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Sea Smoke Cellars is a Californian winery in Santa Barbara County that focuses on premium Pinot Noir. The estate was established in 1999 by Bob Davids in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation. Its production is relatively small and mostly distributed through its mailing list. The name of the winery was inspired by the cooling marine fog that is carried into the vineyards along the Santa Ynez River.
All the grapes used in Sea Smoke wines come from the estate vineyard. The property has 40 hectares (98 acres) of vines planted with 10 different Pinot Noir clones as well as 4ha (10 acres) of Chardonnay. The vines are in transitional soils, with elevations between 300-700ft (90-210m) above sea level, which makes for varied growing conditions. Sea Smoke has used biodynamic farming practices since the 2013 vintage.
Sea Smoke makes three Pinot Noir wines: Botella, Southing and Ten, which is a blend of all 10 Pinot Noir clones. A change of winemaker before the 2009 vintage shifted the wine style of the Pinot Noir, with subsequent vintages undergoing less extraction and seeing less new oak. In the mid-2000s Sea Smoke introduced the Gratis Chardonnay exclusively as a reward for mailing list members. It was so well received that a second Chardonnay was introduced and added to the regular catolog of available wines.
Sea Smoke rounds out its collection with a sparkling Pinot Noir made in the traditional method as a Blanc de Noirs.
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2014 |
| Rating | NR |
| Bottle Size | 1500 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | Central Coast |
| Producer | Sea Smoke Cellars |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
| Rating | 2014 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir Magnum Features an ironclad structure, with lots of graphite and slate accents to the dense dark currant and dried plum flavors, supported by firm tannins. Accents of chocolate nibs show on the finish. Needs some short-term aging in the cellar. WS It had been a few years since I last tasted the Sea Smoke wines, so I was curious to check out these current releases. At their best, the Sea Smoke Pinots offer gorgeous textural richness, depth and personality. I have to say that Sea Smoke’s recent decision to add the words “California Grand Cru†to their labels is preposterous and blatantly self-serving, since the term means absolutely nothing. Moreover, this invented designation has the potential to be immensely deceiving to consumers who don’t know there is no classification – formal or informal – when it comes to California’s vineyards. A formal classification is a worthy objective. Perhaps it will one day be a reality. But if it does happen, it certainly won’t be up to wineries to classify their vineyards for us. RP |
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| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2014 |
| Rating | NR |
| Bottle Size | 1500 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | Central Coast |
| Producer | Sea Smoke Cellars |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
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