Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The most balanced of Sea Smoke’s three new Pinots, Southing was aged in about two-thirds new oak, which gives rich caramel, toasted coconut and exotic spice notes to the ripe fruit flavors. The wine explodes with cherries, raspberries, mulberries and even chocolate mint, finishing long and spicy, and leaving the impression of wholesomeness and completeness. Now showing its peak of youthful vivacity, this should develop for an additional six years.
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Wine Spectator
Spicy, peppery wild berry aromas carry over to the palate, with firm tannins. Tight and compact, this is an austere style that's rich and full-bodied, with enough depth and complexity to merit short-term cellaring.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.