cold cellar. It was decanted and served at an appropriate temperature. The bottle was definitely not corked and did not appear to have suffered any sort of heat damage or any other issue (seeping cork, etc.). Perhaps this was an off bottle in some way that was not identifiable either by taste or bottle history. The wine had time to breathe and everyone went back to it several times. The issues I describe this wine having became more, not less, prevelent with each passing moment until the point where it was dumped when it was no longer even an interesting topic of discussion. Roughly $75 was paid for this bottle which, while not necessarily a super expensive bottle of wine, it is certainly not inexpensive. The rating given to this wine was based on the way it tasted that night. I have not had this bottling previously so I don't have a framework from which to work other than what I think great, very good, fair and poor wine tastes like. I have no personal agenda in making this note other than to post my and several other qualified tasters assessment of this wine. I realize it falls far, far outside of the general ratings that this wine has received on this database. Perhaps this bottle was flawed in some way however that did not appear to be the case. I and the other tasters present are well aware of bottle variation even within the context of high quality, high integrity sorts of producers such as Sea Smoke. If we had had the option of opening another bottle of this wine that evening we would have done so as a comparative study to see if this particular bottle was damaged. This note relates to the condition in which we found this wine out of this bottle. There are plenty of other notes on this wine to the positive so this can be one point of reference. Since it falls so far out of the norm one can take it as a one time situation, a bad bottle or poor tasting notes. I would stand behind my view of this particular bottle. In the future if I have the opportunity to taste this wine again and my notes are far different than the above I will absolutely detail any difference.
Delicious with time. Initially reserved, but put on a very nice level of weight. Not too much, but a nice silky yexture. Red fruits on the nose, with earth and a hint of VA (this being the only thing hold back from a higher score). Flavors matched the nose, and were amazingly rich and layered after about 4.5 hours. All in all a great effort for the vintage and a made me glad to have bought my 07's.
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Oh, the nose on this one- so huge and distinctive. Cola, strawberry, cherry, moss, mushroom, fresh sawdust, vanilla, embers. I have had so many sub-par pinots I never anticipate such an impression. I can't comment any more on what's already been said in other TNs. Very good wine. My first sea smoke.
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Kim and I enjoyed our first bottle of this (or any other Sea Smoke pinot, for that matter) last night at an impromptu wine tasting with CT wine buddy neighborbill and other wine friends. Man is this good, I see now what all the fuss is about. Great CA style pinot, bolder and more fruit forward then the typically more muted and elegant Oregonian high end pinots. Too expensive to be a good QPR but despite that I highly recommend this wine. Very dark, clearly still quite young and acidic but flavors balanced, good mouth feel, medium bodied with good aftertaste. Nose of some brine, floral overtones and black pepper. Primary flavors included stone fruit, dark raspberry, cherry, white pepper and smoke on the aftertaste. Will sit on remaining two bottles for now.
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Don't let the thin appearance deceive you. There's a rich mouthfeel and texture to this wine. Dense raspberry, currant and some underlying spices keep the flavors interesting on the mid-palate and finish. The smoke was muted. It should continue to improve, but is drinking alright for such a young PN. I'll save the rest of my allocation for a while though.
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From a magnum decanted...a clear medium to ruby red full color showing a nose of dark cherry and red raspberry with nuances of baking spice underneath. A firm entry and full mouth feel at mid palate with engaging layers of fruit texture framed by a good acidic balance... and a soft finish that was quicker than I would have liked...in other words...pretty nice, just not long enough. Went well with grilled wild antelope chops.
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I'm back as a fan of SS after this bottle. Lush nose of cinnamon, vanilla and cherry. Very lively on the palate and finish. Completely opposite of the '05 Southing a few months back. Decanting wasn't necessary but did improve in the glass.
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Opened not decanted. Some clarity at the edge of the glass. Strong notes of black fruit on the nose. On the palate: high alcohol with dry blackberry, raspberry and blueberry. Fruit is in the forefront and is not shy. Ends with a somewhat hot, citrus finish. Good. This is a wine that is tough to pair with food as it stands out so much. However, it needs food to offset the alcohol. I would suggest pairing with something bland rather than spicy. Still a great wine. Good.
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Bold, ripe raspberry and blue fruit, framed by oak. A complex fruit profile--plum, raspberry, black cherry, pomegranate and cranberry on the finish--more broodish and elegant than other vintages of this wine. An acidic framework that reigns in the fruit. Finish is a bit hot, yes, but the overall impression is not changed by this, at least not to me. A darkhorse, impressive for the vintage, and proof that you could still make power pinot in 2006.
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Very clear ruby red, nice color, somewhat light in appearance. Red fruits on the nose with some spice, somewhat muted after a couple hours. Good, but standard palate, well made though nothing stands out. Red currants, pomegranate, some baking spices, a bit of heat on the back of the tongue.
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Lovely. Silky smooth with nuances of spices, pie crust, nutmeg, and black cherry. Decant heavily for now, or hold off for another year or more. Still pretty young and tight.
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THis wine seems to actually degrade with time in the decanter. It was at its most flavorful and best as a pop and pour. You have a strong aroma of cola, spicy pepper, tart cherries, and dark red berry jam. The pinot has remarkable acid that tickles your tongue for MINUTES after your drink. There's a bit of oak on the finish.
After about 1 hour in the decant the alcohol really comes on strong 2 hours in the oak comes on strong with the alcohol 3-5 hours nice acid on the finish but not a very expressive nose. The fruit isn't a powerful and there's a very short finish.
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Tart cherry, low acidity. More enjoyable than previous reviews reveal. Not a memorable Southing like previous vintages, but stronger than what the majority of other producers are bottling.
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First nose of ripe pinot, very new world. Gets better with times. Dark pinot in color, black fruit, very oaky,. Very yummy in mouth, full bodied wine that can pair with big food. The only downside was the noticeable alcohol when you smell the wine.
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Pleasant taste of new world candied fruit, but I found this to be a bit more thin than last year's pinot. That being said the thiness isvon par with most 2006 California Pinot Noir. Overall, nice bottle. Pair well with Thanksgiving dinner.
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Hmm, suspect this is just too young - was overly oaky. However, there's a lot going on and in another year, this could be really good. Richly fruited nose and palate, with a long finish and nice acidity. Right now, though, the vanilla creme heavily outweighed all that.
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The nose had cherry, brown spice, forest floor, and a touch of vanilla. The palate was smooth, and had loads of cherry, some spice, and an oaky finish. It was good, but it had more oak than I would prefer.
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Purchased off the list at Wood Tavern, Oakland. Opened not decanted. Dark, syrupy nose of black fruit. On the palate: dense black cherry and blackberry fruit with cinnamon and other spices. Ends with a dry citrus finish. Opens up quickly and is very approachable right now. The acidity seemed very low. This may not be a long term ager. Good.
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Decanted, but took a sip after popping the cork, and the weight and rich mouthfeel of this wine took me by surprise. It's been awhile since I had Sea Smoke. Came back to it about 3 hours after putting it in the decanter, and it seemed to have heated up a bit, still not ready to go yet...still quite tasty. When I finally came back to 5 hours after putting it in the decanter, it had softened quite significantly and really seemed to be showing all it had to offer. Nose of dense raspberries, cherries, cola, and smoke. Medium to full bodied on the tongue with flavors mirroring the nose. Mild acidity and just a touch of tannin. Finish goes on for a good 30 seconds or so (if you don't already go back for another sip). The most striking part of this wine is how utterly velvety and rich it is. It coats your entire mouth, but never loses its balance at any point on the palate. It is an absolutely beautifully crafted wine.
Can't go wrong with Sea Smoke, and I personally think the Southing is their best bottle (although I haven't had an aged Ten yet, but I am working on it). Even after the long decant I could tell this wine is still just a baby. It needs a good five years to settle down and let its flavors develop. Very good wine to be sure, but not Sea Smoke's best effort.
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Medium to dark and clear garnet, and an inviting nose of ripe red berries with a nod to raspberries, and a firm touch of dark cherry and a very light edge of spice. A smooth transition from entry to mid palate where it gathered speed and substance...great mouth feel with a good balance of acidity making this a very nice sipper as well as a wine built for food. Good stuff where I had my nose in the glass to the very last sip.
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I liked this one, though my expectations are always high with Sea Smoke. This didn't have the complexity of the 05, but it was good nonetheless. Nice acidity, classic pinot flavors, etc. Defnitely less ripe and structured than the 05. Still young though so will check out the next bottle this winter.
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Great nose. Let it decant for an hour as it was very tight when I opened. A bit less fruit and complexity than the 2005. I will let it sit for a few months before the next bottle. Still a great pinot. Highly recommended. One of my favorites.
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Medium garnet color with clear ruby hue. Muted oak & spice on the nose, though not much fruit. If evaluated blind, I might've pegged this as a Zin or Shiraz, not a Pinot. The front showed no raspberry or strawberry to speak of, but tons of bramble & spice instead. Nice acidity envelopes the midpalate & persists throughout the lengthy New World finish. The extreme back-end does show, perhaps, some more distinctive Pinot characteristics. Good stuff. Almost worth the price... [14.7% abv.; $54.00].
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Back to normal after the previous bottle was horribly corked. See note from 7/15 for detailed notes. This is really great at a young age and I love them so much that I'll probably never find out how good they are with 10 or so years on them.
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Brought to Seattle for the CellarTracker get together event. I didn't have too much of this myself but it was quite good and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
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Excellent new world pinot. Had at restaurant. With 30 minutes of breathing, initial heat blew off and wine shined. Nose of berries and spice, red berries and black pepper on the palate. Long finish. Very balanced wine. Crowd pleaser. Impressive. $95 at A16 in SF.
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popped and poured. venison sausage with worcestershire sauce for days and days. The wine sets up camp on your palate like a berkeley tree sitter, refusing to budge. impressive.
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Wow! Drinking very nice now, will be a rock star in a few years. The nose is full of raspberry, cherry and strawberry with hints of spices and earth, alcohol very dominant. Decided it needed to breath so I decanted it for 45 minutes. WOW what a difference, the alcohol toned down and more spices and earth opened up. In the mouth it is still very young with tight tannins and finishes short and dry. This wine is worth $50 just for the nose alone. In 3-4 years this will blow away most CA and OR Pinot Noirs.
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Curiosity got the best of me and I had to pop one of these just to see how it was and what I've got to look forward to for the rest of them. Color is ruby red with a very slight violet tint and the nose had sweet floral cherry notes with some spice overtones. Flavors just kept changing and changing thoughout the time the bottle was open. From the start it was really bright and fruity and then it sorted tightened up a little and took on a slight tobacco note on the finish with a bit of alcohol poking through, then after a few hours everything settled down into a wonderfully balanced wine with a really long finish. Is this better then the 05? At this point it is hard to tell but I am glad I have enough of these to hopefully end up having one or two of them around for a few years.
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Still a newborn. Hopefully will blossom over time, right now nice but somewhat reserved cherry nose, fairly tight and closed down on the palate. The fruit that's there is exquisite, but right now I taste more alcohol. Over time I'm hoping this will mellow.
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Dark purple, but not as heavy bodied as prior vintages. Pure, clean, dark cherry flavors that right now are rather uni-dimensional. We'll see how this fleshes out over time.
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Great pinot. One of the best CA Pinots I've had. Young but surprisingly drinking very well. Red raspberry and refined mineral and earth nuances. Tried against Freeman and Walter Hansel and this was the clear winner in my mind (althought others were 2005 and Hansel was very good).
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Pop and pour. Medium ruby red with a purple tint. Bright cherries and raspberry, earth, asian spices and a touch of brown sugar. Elegant, silky, and lively on the palate with juicy acidity - a refreshing wine to be sure. Lovely lingering spice on the finish, though the finish could be more persistent. Just enough tannins to suggest a drinking window out to 2011.
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Dark sweet perfume on the nose. Rich dark fruit on the palate. Long finish with minimal tannins. This won't see a lot of time in my cellar, as it's drinking quite well right now.
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Nice ruby color. The nose of this wine showed aromas of raspberry, cherries and spices. The palate revealed strawberry, raspberry and some pepper flavors that carried through a nice length finish. This was medium bodied, and more reserved than the 05 vintage and much more reserved than the 04 vintage. A friend had just received these, and really wanted to try one even though it was way too early.
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Barrel tasting with the winemaker Kris Curran and the assistant winemaker, Don. Kris mentioned that the barrel we were tasting will probably be part of the final blend. I show: "dry, tight tannins with sweet dark fruit. Solid wine."
I also have notes from a barrel from the M2A block. My notes don't indicate if this is also part of the Southing, but it was tasted right after we tasted the above barrel, so I'll go with it. "Huge nose of exotic, blackberry fruit. Still in primary stage."
Really looking forward to the final product. Fascinating to taste the building blocks right now.
Everyone is very down to earth with the philosophy of producing world class wines. From every indication, they are achieving it.
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2/25/2024 - rogerr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank over 2 days separated by 2 days. On day 1, it was a bit stewed and to my palate seemed perhaps past peak and heading down. Still enjoyable and I'd give it 92 points. I only had half the bottle, stored it in the fridge, and then finished it 2 days later. The wine was much better! Brighter, fresher, more fruit!? Quite a surprise and demonstrates this wine has many more years of development to go. Legend lives.
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3/21/2023 - rogerr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Agree with other recent notes. Drinking beautifully. A bit of tertiary aromas and flavors adding to the complexity. Drink now, I do not think it will improve much more.
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10/5/2021 - Charlie C Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pleasant, light nose of strawberries. Fine, detailed fruit on the palate, strawberry and spice. Fine tannins, beautiful acidity, great balance. Finishes moderately long with red fruits, primarily strawberries. This is very nice, but might be just a hair past prime. No matter, it's delicious still. I'd drink over the next 3 to 4 years.
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1/4/2021 - andolini Likes this wine: 94 Points
A real surprise. Popped and poured, and was half expecting this to be a hot mess. Previous experiences with young Sea Smokes have been tart cherry heat, but this was softer, with strawberry as the dominant fruit profile, slight earth/funk notes, and a soft and smooth balance without noticeable heat. A real pleasure -- maybe I should start cellaring all my Sea Smokes for 15 years!
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9/19/2020 - vinolovers wrote: 94 Points
A nice dark ruby coloring when opened. Tons of cherry notes, followed by some strawberry. Needed about 30 min. to really open (didn't pre-open or decant). At it's peak and my last bottle. What a shame!
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4/25/2020 - vinolovers wrote: 94 Points
Poured revealing a nice medium dark red color. Lots of cherry followed by both strawberry and raspberry notes. Balanced, smooth, without any tannins or vanilla notes. Absent the earthiness funk, reminded me of the Chalone Reserve pinots from back in the 80s and 90s. Delicious!!!
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1/20/2020 - oaxaca90049 wrote: 91 Points
A really beautiful bottle of wine. We were very surprised that it was showing so well 14 years into life. No notes taken but everyone enjoyed it/
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11/30/2019 - DesMarteau Likes this wine: 96 Points
From Magnum...bought from winery and stored in a temp controlled cellar on release. Wasn't sure when I'd drink this...so Thanksgiving 2019 made sense :). a bit gelantous, pure, but closed upon opening. translucent raspberry color. after 30 mins...really integrated, subtle, and nuanced. Cranberry, strawberries, a touch of kiwi...all in the right balance. long finish...acid still there but not tart at all. great to pair with food.
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11/9/2019 - bergkamp10 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Surprisingly good, and testament to good wine making and storage! Medium bodied, with a light'ish hue of crimson on the rim. Reticent nose, some sandalwood, red fruits and baking soda on the nose. Clean bright fruit on the palate, cranberry, raspberry with almost a crunchy minerality on a delightful fresh and persistent finish. Quite fine, complex and elegant !
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4/2/2018 - D.Callahan Likes this wine: 89 Points
This was one of a tasting of mature new world Pinot Noirs I organized for an Easter ham dinner. The tasting consisted of a 2006 Sea Smoke Southing, a 2008 Kosta Browne Kanzler and a 2005 Beaux Frères Ribbon Ridge. All were very good to excellent with mature earthy flavors predominant. The Kosta Browne retained a bit more fruit than the others which made it the favorite with the young palates at the table but it was my #2 wine just ahead of the Southing. My preference was for the Beaux Frères which had a somewhat lighter palate with outstanding balance and excellent acidity and more life left in it for further aging if desired. All were very enjoyable and provided an excellent broadening experience for everyone's palate.
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3/4/2018 - andolini wrote: 85 Points
Not a good showing. Opened for an hour before consuming. Color still deep red and shows no signs of fading. First sips reveal cherry and some red fruits, but dominant impression on palate after more sips is monolithic heat. Seems hot and simple without much complexity or other nuances of flavor. Just didn't enjoy this -- atypical of other Sea Smokes I've had, so either over the hill, or hopefully an off bottle.
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2/17/2018 - Cirrhotic Likes this wine: 93 Points
Needs time to open. After a decanted hour supple and balanced with good new world body and spice. Complex dark fruit in background though out. Drinking well. Solid aged sea smoke pinot.
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1/6/2018 - ARiverofPisoni Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank from magnum. Popped and poured. The cork was soft, but the wine was still in great shape. It was perfectly balanced, with fruit and acid still present. the back half of the bottle was really amazing, glad we had a 1.5 instead of a 750ml. Odys and Penelope only charged us to open a 750.
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12/21/2017 - bdhanna Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still drinking well, a delicious example of well balanced, fully extracted, Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir.
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11/26/2017 - Blake Brown wrote:
2006 SEA SMOKE SOUTHING SANTA RITE HILLS PINOT NOIR- magnum; certainly not kool-aid, this was the antithesis of the Hitching Post Pinot just before it; the colour contrast went from a light red in the HP to a dark almost inky purple here; also, this was full bodied, highly expressive, hugely extracted, long and the opposite end of the Pinot Noir fruit profile with super ripe black cherry and plum notes; a small pour was just perfect.
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7/22/2017 - Djfermentation Likes this wine: 93 Points
We really enjoyed this magnum last night at Gallegers before the Hall and Oates show. It drank great, still showing brighter than expected fruits with some earth and a bit of Pinot funk. Delightful and probably could have gone several more years in magnum.
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6/2/2017 - kgh wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous Pinot with complex fruit profile, very rich, and just a hint of earthy notes from age. Drinking beautifully now.
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12/11/2016 - Bradnicky Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lost bottle found in the back of a box in the cellar today! Probably just on the downside, but still drinking nicely. Good fruit and still maintaining some complexity.
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11/18/2016 - Herb K wrote: 91 Points
Drinking well, 10-years in. Nice fruit.
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10/16/2016 - PJHaveron Likes this wine: 90 Points
Was excellent on opening with good complexity and fruit; faded quite a bit the next day. Could be nearing the end of the line.
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9/4/2016 - ahgoodman wrote: 89 Points
A little past its prime at this point. Dominated by heat/alcohol.
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8/6/2016 - VinoDiver Likes this wine: 97 Points
Summer Wine Event 2016 - Houston (Houston): This wine is in a fantastic place. Not sure it will improve but seems as though it will continue to hold for the foreseeable future. Wonderful nose, great fruit, well balance, and long finish.
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7/9/2016 - mitchellr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still good. Even though it's past its prime. B52s at Deer Valley.
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5/17/2016 - Counselor Chris wrote: 92 Points
From magnum. From the generally poor 2006 vintage, this has finally arrived at a lovely place. The fruit has pulled back and the wine is beautifully smooth and balanced. Not as complex as the better vintages of Southing, but really a lovely wine.
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5/3/2016 - ruchottalex Likes this wine: 90 Points
Similar as last - ready to drink, I think it has become more balanced today vs being so fruit forward in early periods
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3/4/2016 - drwinenut Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fleshy, drinking very well right now. Retains some mature youthfulness, but is clearly an adult. Sophisticated flavors, well integrated, nice mouth feel, just a great time for this wine
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2/14/2016 - Edclr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Last bottle, from mag. Beautiful, still youthful, fruit still very primary.
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1/13/2016 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking beautifully now with lovely aromas and flavors of raspberry, cherry, indian spice, and cedar with delicious acidity on a tasty finish.
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11/29/2015 - iamandyc Likes this wine: 93 Points
This seems to be in a good spot and doubt it will improve. Starts pale but deepens with air. It's a pretty wine that is well balanced , perfumed and a nice finish. Mostly red cherry with some black cherry over time. Some light cola and spice notes. Nice acidity and minerality. Wonderful with Thanksgiving dinner. Clearly superior to an 2009 Aubert Sonoma Coast and 2010 Freestone pinot pitted against it.
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11/14/2015 - pmarlo Likes this wine: 92 Points
About the right time to drink because sliding past it's prime. Cork infiltrated to about half but still intact and with a light fuchsia stain. Soft purple color, guest detected chalky favor. Nose present but a bit muted. Fruit was cherry or blackberry and soft but well developed. Time in glass intensified fruit and didn't take long for it to be at it's best, which I credit to the extended aging. No need to hold these. Was overall pleasant and well balanced between the tang of the remaining acidity and the softened fruit.
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11/10/2015 - Deadhead wrote: 90 Points
Fresh red fruits. Well balanced. Seemed more lively than the last bottle we drank...
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9/12/2015 - lukeheskett Likes this wine:
Leathery dark berry nose. Soft tannins oaky, smooth finish
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8/22/2015 - Stevey wrote: 92 Points
Pulled from 55F/13C cellar put on ice and BYO to restaurant paired with roast chicken. Fruit dominant raspberry and red cherry, a bit tight at opening. Notable acidity at opening that mellowed with air time.
Light tannins at mid-palate that blended in smoothly. The wine opened up after 30min, with denser fruit and hint of mushroom. Excellent 20+ sec finish 1 hour after opening. This wine is in early drinking window with many years left at peak. Not as complex as the '06 Ten that we had around 6 months ago but still a very good Pinot!
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7/2/2015 - kietkopelli Does not like this wine: 87 Points
The years have not been good to this wine. The fruit is almost gone. What's left is a dirt bomb
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5/29/2015 - ruchottalex Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pretty good, the bottle was mature and it seems to have toned down a bit and was reasonably balanced, but still pretty big. Still some fruit left - would drink these within the next 2-3 years.
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5/25/2015 - pmarlo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice wine. Fruit is still holding up but there are earlier elements now present. This is not bright or acidic as a result, which is okay as this is a mature wine. Having a hard time placing flavor but it is either cherry or blackberry. There is life left in this as the fruit is still present, say three years.
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5/10/2015 - brigcampbell wrote: 89 Points
Sea Smoke Southing Vertical (Traci's House): Medium dark garnet with purple around the rim. Nose is very light toast, leather, dark cherry, and must. The core of the palate is a ripe sweet cherry but mid palate fades immediately, hollow through the finish. Light tannins and a little thin but more feminine of the line up.
#1 2008 Botella #2 2005 Southing #3 2006 Southing #4 2007 Southing
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3/27/2015 - SeaSmoke wrote: 90 Points
Nose of sweet cherries, and red currants. Medium-bodied wine with complex flavors, minimal tannins, and plenty of red fruit as well as tart cherries evident on the palate. Wine is beginning to show its age.
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3/26/2015 - kgh wrote: 91 Points
Still bright and fresh, with strawberry and cherry flavors, but also earthy and leather notes which have added to the complexity. This has definitely gotten better with age.
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2/15/2015 - Edclr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very much American pinot, but delicious, and still bright red fruits even at this age. decent finish, alcohol not really noticeable. Served alongside 05 Beaux Freres out of mag, which was a totally different experience. One would have mistaken the Beaux for a 1er cru red burg...not the Sea Smoke. Both very good wines.
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1/16/2015 - dontime wrote:
Last bottle of the Southing '06. Very nice. Clearly the time in the bottle softened the acid. Still fruit forward, but with darker fruit flavors. Smooth and tasty. If scoring 91-93.
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1/14/2015 - Cow Town wrote: 89 Points
Another nice bottle of Sea Smoke. This seems to be aging well, and might be on a plateau or heading down the aging curve. Fruit wasn't as vibrant as in years past, but it worked well with some nice secondary aromas and flavors.
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1/1/2015 - ksmith wrote: 89 Points
Ruby color, nose of cherry, smoke and graphite. Thin on the palate, mostly cherry. acid. I think past its prime, but will be fine with food.
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12/21/2014 - Deadhead wrote: 89 Points
Good wine, but I liked it a little less than the last time. This bottle was lacking the complexity and fruit of previous bottles.
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12/16/2014 - HappyWineGuy wrote: 84 Points
Either this wine is a bit over the hill or it just didn't do it for me. Very light (thin) with singular cherry flavor and a smooth finish.
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11/27/2014 - wino121 wrote: 92 Points
Drank from a mag, nice example from the central coast,
A bit of grit, strawberrys and a touch of moca, and spiced smoke.
Seemed to be in a good spot right now but no real hurry to drink.
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11/16/2014 - tfesmgk Likes this wine: 89 Points
Drank 2 bottles with friends. Both opened for 1-2 hours before drinking. The 1st appeared a little past it's prime dark with little nose & fruit. The 2nd was much better. Good CA PN with bright fruit, nice balance and length.
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10/13/2014 - modusvivendi99 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very nice. Decanted for 45 minutes. More of a CA pinot. Had this with turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving. Compared "Southing" to "TEN". Bird was roasted with sea salt, rosemary & sage dry rub. The TEN had more of a "french burgundy" balance. Wonderful. The Southing was also very good but had more sweetness and was more of a CA styled pinot. Overall preferred the TEN but both very good. Bottle age required I think.
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10/13/2014 - tfesmgk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Solid dark fruit PN. Great after an hour and better the next day.
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8/22/2014 - WineDoctors wrote: 90 Points
stewed fruit, l-m acid, garnet, color almost to rim, medium bodied, long finish. monolithic stewed fruit with ultra silk tannins. drink now.
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8/22/2014 - WineDoctors wrote: 90 Points
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8/15/2014 - Whine-oh Likes this wine: 89 Points
Popped and poured. Light ruby in color. Nose at bit reticent this time around. Nice primary fruit, a bit monolithic, but not over the top. Still enjoyable but did fall off quite bit on night 2.
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8/3/2014 - tfesmgk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking great. Opened for 2 hours. Big nose, nice balance. More fruit than terroir.
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7/8/2014 - agnorger Likes this wine: 92 Points
Brighter than i anticipated. Did not seem old at all.
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6/27/2014 - morewineplease! wrote: 92 Points
About a month ago, we drank our last 2005 and were horribly disappointed. We have a fair number of bottles of the 2006 and thought that, if the '05 was any indication, our '06's were going to be well past their prime.
Not so! This wine has all the characteristics Seasmoke fans expect. Great balance, luscious flavors, not overly fruit forward, but definitely leaning that way.
Don't think it is going to get much better. If you have one, drink it now. If you have two, drink one now and the other in a year. Worst case, at least one of those will not have been wasted!
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6/20/2014 - SeaSmoke wrote: 91 Points
Similar comments to 2013.
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6/1/2014 - cuffthis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep red in color, this wine showed musky Asian spices, toast, dark red cherry and black raspberry on the nose. The mouth feel brought acacia, black pepper and minerals to the silky tannins. The finish was exotic with high levels of spices intertwined with the fruit.
Pulled from my friend's cellar while visiting him in Ft. Lauderdale, this bottle drank very well and paired excellently with our dinner of swordfish cooked on his grill.
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5/5/2014 - ddsolomon2000 wrote: 95 Points
Absolutely outstanding. Still going strong.
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4/26/2014 - Brian1970 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bright red color. Beautiful bright cherries, hint of spicy cola. Perfectly balanced, clean, and great acidity. Didn't need any decanting, but did get even better after 20-30 minutes.
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4/6/2014 - CASEBIER KENNETH wrote: 89 Points
Lite garnet color, not much body. Nose of old socks and earth., like a French nose. Dry, little fruit, taste of saddle, light cacao. Opens with food, developing with more dark cherries and light pepper. Has some notes of chalk and earth.
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4/1/2014 - Deadhead wrote: 90 Points
Wonderful!
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3/17/2014 - hammie1234 wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding right now. Firing on all cylinders and just a treat.
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3/6/2014 - Edclr Likes this wine: 90 Points
From mag. Maturing nicely. Quite a hit at Garden Club dinner. Very nice spice on the palate. A bit high in alcohol, but not really that noticeable.
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1/28/2014 - Deadhead wrote: 90 Points
Bright red fruits. Smooth.
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12/28/2013 - SeaSmoke wrote: 91 Points
PNP. Nose of sweet cherries, and red currants. Medium-bodied wine with complex flavors, minimal tannins, and plenty of red fruit as well as tart cherries evident on the palate.
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12/28/2013 - JOJ wrote: 94 Points
Great rally by this wine -- much better than a bottle of 19 months ago. Beautiful translucent ruby color. Aromas of musky cherry turn brighter with notes of orange peel, pomegranite, and baking spice. On the palate, bright cherry and a strong orange/citrus note lead to a spicy attack with great acidity underneath the fruit. Killer good, and a big surprise.
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12/21/2013 - ksmith wrote: 92 Points
Garnet color, cherry, smoke and orange pith on the palate. Ready to drink now.
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12/3/2013 - kuhawk88 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Decanted for an hour. Lighter reddish-purple in the glass with aromas of cherry dominating the nose. Light to medium body on the tongue with a smooth and somewhat silky finish. Probably a little past its peak - but still paired wonderfully with grilled lamb chops.
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11/28/2013 - Deadhead wrote: 90 Points
No notes - however it was extremely popular on Thanksgiving.
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11/28/2013 - pjhr wrote: 91 Points
Similar to the previous bottle, but a hint of edginess on the finish which I do not remember in previous bottles.
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11/15/2013 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
Poured into a big bowl, no name pinot glass. Excellent aromatics. Perfumed / delicate, with a bit of a sour background note with time in the glass. On the palate, fully resolved. Medium full body. There's a hint of heat that isn't at all bothersome to me today, but if I had more of these, I'd be drinking through them. I've had poor luck with bigger Cali pinots from 2006, and this one was a pleasant surprise. But I wouldn't push it much further.
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10/14/2013 - davidspieker wrote: 89 Points
Pleasant but not memorable. Minimal aromatics and lack of character. Nice integration and body with lengthy finish.
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10/13/2013 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good but not memorable. Then again, tasting it side by side with Kosta Browne and Rochioli may be a tad unfair. A little too hot and ripe at 14.7% alcohol.
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8/19/2013 - rdsboca wrote: 90 Points
Coravined: 3 oz pour: Tart bright red fruit. Strawberry and some cranberry. Vibrant. Short clipped on finish
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7/29/2013 - brianofthevine wrote: 92 Points
Red cherry, earth, and caramel note now. Smooth long finish.
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7/5/2013 - krbmlj Likes this wine: 93 Points
A little hot at opening. A lot of Alcohol but that smoothed out after about 20 minutes and the drank very nicely.
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6/30/2013 - air guitar & pinot noir wrote: flawed
I think this one was over the hill. A bit oxidized and tasted like stewed prunes. Not good and inconsistent with my prior experiences with this bottle/vintage.
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6/30/2013 - dlstrauss wrote: 92 Points
Very good. Not great. Expected a bit more.
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6/26/2013 - Kmonkey wrote: 88 Points
No notes. Expected better
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6/20/2013 - gigmoney wrote: flawed
Corked.
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6/8/2013 - mlawren1 wrote: 89 Points
A bit sweet and simple.some berries and cherries, but fading.
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6/4/2013 - theodore3 wrote: 89 Points
Just ok
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4/28/2013 - ruddy wrote: 89 Points
Just a bit clunky, but otherwise very much a Central Coast PN. Just a bit too jammy for me. Finish is short and tart. Part of a group tasting.
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3/26/2013 - mazik Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Perfectly acceptable juice but nothing really interesting happening in the bouquet or on the palate; it was meh. Entire table agreed it was kicked into the shade by the Surh Luchtel served at the same dinner. But not flawed or corked as with recent bottles. I think this is the end of my relationship with Sea Smoke--it's not good value for money at all at all.
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3/11/2013 - Venturifan wrote: 86 Points
Upside down QPR. This was the wine that drove me to remove my name from the mailing list. Hot, out of balance, with a limited finish.
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3/10/2013 - Mark H. LeQuire wrote: 94 Points
Our last bottle. Realize I/we rated this wine a 90 last year. Something remarkable has happened in the bottle. It is currently wonderful. Fairly moderate rim variation would indicate some age on this wine. However, cork only lightly stained. Minimal sediment. No flaws. Classic pinot aroma. Classic pinot taste. No tannin. Medium finish. Low alcohol.
This is a jewel. Certainly drinkable. Would suspect, plenty of life left in the bottle.
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2/2/2013 - lewrose@gmail.com Likes this wine:
Singing.
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1/19/2013 - Barakahn Likes this wine: 93 Points
more Burgundian than most Sea Smokes thus improving the experience.
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1/8/2013 - Mscruggs wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured at work dinner, bright red fruit very long 45 sec finish. Drinking great now I don't think this wine has yet peaked!
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1/1/2013 - ListenToMeWine wrote: 89 Points
Maybe my palate has changed, but My recent Sea Smoke experiences have validated my decision to not take recent allocations. They are well made and have their place, but they are not singing to me with complexity and depth. This one was simple fruit, some earth but really not much more. Maybe it was the fact it came after Gracianna and KB?
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12/30/2012 - ARiverofPisoni Likes this wine: 92 Points
Needed some time in the bottle, but is currently drinking quite nicely and way better than the bottle I opened in 2010 would have lead me to believe.
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11/25/2012 - pjhr wrote: 92 Points
Another delicious Sea Smoke! Not quite the complexity of the previous bottle, but still quite delicious!
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11/23/2012 - buckeye76 wrote: 91 Points
CHERRIES, RASPBERRIES AND A TOUCH OF EARTHINESS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH.
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11/23/2012 - g-man wrote: 87 Points
OK but definately not worth the tariff.
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11/22/2012 - gfm10 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very nice pinot. Decanted for a half hour. Nice cherry scent.
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11/22/2012 - nickle wrote: 93 Points
Great cherry top and graphite finish. Wonderful with the turkey.
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11/21/2012 - Squirreljam wrote: 93 Points
Well, I have to take back most of what I've said about SS over the last few years. I've never really liked the wines, found them too hot and cloying with much oak and not displaying subtlety. Perhaps I've just not given them the chance; this wine, tonight, was excellent. From the pop, the nose was great, rich yet earthy and nothing sweet. On the palate, same impression, much less weight than I'd seen before yet still with the formidable density of flavor these guys are known for.
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10/22/2012 - mojowine wrote: 91 Points
Took over an hour to finally open up. Don't bother opening it if you cannot decant it. You will simply be killing a really nice bottle of wine.
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10/18/2012 - jc-mmb wrote: 90 Points
i will give this 90 if only because it was the best sea smoke ive had in quite some time. seems like the early magic from this winery is lacking in more recent vintages. maybe it is just me. i just dont find the same ummph anymore. so what a delight in the bottle. great pinot color, nice expressive nose of berries, wood, licorice. palate is fairly full and does manage to hhit all parts of the mouth. nice acidity to this. finsih is rather pleasant and does linger a bit.
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9/21/2012 - bbakove wrote: 89 Points
Lovely color, nose was light and flavors recessed from earlier tasting. Enjoyable but doesn't seem to define a classic Sta Rita Hills Pinot.
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9/14/2012 - godx wrote: 85 Points
Bill's Monthly Lunch - September 2012 (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind. This had a new world pinot red fruit nose with a sour/sweet tone to it (reminded me of sweaty socks, but in a pleasant way) that added some nice character/funk to it. Riper red fruit on the entry with a warm mouthfeel and some heat coming through on the finish. The nose here is nice, but the fruit on the palate is slightly overripe for my tastes. Others enjoyed this more than I did. Good.
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9/2/2012 - Tbarr wrote:
- Crimsom color with medium forming legs and aromas of raspberry and has flavours of cherry with a medium body - Dinner with Roger and Natasha Ross 01Sept2012
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8/29/2012 - DavidDay wrote: 94 Points
The best pinot noir I have had this year, sweet cherries, and red currants aroma. The complex aromatics are followed by a medium-bodied wine with complex flavors, melted tannins, and plenty of red fruit as well as tart cherries.
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8/16/2012 - bbakove wrote: 89 Points
Sta Rita Hills Pinot for sure, though this is not my first choice. Great color, nose a tad light and elegant structure
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7/31/2012 - Stumpy wrote: flawed
Flawed bottle
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7/26/2012 - yeti575rider wrote: 93 Points
Brought to Kitchen 1450 Del Mar. Excellent wine. Incredibly smooth. Cherry with bit of raspberry and spice. Just the right amount of oak.
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7/14/2012 - nfafoglia wrote: 92 Points
Drinking well now. Great balance and plenty of bitter-sweet red fruit. Nose of dry pine needles and fresh, bright, red fruit. Could be a ringer for a Sonoma Coast Pinot.
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6/29/2012 - sbtoby wrote: 88 Points
Drank alongside with the 2009. Liked the 2006 better. Was sitting on this for a few years and was disappointed.
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6/23/2012 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
An almost pine-like resin on the palate that I didn't detect in earlier tastings. Best bottle of the 4 I've had, and the last, this one is in a nice place right now, with the resin note keeping it from coming across as tired. If I had more, I would drink them sooner than later.
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5/25/2012 - UpfromtheCellar wrote: 92 Points
Sometimes in life it all looks good. This is just one of those occasions. The body on this wine was stunning. The flavors rolled on and on, fruits, oak, earth, spice, cola. Being rather more partial to Oregon versions of NWP (new world Pinot) I found the bones on this wine absolutely excellent. The only question is which dress size one prefers as it wasn't a mater of form or figure. Compares very favorably to top Oregon producers in this price range. But its definitely "Californian" in terms of size and body. Outstanding.
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5/5/2012 - JOJ wrote: 87 Points
Not sure what has happened to this wine over the past two years. This was a disappointing effort, with a reticent nose of dusty strawberry, a hint of blueberry, and some wet rock. Tart and astringent on the palate, with simple notes of strawberry and cranberry. I expect better at this price and from this producer.
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4/13/2012 - MCUBEB wrote: 89 Points
Nose of red fruit and oak. Soft on the palate with notes of cherry, vanilla, some spices and nice texture. Enjoyable wine which is drinking well right now.
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3/26/2012 - brigcampbell wrote: 89 Points
Sam's Farewell Dinner (Nick's San Clemente): Decanted for an hour and dumped back through the vinturi into the bottle for the trip to the restaurant. Nose is consistent with previous vintages but with the addition of a cedar notes. Palate is tart cherry/raspberry fruit, fairly reserve, with very aromatic cedar finish wrapped with strong acidity. While it was enjoyed by all, it's not a blockbuster by any means.
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3/25/2012 - jrglm wrote: 92 Points
It's been a couple of years since we last tried this wine. Time has favored the '06 Southing from Sea Smoke. Bright, rich nose of soft florals, white pepper and earth. Layered favors on the palate of cherries, spice and a hint of the oak barrels. Lingering finish.
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3/6/2012 - DavidDay wrote: 89 Points
Drinking pretty well currently, fruit fading from cherries into plums on the nose, well craft mouth feel, smooth finish
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2/25/2012 - Schemer Likes this wine: 90 Points
classic california pinot nose. Amazing cherries that feel spicey, peppery.
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2/5/2012 - gordoyflaca wrote: 91 Points
Sweet tea and tangy spiced cherries. Glad it spent some time in the bottle.
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1/30/2012 - joet626 wrote: 92 Points
Delicious! Full bodied. Cherry taste and wonderful mouthfeel.
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1/28/2012 - ksmith wrote: 89 Points
Medium ruby, nose of black cherry, vanilla. Palate is cherry, cola, vanilla, medium heat and finish.
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1/6/2012 - tacman wrote: 87 Points
Flavours extremely muddled ... while the nose clearly identified this as New World Pinot, the fruit was indistinguishable.
On day 2 both nose and flavour less unpleasant, hence the improved score. May try decanting next time.
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12/24/2011 - Kevdog wrote: 90 Points
1.5 - Opened an hour before eating, decanted for 20 min. then returned to bottle to take to dinner. This wine was too subtle for goose and prime rib... failed to detect much special, but the fam killed the bottle so fast I did not really have time to dwell on it.
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12/22/2011 - sbfireman wrote: 92 Points
Still holding that smokey quality but a tad smoother on these edges.
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12/18/2011 - iamandyc wrote: 92 Points
Liked this alot. Started very light in color (rose color) but darkened with air. Somewhat feminine but very layersed and complex after about two hours. Cola, spice, some oak were all in there in a nice balanced package. Same on a beautiful nose. Still seemed like time will improve it.
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12/10/2011 - ListenToMeWine wrote: flawed
TCA all the way, they didn't eveuse the typical Se Smoke branded cork. Sea Smoke is refunding the cost of the bottle, good customer service.
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11/29/2011 - leadpencil wrote: 93 Points
Medium bodied. Cherry, anise.
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11/25/2011 - tanglenet wrote:
Similar notes to last bottle. Splash decanted and served immediately. Paired wuth a goose for Thanksgiving. Consumed over the next hour or so. Chewy, with angular fruit, concord grape tastes with a medium body and a touch of heat. My benchmark for this wine is the 2005, which was Excellent. This is about half of that compared to that sense memory.
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11/13/2011 - joefel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Poured through a Vinturi (purchased at Costco - thought I would try it) into a decanter and let sit an hour. Seemed smoother after the hour than previous bottles. This is my last bottle of this wine and I am sorry to see it go. Balanced with loads of cherries on the nose and palate this time. Long finish.
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11/13/2011 - Mattshank wrote: 91 Points
Nose: Aromas of clay loam, assorted herbs, tree moss, and cranberry. Palate: Spice and red fruits co-mingle with some minerality and a medium length finish. Somewhat lean with a bit of an off putting bitter quality. Otherwise a good Pinot but overpriced at $50. Slight demerit for the bitterness.
Addendum: The bitterness has subsided with air so this has been upgraded to 91 points (from 90). Still overpriced at $50. Other than the Botella bottling (in good years) I'm beginning to think the Chardonnays from this producer are really what define them (see my notes on the 2005 Chard on 8/26/11).
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11/5/2011 - trucrime wrote: 94 Points
Great bottle of wine. If you don't like it, you don't like CA pinot, that's all.
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11/2/2011 - Double D wrote: 93 Points
More red than dark fruit, wonderful balance and fully ready to drink...very nice with sauteed veal.
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10/27/2011 - rosenst1 wrote: 88 Points
Found this lurking in the cellar; a gift from a friend. Popped and poured. Medium ruby red; tangy on the nose
with much more red than black fruits. On the palate medium bottle a bit of sour cherry/apple and alcohol but this blows off
after 15 minutes or so, reasonable finish and balance. Not great but a nice drink if you don't want a fruit bomb.
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10/24/2011 - wbduval wrote: 91 Points
More delicate than expected, nice fruit and mouthfeel, but nowhere near the price I paid at Sta. Rita Hills Tasting Room.
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10/22/2011 - thebonnydooner wrote: 84 Points
Disappointing - oak is a little obvious and the sweet fruit is beginning to fade on the palate, leaving dry leaves and soft plummy tannins. Nose is muted. Still good - butworth no where near the price of admission....maybe signals the end of my Seasmoke purchases
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9/29/2011 - joefel wrote: 92 Points
Similar notes as before, but softer and a little more elegant. I've really enjoyed this wine.
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9/26/2011 - jdinkin1 wrote: 93 Points
Balanced. Elegant. Still has life.
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9/24/2011 - Paul Lin wrote: 90 Points
Black cherries, red plums, plum skin, blood oranges, and a touch of cola. a rich new world profile but nicely balanced with good acidity. Drinking better than most 06 pinots.
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9/16/2011 - MarkLA wrote: 91 Points
I had a really nice experience with this wine. Expressive nose. The palate was open. Good acidity & balanced finish. Delicious.
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9/15/2011 - wineismylife wrote: 91 Points
Dallas 2nd Wednesday Group - September 2011 (Mr Wok, Plano, TX): WIML91
Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Opened and served immediately.
Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of blueberries (light), black berries and black cherries. Flavors of black berries, black cherries, raspberries and bitters. Medium to bright acidity, firm tannins, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold.
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8/21/2011 - curtispomeroy wrote: 90 Points
Wife took one sniff and said "This is the bomb." That of course is meant as a compliment. I enjoyed the wine but not as much as the wife (not enough complexity) and the score reflects her assessment. I stopped buying SS after the '08 vintage and this bottle did not change my mind.
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8/21/2011 - Cosmo3 wrote:
Still don't find the charm in this wine. High ABV is very present in the nose and mouth and finish, it masks any of the fruit flavors, which are thinning on this vintage. Decant for two hours and still not much change in the profile, disappointed. Botella has always showed better and at much less the cost.
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8/15/2011 - sbfireman wrote: 91 Points
A slight smokey quality to it. Refined in the glass. Smooth. Enjoyable for what it is.
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8/14/2011 - VinoDiver wrote:
2011 Summer Wine Tasting – Pinot Noir Flight
No formal notes taken as I was busy with guests. I have included the wines in the flight as well as first place votes received (all were served blind).
2007 Walter Hansel Cahill Lane (3)
2006 Rhys Alesia Green Valley (2)
2005 Le cadeau Rocheux (2)
2006 Sea Smoke Southing (2)
2006 Rivers Marie Sonoma Coast (1)
2005 Joseph Drouhin Gevrey Chambertin (0)
My personal top 3 in order from 1st to 3rd were: Sea Smoke, Rivers Marie, Le Cadeau
Not to take anything away from the Walter Hansel, but this was very close across all wines (except the JD). 3 others of us agreed that the Rivers Marie could have gotten our first place vote as well and this would have vaulted it in the scoring. It was really almost too close to call as all the wines were outstanding and we were thankful to be drinking them.
The starter Champagne for the evening was a NV Bollinger which was well received by all.
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8/5/2011 - VoteferPedro wrote:
Blueberry sharp in the nose but round on the tongue. More red fruits in the palate but a sweet juiciness keeps me going back for more. Pop our at cellar temp
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7/12/2011 - smphelps wrote: 93 Points
Much improved from the 2009 note, fourth bottle, first in more than a year. Medium garnet going brick red on the rim. Intense aromas of red berry liquor, perfumed flowers, and a strong herbaceous characteristic (mostly basil, though perhaps oregano as well) in the mouth, as silky as a good pinot should be, but this is not a shy wine. Cherries, coriander, dried blueberries, girded by an earthy, spicy core. not too hot, even at 14.5 percent. Acidity is mouth watering, if not a little tart, and the round, firm tannins suggest this wine might drink well until 2015 and beyond. Good stuff, and I regret drinking as much as of as I did in the early years.
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7/8/2011 - stocksandbondage wrote: 90 Points
Started out a bit thin but put on weight in the glass. Not as complex or as great as I expect from this producer.
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6/7/2011 - shaferguy91 wrote: 90 Points
No decant. Not up to normal SS standards.
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5/30/2011 - Gargamel wrote: 92 Points
double decanted, then drank 2 hours later. had a moderate amount of sediment. the nose has a floral raspberry note with just a touch of toast. palate has bright raspberry and cranberry with a hint of fennel and lots of spice. front of the palate feels full, but thins out on the back end. acid is a bit high, but not overwhelming. medium length finish. drinking pretty well now, but has plenty of life.
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5/28/2011 - jeffal66 wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous. Drank at the end of the night -- so my judgement is skewed -- but it held a racy line of acidity and ample fruit. Lovely.
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5/18/2011 - biggwater wrote: 83 Points
Hot, bitter and downright offensive at times. Really needs food to set the palate and it really needs to breath. What is all the hype about. I have had an allocation of Sea Smoke for 4 vintages now and they seem really inconsistent. Superb to disappointing.
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5/13/2011 - xwine wrote:
If tasted blind I might -- emphasize, might -- have picked this as pinot on the nose. But the palate? I doubt it. This was like drinking lighter fluid. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit. The flavors were decent (well, sort of) albeit way too ripe, but the alcohol simply ruins this wine. The alcohol is supposedly 14.7%, but it seems much higher, and I would have guessed well over 15%.
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5/7/2011 - kgh Likes this wine: 89 Points
Bright red with fresh cherry notes. Lighter style than most Sea Smoke.
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4/30/2011 - Bacchant wrote: 89 Points
Medium dark color, with a quite clear ruby hue. Pretty, if not particularly deep, nose of cranberry, spicy oak, a bit of funk, & some alcohol. Still quite tight on the palate, with moderate acidity & pronounced tannins. Decent depth of fruit; however, the flavors are simple & nondescript. In fact, if tasted blind, I may not have pegged this as Pinot at all. Certainly not Premium Pinot. For the price, I would expect more. [14.7% abv.; $54.00].
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4/23/2011 - pjhr wrote: 93 Points
Another delicious Sea Smoke! Lovely aromas and flavors of raspberry, cherry, indian spice, and cedar with moderate tannins and acidity on a tasty finish.
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4/13/2011 - tederf wrote: 88 Points
A bit disappointing. Too much heat and not that much fruit. Gave this a three hour decant. Should have been more complex - one dimensional and flat.
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4/7/2011 - dontime wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 90 minutes prior to dinner. Consumed during antipasti course. Bright cherries and floral components on the nose. Sour cherry candy on the palate with nice acidity and a lingering finish. Medium bodied and medium cherry red in color.
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4/3/2011 - brigcampbell wrote: 92 Points
OC4POKER IX - Adios Brian & Ashley; 4/2/2011-4/9/2011 (WCC - Irvine CA): Was given a quick sip by some others at wcc. Shows dark cherry and spice with nice mouthfeel. I will visit my first bottle later this year '11. Good news is it looks very age worthy for those sitting on their stash.
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3/19/2011 - brianngibson wrote: 91 Points
Sour cherry, raspberry, and baking spice. Tannins have mellowed out nicely in the past year-and-a-half.
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3/17/2011 - eSchrag wrote: 90 Points
Nice clean Pinot with a bit of acidity and bright red fruit. Almost more Burgudian in style. Enjoy!!!
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3/13/2011 - Double D wrote: 91 Points
Nice bright medium bodied pinot with mainly red fruit...wonderful with grilled loin of pork. Nice acidity with food.
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3/3/2011 - kgh wrote: 89 Points
Nice cherry and spice notes. Medium body and pleasing freshness.
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3/2/2011 - dhammer53 wrote: 91 Points
Drank this with Ken V in Albany. He said 'Beautiful spiced red fruit nose. Sweet red fruit and tar on the palate. Nice tannins balanced with the fruit. This is a delicious, serious Pinot. Not overly ripe. A great sense of harmony and balance'. I agree with his notes. Last time I drank this was a year ago. The wine is improving. It was tasty on pop n' pour. Nice nose and tannins. Very smooth. Over the course of 90 minutes, this continued to drink well.
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3/2/2011 - kenv Likes this wine: 92 Points
Hammertime: Sea Smoke Pinot & Corino Barolo (Cafe Capriccio, Albany, NY): Beautiful spiced red fruit nose. Sweet red fruit and tar on the palate. Nice tannins balanced with the fruit. This is a delicious, serious Pinot. Not overly ripe. A great sense of harmony and balance. Quite ready but should drink well for another 5-8 years.
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2/26/2011 - Innerducky Likes this wine: 92 Points
Battling a cold, but felt this drank very well. Cherry, spicy, a
bright but yet smooth. Improved as we started eating lamb and Parmesan broccoli. Honestly, couldn't ask for a better Cali pinot for the price - fruit flavors, good tannins, so slightly oakey, ginger-spicey and great balance of flavors.
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2/19/2011 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 88 Points
Very Pinot nose. Fairly tart, with some finishing tannins. This drank much better at cellar temperature. I'm not sure where this wine is going as I've enjoyed other bottles considerably more.
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2/14/2011 - Beachrooster Likes this wine: 93 Points
A slightly dark red. Aromas of sherry, strawberry, raspberry, perfume, cedar, and minerals. Medium bodied, with a nice feel. Excellent balance, with better acid and structure. Nice soft tannins on the finish.
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1/29/2011 - air guitar & pinot noir wrote: 92 Points
Nice dark color but not brooding. Rich cherry and bright red and dark fruits on a structured delivery. Notes of oak, spice and vanilla lead to a bit of heat on the finish. A bit austere, but still posseses all the qualities of a great wine.
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1/15/2011 - Anthony Lombardi wrote: 86 Points
Tons of new oak. Decent finish and acidity, one dimensional, barely interesting.
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1/8/2011 - yeti575rider wrote: 94 Points
From Magnum at Boston Wine Festival Opening : No formal notes but maybe the best Pinot I've tasted to date although hard to declare that on just a tasting sample. Stood out at a table of other quality Central Coast Pinot's with remarkable balance and flavors. This was still the wine I am thinking about the next day. I used to Sea Smoke was hype - not anymore.
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1/1/2011 - air guitar & pinot noir wrote: 92 Points
Big, strong and full-bodied but with a seamless delivery that pleases all of the senses. Cherries, red currants violets and cedar flavors abound with some peppery spice. Refined tannins and red and dark berry notes add to an enjoyable bottle. Some minerals add to a persistent finish.
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1/1/2011 - joefel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Same notes as before - a beautiful bottle of wine.
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12/26/2010 - tanglenet wrote:
Opened not decanted. Consumed over 2 days. Better on Day 2. Dark, rich tastes of blackberry, blueberry, with some mid-palate tastes of tart red berries. Ends with a semi-drying light citrus finish. Good on Day 1. Very Good on Day 2.
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12/25/2010 - BigTarheel wrote: 87 Points
Solid but lacking depth
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12/17/2010 - coreywb Likes this wine: 91 Points
Much prefer 2005 and 2004 but this is still very good Pinot. Nice fruit and finish but lacks wow factor.
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12/13/2010 - rmgroves wrote: 95 Points
Decanted 3 hours. Tremendous sea smoke offering. Fruit, tea, sour cherries
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12/13/2010 - miller3324 wrote: 91 Points
Pop and pour. Very good Pinot leaning towards the big/modern style without crossing the line. Nice dark color yet transparent. Cherry and other bright ripe fruits dominate. Some spice and a little vanilla. Minimal heat on the end detracts just a little preventing it from being an exceptional wine but still very enjoyable. Hopefully that last bit will integrate with some extra time in bottle.
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12/12/2010 - markjahnke wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for about 2 hours in the bottle before pouring my first taste. Great Santa Rita Hills nose, with black cherry and oak, with some raspberry, strawberry and spice. A bit of earthiness on this as well, but gorgeous. On the palate, this wine still needs some time to integrate I think, but it could also be the vintage. As I've said in the past, I haven't been a big fan of '06 pinot noir compared to prior to vintages. Regardless, some nice fruit of dark cherry, raspberry, vanilla, and even some green tea. By the end of the bottle, this was starting to strut it's stuff, and this was starting to develop into the Sea Smoke that I really love. Next time this needs a good splash decant for 4-6 hours. 90 points.
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12/10/2010 - KurtK wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Nose: Strawberry, raspberry, spice. Palate: Black cherry, spice. Finish: A little heat but falls off nicely.
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11/30/2010 - GalvezGuy wrote: 90 Points
Nose of black cherry, vanilla, black tea. On the palate, black raspberry, black cherry, spice, smokey oak. Soft finiish. Very nice. Drink over the next few years.
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11/26/2010 - jupiter33 wrote: 93 Points
Aired for 6 hours. Nicely integrated red fruit with the oak. Tannins have mellowed. Drinks very well.
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11/22/2010 - pjhr wrote: flawed
Flawed! From the first whiff, I knew there was a problem. Drinkable, but definite cork taint. Ugh!
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11/20/2010 - dmoes wrote:
Opened and should have let breathe, but it had a nice balance of fruit, and still maintained it's structure. Seems to be more like a RRV style, but really enjoyed. Last two bottles, so will need to explore later vintages, and probably lay down a little longer.
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11/20/2010 - B&T wrote:
Light and well ba;anced, good red fruit. body was much lighter than I expected, but enjoyable nonetheless.
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11/7/2010 - rben_mvp wrote: 91 Points
Nice density to this wine. Good berry flavors and a great finish.
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10/22/2010 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 92 Points
Tasted in double-blind fashion at Vintage Wines, Ltd. The bottle was kindly provided by Tim Ryan. Medium ruby robe with red rim. Clean nose, showing quite intense aromas of red and black cherries, raspberries, cardamom and cola. Medium-bodied on the palate, with medium acidity, medium sweet tannins and a silky mouth texture. The flavors mirror the nose and the middle palate is solid. At this point, the alcohol (listed as 14.7%) is quite well-integrated, although it should be pointed out that the wine was appropriately served at approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Long, smooth finish. I guessed the wine to be a Russian River Pinot. This is the most "restrained" and structured Sea Smoke Pinot that I have tasted to date. Drink now-12/15.
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10/18/2010 - candyman wrote: 91 Points
smooth delicate not huge fruit refined ballanced and lovely
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10/4/2010 - Wine Cellar Likes this wine: 93 Points
A medium raspberry red color will black cherry nose. A smooth lush raspberry cherry that lingers on the palate. This wine is really drinking well now!
Paired GREAT with salt and peppered pork chops. Would be great with Thanksgiving turkey or just plain chicken.
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9/27/2010 - curtispomeroy wrote: 89 Points
The alcohol has finally settled down and I can enjoy the wine more than I have in the past. However, even though this is a well-made pinot, it just lacks that certain something. Drank the last 1/4 on day two and it seemed to have faded.
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9/12/2010 - dhammer53 wrote: 91 Points
Not as good as the 05, but still a good wine. I thought it was lighter than the 05. The wine got sweeter as the evening wore on.
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8/27/2010 - pmarlo wrote: 91 Points
Had the same night as 2001 Paul Hobbs Stagecoach vineyard. This was a nice dense pinot that came on more on the syrah/cab style, which I sort of like every now and then. Nice thick coating mouthfeel but no bitterness or off flavors. Some bright tastes as there is a little acidity going on. Very nice pinot in an average vintage. Would call it medium bodied leaning toward full. Far as dense as this was for Pinot, it was never too much which speaks a lot to the balance of the wine. Nothing stood out over other components; the acidity, the fruit, nor the tannins. Would give this another 5-7 years tops. The 4 years in the bottle already have made a more integrated wine, although I didn't have one on release to relatively compare.
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8/22/2010 - StephenE05 wrote:
Lovely as always - nice fruit expression with earthy/bitter undertones. This has so many layers....
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8/6/2010 - Coupe 60 wrote:
Brought to a tasting dinner. opened in bottle for about 60 min, big full throttle wine, red fruit predominant, touch of cola maybe. very good acidity, and structure...Was well liked at the table but for me was missing that extra gear...very good showing, but not great
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8/6/2010 - amgryger wrote:
Dinner With Denyce (Fabio's NYC): Cola and candied strawberry on the nose. Rich palate. Red fruit. Medium tannin and acid. Long finish.
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7/28/2010 - matthen wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well now, but has enough structure to develop for a couple more years. Aromas of cherry, berry, and tobacco are followed by flavors of caramel, cola, and dark fruits.
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7/21/2010 - joefel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Nice right out of the bottle, but steadily improves as it breathes and opens. Better than the 2005, which seemed to have a lot of bottle variation. Lots of berries and a little tobacco - long finish. Good acidity and body - a nice balanced bottle of wine. Right now it is the perfect match with sitting on a balcony, overlooking the ocean in Shell Beach, not too far from where the wine is made!
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6/28/2010 - mmcdds wrote: 88 Points
My last bottle of the 06. Caramel and dark fruit on the nose. Needed a couple of hours in the decanter for the dark berry flavors to emerge. This wine seems to have reached its peak and I liked it better about a year ago. Still a very nice bottle of wine.
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6/25/2010 - mcneil7 wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful bright nose of cheery and raspberry fruits with spice and a hint of oak. taste is excellent with a nice clean taste long linger and strong fruit. Picked up a hint of strawberry bt the cherry raspberry really comes through. Excellent wine
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6/18/2010 - JoshuaG wrote: 91 Points
Very nice. Drinking well now and expect to improve over time. You will not be disappointed if you open one now.
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6/12/2010 - toeswest wrote: 92 Points
June 11th, 2010 .... Laura called pining for a Pinot. Three glasses later (2 for me, 1 for Laura) and it was history. The wine was predictably excellent and a perfect accompaniment to finger food of goat cheeses and olive tapenade. I'm beginning to favor the Santa Rita Hills terroir above all others.
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6/7/2010 - mmcdds wrote: 92 Points
Another excellent bottle of Sea Smoke. Needed about an hour in the decanter to open. Aromas and flavors of cherry cola, blackberry, a hint of licorice and perhaps some earthy undertones. Well balanced, well integrated with abit of an acidic core and a nice moderately long finish.
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6/5/2010 - air guitar & pinot noir wrote: 92 Points
Aromas of blackberry , cherry cola, rasberries and plums. Flavors of raisins, raspberry, cinnamon and cherry. Some alcohol heat but still a very nicely integrated bottle. Definite oak notes throughout. Not a memorable bottle but a very enjoyable bottle nonetheless.
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5/31/2010 - mdaniel wrote: 91 Points
Good, but not worth the price of admission in today's economy. A Sonoma Coast from either Sojourn or Sandler is better and for much less money. Made my decision about passing this year easier to swallow. Nose of raspberries, plum and oak. A small amount of heat on the finish.
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5/29/2010 - drwine2001 wrote:
Fairly dark ruby. Big, glossy, fruity (cherry and fig), alcoholic Pinot with oaky base. Some enjoyable cinnamon spiciness. Once the fruit faded after about an hour, the harshness of the alcohol was all that was left.
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5/22/2010 - MLwine wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well right now. Everything is well-integrated. No harsh edges. Nice balance of fruit and alcohol. All comes together very nicely.
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5/15/2010 - psizzo wrote: 92 Points
Ripe raisins on the nose and then a much more delicate mouthfeel and finish. A mostly complete wine now that could use another few years to fully mature. Delightful with the potential for improvement.
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5/15/2010 - Deb293 wrote: 88 Points
Stewed character. Not impressed. Hot and overripe.
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5/14/2010 - amateurwino wrote:
Nose very oaky, very sweet fruit, with alcohol definitely showing. Has a slight overripe, raisiny, stewed fruit edge, but this is very very nice stuff. 93+
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5/14/2010 - markjahnke wrote:
Popped the cork about an hour and a 1/2 before drinking, but not decanted at Berserkerfest 2.5 at Peking Duck House in Manhattan. Soft color in the glass, with a sweet nose of plum, raspberry, cola, spice, and a bit of alcohol. On the palate, this was super tight at first, with some strawberry and cherry. Definitely not as big as other Southings I have had, but still a big wine. As the night wore on, some mint came out, along with some cinnamon and clove. The finish still had some alcohol, and I wasn't overly impressed with this. 88 points. As we went to leave, there was still a 1/2 bottle left, so I re-corked it, took it home, and put it in the fridge overnight with a cork in it. On day two, this wine had mellowed out a ton, and transformed into the Sea Smoke that I have come to love. It still however didn't compare to the '05 in my opinion, but was still a great wine. Pretty much the same nuances as day two, with more cherry, and alcohol and oak that had integrated nicely overnight. Many will say to drink the '06's now, but I tend to disagree, and think that these need another 2-5 years in the bottle before they get to the point at which we truly enjoy them. This will definitely get better with time. HOLD. 92 points on day two.
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5/2/2010 - curtispomeroy wrote:
Same notes as before.
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5/2/2010 - nvandyk wrote: 93 Points
This has now reached a degree of maturity where it's very enjoyable to drink. Nothing terribly complex, but a very nice, medium-bodied California pinot style with a fairly lush (not to say extracted) aspect to it. Surprised how well this is drinking right now!
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4/10/2010 - BigGer wrote: 91 Points
The 2006 is reaching its maturity and you can now really begin to talk about this wine. It's not as substantial as the 2005, but more playful. Flavors of peppermint, cloves and nutmeg appear and disappear around the cherry core. It's not a memorable bottle, but a pleasurable one to drink.
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4/6/2010 - bikechef wrote: 92 Points
To quote the Kinks' song Lola "Tastes just like cherry cola" Bright fruit on the nose with dark cherry and cola on the palate, right balance of oak, acidity and tannins. Not as good as the 2005 but thats a lot to live up to. A beautiful Pinot, its what Sea smoke is all about.
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4/2/2010 - yonster24 wrote:
My first one of the bunch and I probably should have waited even longer to open. Started off extremely tight, but seemed to open over the course of dinner. Dark Rubyish color to it. Dark red fruits on the nose along with some oak. Medium bodied in the mouth with the dark cherries really coming through leading to a med-long finish that had the acidity and tannins giving this some backbone.
I did find one thing strange though, towards the end of the night, the nose had a distinct maple syrup/brown sugar smell to it and that even infiltrated the taste, which is odd as I usually find this with Saxum... I've never had that before with Sea Smoke...
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4/2/2010 - GalvezGuy wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with last note. Drink over the next few years.
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3/31/2010 - sbfireman wrote: 93 Points
Light and delicious. Everything I wanted in a glass. Very enjoyable. Lovely fragrance, color, and of course, flavor.
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3/8/2010 - glen@wooden.com wrote: 90 Points
GSR CP Steak chef's table dinner
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3/4/2010 - GalvezGuy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Nose of black cherry, vanilla, pie cherry, tea. On the palate, black raspberry, black cherry, vanilla, spice, smokey oak. Finishes smooth. Much softer than most Southings of this age. Probably a vintage to drink sooner than later. Excellent to Outstanding. Pass on value.
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2/27/2010 - clovercap wrote: 85 Points
Popped and poured with friends at Matisse. Seemed shut down, but perhaps it just needed a couple of hours in the decanter. Nose initially impressed but kind of blew off. The usual Southing taste never really developed and overall the whole thing was ok, but kind of "flat". Based on other reviews I think the '06 needs some more age and/or long decant to realy show its stuff.
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2/23/2010 - Brian1970 wrote: 93 Points
Excellent, pure expression of Central Coast Pinot Noir. Initial heat, but that blew off. Inviting but not overdone on the nose. Beautifully balanced and linear, with earthy notes and a fruit finish that goes on and on. Didn't want this bottle to end.
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2/21/2010 - hammie1234 wrote: 93 Points
Integrated much better than my previous Sea Smoke Southing. Rich layers of red fruit and cola, remarkably well balanced.
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2/21/2010 - drock25 wrote: 93 Points
Very good bottle of pinot. Lots of fruit, cherry, strawberry and cranberry.
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2/20/2010 - bundydavis wrote: 93 Points
Amazing how a couple years in the bottle and a 2 hour decant can do wonders for a wine like this. Bursting with fruit and well rounded.
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2/14/2010 - GreatLibations wrote: 93 Points
A brilliant garnet with slight brick on the robe. Aromas of freshly crushed cranberries with a bit of toffee and rose hips. Light and stylish this wine has remarkable acidity that lends the perfect balance between the layers of red berry fruit, minerality, bing cherry, toasted oak, graphite, and pomegranate, for the thoughtful finish. Oh, beautiful wine. Lives up to it's hype. This is real Pinot, not Pinot Syrah...
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1/25/2010 - g-man wrote: 88 Points
This bottle was definately better than what I experienced a year ago but still something is missing. It does not possess that harsh alchohol that it once did but it is still slightly disjointed. I'll hold off another year or two before passing final judgement.
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1/23/2010 - Rob MacKay wrote: 92 Points
It's been over a year since I last had an 06 Southing. The wine seems to have picked up a bit of an earthy element on the nose. The rest remains pretty much the same with lots of dark fruit and spice elements. Finish is well extended and overall balance is quite nice. Didn't get the alcohol on the back end that I noted about previously.
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1/10/2010 - vanpe003 wrote: 90 Points
More tang, less fruit than prior bottles. Very nice, but either closed down or declining, not sure which. Relatively light in body, but lacking some of the precision found in the best.
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1/1/2010 - cvvhrn wrote: 90 Points
Hints of mocha and cola on the nose with jammy dark fruit on the palate. Nice finish
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12/31/2009 - jawlz wrote: 87 Points
Disappointing overall for a hard-to-get cult wine. Great color and nice nose. Some muted cherries and raspberries on the palate, and a bit of spice. Tastes a bit dusty. Not very full in the mouth.
This is a decent Pinot, but it comes nowhere close to living up to the label's reputation. Maybe this was an off bottle? I have one more, so we'll see if there's any difference once that cork is pulled.
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12/25/2009 - ruddy wrote: 91 Points
In a very nice place after being open for about 3 hours. Loads of cool cherry fruit, SRH spice, a bit lacking in the mid-palate, but finishes well.
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12/24/2009 - gocanes wrote: 89 Points
Not showing as well as the last time I had this. The red fruit and dusty mocha sweetness was there, but this seemed simple. We'll give some time before the next bottle.
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12/16/2009 - ruffsurf wrote: 90 Points
Yikes. MUCH better than I expected. They've toned down the jam and let the grapes be themselves. Lovely bouquet. Enough acid to hold up to milder poultry. Worth pursuing. Rochioli: do you get it?
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11/28/2009 - ikkaariainen wrote: 92 Points
A really great CA Santa Rita Hills area pinot, very typical CA style - big and bold for a pinot, very fruit forward but with less tannins then previous vintages, less likely to hold up for long term cellaring. Enjoyed earlier tonight with Kim and good CT wine buddy neighborbill and spouse Debbie for a second Thanksgiving dinner this week. Highly recommend this wine despite price point being such that this is just much too expensive and hard to find to be a reasonable QPR wine. Very dark, still quite young with tannins mellowing some and still quite acidic with clearl maturation since last bottle, flavors balanced, good mouth feel, medium bodied with good aftertaste. Nose of some brine, floral overtones, dark cherry and black pepper. Primary flavors included stone fruit, dark raspberry, cherry, white pepper and minimal amount of the legendary smoke on the aftertaste. Will sit on remaining bottle for 1-2 years for now.
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11/27/2009 - Venturifan wrote: 90 Points
Very good next to the 07 which is not ready, but not as good as the 05 in our tasting. Still a solid effort but didn't like the qpr this year which may effect future allocations. maybe it needs more time?
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11/26/2009 - alamoave wrote: 89 Points
Good but not great
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11/23/2009 - darrel_f wrote: 93 Points
Loved this, flavors are wonderful, paired well with a pasta and seafood dish.
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11/23/2009 - KMKCMT wrote:
Just a great bottle to share this weekend with some early Thanksgiving grub! Superb...
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11/22/2009 - jrglm wrote: 91 Points
Man, this is some good juice.
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11/13/2009 - Neuman wrote: 93 Points
Needed to make room for my 07's and drinking one made room for six. It's Friday after a long week so maybe i'm jaded but this wine to me, is close to pinot perfection. Beautiful garnet color and a nose that explodes from the glass. Glycerine like legs. Rich red fruits are so balanced I cant pick one dominant aroma. 30+ second finish that is both sweet and tart. WOW. this bottle has not moved since delivery from the winery 16 months ago. I was not as enthralled with my first bottle, 6 months prior.
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11/9/2009 - brianngibson wrote: 91 Points
Opened this one up in honor of the '07 that is arriving tomorrow but will need a little time still. A little concerned at first at the pale color on the cork, and the thin color in the glass. But don't let it fool you, this is more powerful than it looks. Dark cherries, blackberries, and spice. Still a little heat on the finish.
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11/1/2009 - Acohen wrote: 90 Points
Needs to open and breathe to get through some heat and sourness of the deep cherries. Opens up to big dark cherry fruit and nice nose
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10/31/2009 - wlwrobel wrote:
Wonderful as always. Happy Halloween!
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10/17/2009 - Knicksfan wrote: 90 Points
a bit restrained from my last tasting but very enjoyable.
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10/10/2009 - kennyg wrote: 90 Points
Bright red medium body. Somewhat muted nose. Benefited from 2+ hours decanting, particularly to lower the heat. Reasonably well balanced and enjoyable with slight sour cherries. Will benefit from a bit more bottle age.
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10/9/2009 - Pinot Evil wrote: 91 Points
Consistent with last bottle, ruby red, stawberry and cherry pie.
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10/9/2009 - curtispomeroy wrote:
First of four bottles. This is a big, bold CA pinot. Wife absolutely loved it but I found it to be too alcoholic at this point in time. Hopefully it will settle down with time. Paired well with NY strip steak.
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9/7/2009 - smphelps wrote: 89 Points
First bottle of six. Opened and poured. Medium ruby red. Heavy, ripe and dark with black cherries and plums. A bit of a dark brooding wine that leaves you wanting a glass of water. Hard to make friends with.
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9/4/2009 - malper wrote:
Fabulous!!
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9/4/2009 - bigdogflow wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 45 minutes. Light/medium color. Taste of rasberry, tart cherry and spice. Really long finish.
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8/27/2009 - mjerome wrote: 90 Points
Brought up from the cellar to warm up, then decanted. The wine has continued to improve with time. The bouquet is the cherry, wild berry I would expect. On the palate the fruit is clear but there is a bitterness that prevents the wine from scoring any higher. It could be the acidity, but then either the wine needs more time in the bottle or it is out of balance. I have the Ten from the same vintage and it is superior.
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7/27/2009 - GalvezGuy wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Served with baked chicken. Nose of black cherry, cola, spice, and orange zest. Palate of black cherry, bing cherry, cola, and orange zest. Finishes a litte sweet and nice sappiness. Not as structured as past vintages. Drink now. Value not quite there this year. Still an oustanding wine.
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7/19/2009 - tanglenet wrote:
Opened not decanted. Served with baked chicken with friends. Opened but not decanted approximately 1 1/2 hours. Syrupy nose of black fruit. On the palate: black cherry notes with a somewhat heavy mouth feel ending with a sweet orange finish. Good to Very Good. A little heavier and less complex that the 2005.
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7/3/2009 - kleinahoe wrote:
great, takes awhile to open
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6/30/2009 - 2loyal wrote: 90 Points
Not the highest QPR, but certainly a very enjoyable bottle of PN.
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6/25/2009 - cadamson wrote: 86 Points
Giving up on this one. Disjointed. A bit hot. Tastes reasonably good, decent fruit, good mouthfeel, but that is about it.
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6/19/2009 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
No detailed notes, but another great bottle.
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6/16/2009 - redderthanred wrote:
Very good, dense, chewy full throttle Pinot...very nice.
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5/25/2009 - jimbomatic wrote: 70 Points
Um, wow. This was revolting. A combination of under ripe aromatics (cranberries, vegetation) and over ripe aromatics (bruised apple, rotten plum) led into a mid-palate that was, frankly, choke inducing. No finish, thankfully. Decanted and served blind to a pack of experienced Pinot Noir drinkers and this was universally loathed. Dumped into the brush next door. Amazing that this is what passes for cult status wine.
As an amendment since this apparently got some folks' gander up. This wine was tasted with 7 people all of whom are in the wine business (and have been for double digit years) or are avid and well-rounded collectors. The wine was purchased at a reputable shop with good temperature conditions. The bottle was shipped but was done so in early April when weather was not an issue. The bottle went into an extremely cold cellar. It was decanted and served at an appropriate temperature. The bottle was definitely not corked and did not appear to have suffered any sort of heat damage or any other issue (seeping cork, etc.). Perhaps this was an off bottle in some way that was not identifiable either by taste or bottle history. The wine had time to breathe and everyone went back to it several times. The issues I describe this wine having became more, not less, prevelent with each passing moment until the point where it was dumped when it was no longer even an interesting topic of discussion. Roughly $75 was paid for this bottle which, while not necessarily a super expensive bottle of wine, it is certainly not inexpensive. The rating given to this wine was based on the way it tasted that night. I have not had this bottling previously so I don't have a framework from which to work other than what I think great, very good, fair and poor wine tastes like. I have no personal agenda in making this note other than to post my and several other qualified tasters assessment of this wine. I realize it falls far, far outside of the general ratings that this wine has received on this database. Perhaps this bottle was flawed in some way however that did not appear to be the case. I and the other tasters present are well aware of bottle variation even within the context of high quality, high integrity sorts of producers such as Sea Smoke. If we had had the option of opening another bottle of this wine that evening we would have done so as a comparative study to see if this particular bottle was damaged. This note relates to the condition in which we found this wine out of this bottle. There are plenty of other notes on this wine to the positive so this can be one point of reference. Since it falls so far out of the norm one can take it as a one time situation, a bad bottle or poor tasting notes. I would stand behind my view of this particular bottle. In the future if I have the opportunity to taste this wine again and my notes are far different than the above I will absolutely detail any difference.
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5/23/2009 - Knicksfan wrote: 92 Points
Form magnum: Crowd pleaser at the wine club dinner - notes of raspberry and cherry, tobacco, spice - with soft tannins and a nice finish....
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5/23/2009 - agbailey wrote: 92 Points
Delicious with time. Initially reserved, but put on a very nice level of weight. Not too much, but a nice silky yexture. Red fruits on the nose, with earth and a hint of VA (this being the only thing hold back from a higher score). Flavors matched the nose, and were amazingly rich and layered after about 4.5 hours. All in all a great effort for the vintage and a made me glad to have bought my 07's.
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5/19/2009 - Pinot Evil wrote: 91 Points
Brilliant ruby color that thins to clear on the edge. Really opened up after about an hour, stawberry and cherry pie notes with an nice finish.
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5/19/2009 - chimpanzee29 wrote: 93 Points
Oh, the nose on this one- so huge and distinctive. Cola, strawberry, cherry, moss, mushroom, fresh sawdust, vanilla, embers. I have had so many sub-par pinots I never anticipate such an impression. I can't comment any more on what's already been said in other TNs. Very good wine. My first sea smoke.
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4/26/2009 - ikkaariainen wrote: 92 Points
Kim and I enjoyed our first bottle of this (or any other Sea Smoke pinot, for that matter) last night at an impromptu wine tasting with CT wine buddy neighborbill and other wine friends. Man is this good, I see now what all the fuss is about. Great CA style pinot, bolder and more fruit forward then the typically more muted and elegant Oregonian high end pinots. Too expensive to be a good QPR but despite that I highly recommend this wine. Very dark, clearly still quite young and acidic but flavors balanced, good mouth feel, medium bodied with good aftertaste. Nose of some brine, floral overtones and black pepper. Primary flavors included stone fruit, dark raspberry, cherry, white pepper and smoke on the aftertaste. Will sit on remaining two bottles for now.
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4/13/2009 - BigGer wrote: 91 Points
Don't let the thin appearance deceive you. There's a rich mouthfeel and texture to this wine. Dense raspberry, currant and some underlying spices keep the flavors interesting on the mid-palate and finish. The smoke was muted. It should continue to improve, but is drinking alright for such a young PN. I'll save the rest of my allocation for a while though.
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3/31/2009 - Tejano wrote:
From a magnum decanted...a clear medium to ruby red full color showing a nose of dark cherry and red raspberry with nuances of baking spice underneath. A firm entry and full mouth feel at mid palate with engaging layers of fruit texture framed by a good acidic balance... and a soft finish that was quicker than I would have liked...in other words...pretty nice, just not long enough. Went well with grilled wild antelope chops.
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3/28/2009 - kanab ram wrote:
I'm back as a fan of SS after this bottle. Lush nose of cinnamon, vanilla and cherry. Very lively on the palate and finish. Completely opposite of the '05 Southing a few months back. Decanting wasn't necessary but did improve in the glass.
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3/27/2009 - tanglenet wrote:
Opened not decanted. Some clarity at the edge of the glass. Strong notes of black fruit on the nose. On the palate: high alcohol with dry blackberry, raspberry and blueberry. Fruit is in the forefront and is not shy. Ends with a somewhat hot, citrus finish. Good. This is a wine that is tough to pair with food as it stands out so much. However, it needs food to offset the alcohol. I would suggest pairing with something bland rather than spicy. Still a great wine. Good.
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3/13/2009 - FieldingYost wrote: 90 Points
Bold, ripe raspberry and blue fruit, framed by oak. A complex fruit profile--plum, raspberry, black cherry, pomegranate and cranberry on the finish--more broodish and elegant than other vintages of this wine. An acidic framework that reigns in the fruit. Finish is a bit hot, yes, but the overall impression is not changed by this, at least not to me. A darkhorse, impressive for the vintage, and proof that you could still make power pinot in 2006.
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3/12/2009 - yovinny wrote: 88 Points
Not their best southing vintage.
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3/6/2009 - bigdogflow wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. Medium red color. Big, bright cherry nose. Taste of spice, cherry. Nice finish and good balance.
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2/20/2009 - cadamson wrote: 87 Points
Very clear ruby red, nice color, somewhat light in appearance. Red fruits on the nose with some spice, somewhat muted after a couple hours. Good, but standard palate, well made though nothing stands out. Red currants, pomegranate, some baking spices, a bit of heat on the back of the tongue.
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2/1/2009 - JOJ wrote: 92 Points
Lovely. Silky smooth with nuances of spices, pie crust, nutmeg, and black cherry. Decant heavily for now, or hold off for another year or more. Still pretty young and tight.
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1/31/2009 - the godfather wrote: 89 Points
took a good 3 hours to open up, very tight, almost no nose. based on the flavor profile and balance, I suspect this will be very good in 5 years.
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1/25/2009 - babnik wrote: 87 Points
Tart cherries, cola berry, gripping acidity in this medium bodied wine. While good, it's not particularly interesting at this point.
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1/21/2009 - winestem wrote:
Strawberry, medium bodied, touch of earth and herbs.
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1/18/2009 - clayfu wrote: 91 Points
THis wine seems to actually degrade with time in the decanter. It was at its most flavorful and best as a pop and pour. You have a strong aroma of cola, spicy pepper, tart cherries, and dark red berry jam. The pinot has remarkable acid that tickles your tongue for MINUTES after your drink. There's a bit of oak on the finish.
After about 1 hour in the decant the alcohol really comes on strong
2 hours in the oak comes on strong with the alcohol
3-5 hours nice acid on the finish but not a very expressive nose. The fruit isn't a powerful and there's a very short finish.
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1/11/2009 - jc-mmb wrote: 93 Points
consistent with previous notes. i do like this wine.
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12/31/2008 - Cheryl wrote:
New Year's Eve 2008 - Shramsberg, Carlisle, Seasmoke, Kutch (Ox Restaurant, Jersey City, NJ): Lovely. Pop and pour. Wish I'd hope it earlier in the evening so I could recall it more clearly. Just remember I loved it.
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12/31/2008 - kleinahoe wrote: 88 Points
A bit of heat, took awhile for the wine to open up.
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12/28/2008 - JCaress wrote: 90 Points
Solid pinot. Beautiful raspberry/garnet color and bright cherry and almost a smooth orange flavor. Average to good finish.
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12/26/2008 - yovinny wrote: 90 Points
Tart cherry, low acidity. More enjoyable than previous reviews reveal. Not a memorable Southing like previous vintages, but stronger than what the majority of other producers are bottling.
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12/13/2008 - Knicksfan wrote: 91 Points
Too early to drink this. Opened for about an hour but paled in comparison to SS Ten and Aubert UV (2004). let these sit another year.
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12/10/2008 - loverboy wrote: 90 Points
First nose of ripe pinot, very new world. Gets better with times. Dark pinot in color, black fruit, very oaky,. Very yummy in mouth, full bodied wine that can pair with big food. The only downside was the noticeable alcohol when you smell the wine.
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12/5/2008 - robbie02 wrote: 89 Points
Pleasant taste of new world candied fruit, but I found this to be a bit more thin than last year's pinot. That being said the thiness isvon par with most 2006 California Pinot Noir. Overall, nice bottle. Pair well with Thanksgiving dinner.
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11/23/2008 - Squirreljam wrote: 90 Points
Hmm, suspect this is just too young - was overly oaky. However, there's a lot going on and in another year, this could be really good. Richly fruited nose and palate, with a long finish and nice acidity. Right now, though, the vanilla creme heavily outweighed all that.
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11/16/2008 - mmurry wrote: 89 Points
The nose had cherry, brown spice, forest floor, and a touch of vanilla. The palate was smooth, and had loads of cherry, some spice, and an oaky finish. It was good, but it had more oak than I would prefer.
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11/8/2008 - tanglenet wrote:
Purchased off the list at Wood Tavern, Oakland. Opened not decanted. Dark, syrupy nose of black fruit. On the palate: dense black cherry and blackberry fruit with cinnamon and other spices. Ends with a dry citrus finish. Opens up quickly and is very approachable right now. The acidity seemed very low. This may not be a long term ager. Good.
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11/4/2008 - jhannah27 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted, but took a sip after popping the cork, and the weight and rich mouthfeel of this wine took me by surprise. It's been awhile since I had Sea Smoke. Came back to it about 3 hours after putting it in the decanter, and it seemed to have heated up a bit, still not ready to go yet...still quite tasty. When I finally came back to 5 hours after putting it in the decanter, it had softened quite significantly and really seemed to be showing all it had to offer. Nose of dense raspberries, cherries, cola, and smoke. Medium to full bodied on the tongue with flavors mirroring the nose. Mild acidity and just a touch of tannin. Finish goes on for a good 30 seconds or so (if you don't already go back for another sip). The most striking part of this wine is how utterly velvety and rich it is. It coats your entire mouth, but never loses its balance at any point on the palate. It is an absolutely beautifully crafted wine.
Can't go wrong with Sea Smoke, and I personally think the Southing is their best bottle (although I haven't had an aged Ten yet, but I am working on it). Even after the long decant I could tell this wine is still just a baby. It needs a good five years to settle down and let its flavors develop. Very good wine to be sure, but not Sea Smoke's best effort.
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11/3/2008 - bundydavis wrote: 89 Points
Very hot at the start. Opened up after a couple hours. I think this wine needs a little more time in the bottle.
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11/1/2008 - hammie1234 wrote: 90 Points
Thin and hot 2 hours after opening, then came together well and gave that beautiful cola, cherry notes that I've come to expect from Sea Smoke.
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10/24/2008 - Tejano wrote:
Medium to dark and clear garnet, and an inviting nose of ripe red berries with a nod to raspberries, and a firm touch of dark cherry and a very light edge of spice. A smooth transition from entry to mid palate where it gathered speed and substance...great mouth feel with a good balance of acidity making this a very nice sipper as well as a wine built for food. Good stuff where I had my nose in the glass to the very last sip.
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10/2/2008 - agbailey wrote: 89 Points
I liked this one, though my expectations are always high with Sea Smoke. This didn't have the complexity of the 05, but it was good nonetheless. Nice acidity, classic pinot flavors, etc. Defnitely less ripe and structured than the 05. Still young though so will check out the next bottle this winter.
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9/27/2008 - Saintaz wrote: 90 Points
Great nose. Let it decant for an hour as it was very tight when I opened. A bit less fruit and complexity than the 2005. I will let it sit for a few months before the next bottle. Still a great pinot. Highly recommended. One of my favorites.
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9/26/2008 - CMARSHALL wrote:
silky smooth, lush betty flavors
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9/22/2008 - Bacchant wrote: 90 Points
Medium garnet color with clear ruby hue. Muted oak & spice on the nose, though not much fruit. If evaluated blind, I might've pegged this as a Zin or Shiraz, not a Pinot. The front showed no raspberry or strawberry to speak of, but tons of bramble & spice instead. Nice acidity envelopes the midpalate & persists throughout the lengthy New World finish. The extreme back-end does show, perhaps, some more distinctive Pinot characteristics. Good stuff. Almost worth the price... [14.7% abv.; $54.00].
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9/13/2008 - Rob MacKay wrote: 93 Points
Back to normal after the previous bottle was horribly corked. See note from 7/15 for detailed notes. This is really great at a young age and I love them so much that I'll probably never find out how good they are with 10 or so years on them.
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9/13/2008 - Rob MacKay wrote: flawed
Unfortunately this bottle was unbelievably corked. The most corked wine I have ever had. :(
Fortunately, the next one was fine.
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9/7/2008 - Rob MacKay wrote:
Brought to Seattle for the CellarTracker get together event. I didn't have too much of this myself but it was quite good and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
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8/31/2008 - jasonrsa wrote: 93 Points
Excellent new world pinot. Had at restaurant. With 30 minutes of breathing, initial heat blew off and wine shined. Nose of berries and spice, red berries and black pepper on the palate. Long finish. Very balanced wine. Crowd pleaser. Impressive. $95 at A16 in SF.
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8/14/2008 - joshwoodward wrote: 93 Points
Soft, velvety, bigger. Light sweetness. Very pinoty. More acid. Smoky bacon nose.
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8/13/2008 - vanpe003 wrote: 93 Points
Thick, new world crowd pleaser.
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8/9/2008 - jtabor wrote: 93 Points
popped and poured. venison sausage with worcestershire sauce for days and days. The wine sets up camp on your palate like a berkeley tree sitter, refusing to budge. impressive.
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7/18/2008 - kietkopelli wrote: 94 Points
Wow! Drinking very nice now, will be a rock star in a few years. The nose is full of raspberry, cherry and strawberry with hints of spices and earth, alcohol very dominant. Decided it needed to breath so I decanted it for 45 minutes. WOW what a difference, the alcohol toned down and more spices and earth opened up. In the mouth it is still very young with tight tannins and finishes short and dry. This wine is worth $50 just for the nose alone. In 3-4 years this will blow away most CA and OR Pinot Noirs.
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7/17/2008 - Vino Uomo wrote: 90 Points
A bit tight at first, opened up with time, young wine, solid raspberry, boysenberry, mild white pepper. Nice wine.
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7/15/2008 - Rob MacKay wrote: 93 Points
Curiosity got the best of me and I had to pop one of these just to see how it was and what I've got to look forward to for the rest of them. Color is ruby red with a very slight violet tint and the nose had sweet floral cherry notes with some spice overtones. Flavors just kept changing and changing thoughout the time the bottle was open. From the start it was really bright and fruity and then it sorted tightened up a little and took on a slight tobacco note on the finish with a bit of alcohol poking through, then after a few hours everything settled down into a wonderfully balanced wine with a really long finish. Is this better then the 05? At this point it is hard to tell but I am glad I have enough of these to hopefully end up having one or two of them around for a few years.
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7/5/2008 - brianofthevine wrote: 92 Points
Red/black cherry with earth notes, nice acidity and finish.
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6/20/2008 - CorkSniffer wrote: 91 Points
Still a newborn. Hopefully will blossom over time, right now nice but somewhat reserved cherry nose, fairly tight and closed down on the palate. The fruit that's there is exquisite, but right now I taste more alcohol. Over time I'm hoping this will mellow.
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6/15/2008 - jerhardt wrote: 90 Points
Dark purple, but not as heavy bodied as prior vintages. Pure, clean, dark cherry flavors that right now are rather uni-dimensional. We'll see how this fleshes out over time.
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6/14/2008 - aaronwine wrote: 92 Points
Great pinot. One of the best CA Pinots I've had. Young but surprisingly drinking very well. Red raspberry and refined mineral and earth nuances. Tried against Freeman and Walter Hansel and this was the clear winner in my mind (althought others were 2005 and Hansel was very good).
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6/2/2008 - rsepulve wrote: 92 Points
Pop and pour. Medium ruby red with a purple tint. Bright cherries and raspberry, earth, asian spices and a touch of brown sugar. Elegant, silky, and lively on the palate with juicy acidity - a refreshing wine to be sure. Lovely lingering spice on the finish, though the finish could be more persistent. Just enough tannins to suggest a drinking window out to 2011.
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5/19/2008 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
Dark sweet perfume on the nose. Rich dark fruit on the palate. Long finish with minimal tannins. This won't see a lot of time in my cellar, as it's drinking quite well right now.
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5/10/2008 - last chance wrote: 91 Points
Nice ruby color. The nose of this wine showed aromas of raspberry, cherries and spices. The palate revealed strawberry, raspberry and some pepper flavors that carried through a nice length finish. This was medium bodied, and more reserved than the 05 vintage and much more reserved than the 04 vintage. A friend had just received these, and really wanted to try one even though it was way too early.
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12/18/2007 - tanglenet wrote:
Barrel tasting with the winemaker Kris Curran and the assistant winemaker, Don. Kris mentioned that the barrel we were tasting will probably be part of the final blend. I show: "dry, tight tannins with sweet dark fruit. Solid wine."
I also have notes from a barrel from the M2A block. My notes don't indicate if this is also part of the Southing, but it was tasted right after we tasted the above barrel, so I'll go with it. "Huge nose of exotic, blackberry fruit. Still in primary stage."
Really looking forward to the final product. Fascinating to taste the building blocks right now.
Everyone is very down to earth with the philosophy of producing world class wines. From every indication, they are achieving it.
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