TN: 2006 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing

WINE TALK
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  • 2006 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (1/25/2009)
    Tart cherries, cola berry, gripping acidity in this medium bodied wine. While good, it’s not particularly interesting at this point. (87 pts.)
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I recently had one as well…I’m glad it wasn’t my first experience with Sea Smoke, because I would not keep ordering them. I am a fan of their wines, so will give them a pass on this one. if you all have some, leave them be for a while

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If you have 05s, those are the ones to drink right now. The 06s should rest for a while longer.

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I’m scared to open any more of my '05’s - the Southing, in particular, seemed shut down hard when I had them, as recently as about 6 months ago. I think they need a year more.

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Had one '05 two summers ago and it was OK. Haven’t touched any '05’s since that one or any 06’s yet…these wines are definitely great with some age on them, and as hard as it is, I let them sit… -mJ

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Marky Mark’s posting with us!

The earliest I had one was November of '07, and while the mouthfeel was rather silky, it was still a total oak bomb, and rather harsh. I’m hoping it was just an awkward stage and not too much alcohol, since that won’t ever go away. This was after 5 hours of decanting, too.

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I think I posted this somewhere else, but I opened an '05 Ten in the fall and it was great. I think I just splash decanted and served. It was ready to go at that point and only got better.

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Only have one of the Ten for '05 and '06 so I’ve been saving those…maybe in '12 or '13…who knows. Did have an '02 a few weeks ago that was damn tasty though! Drank it over 2 days and it was delicious! Have to find the other one! -mJ

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i haven’t popped a 2004 yet!

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I haven’t had an 05 TEN yet, just the Southing and Botella. I will say that while I love the Southing and TEN from the vintages that I have had, I just can’t bring myself to love the Botella nearly as much.

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Haven’t had a Botella since the '04. No idea why I’m still holding on to them. Might be time to pop the '05 and '06. Or maybe I’ll wait until the '07’s and '08’s get here and do a vertical… -mJ

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Sea Smoke is one of the annual ‘must buy’ wines for me. I am glad to have gotten on their list relatively early. As their relatively young vineyard matures, I see great stuff coming out of there in the future. Yes - the 06s (IMHO) were not as good as the 05s but I still bought whatever they would sell me and I will do the same for 07s, 08s, etc.

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I had the 05 Botella 4 days ago. It was singing. One of the better bottles of the night. The 05 Southing is one of my favorite pinots along with the 05 KB Koplen…but neither of the two 06 Southing Ive had are in even the same galaxy. I have been told a few times to wait but the thing is I dont get the vibrant fruit in hiding that is usually the reason for waiting. Im just kinda writing 06 off and having ginormous expectations for 07.
–B

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The 07s are awesome. I am convinced that the 07 Ten will be the best Ten yet, but then again, I am certainly biased. :slight_smile:

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No kidding? [imnewhere.gif]

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Seasmoke is a March offering right? I can’t take anymore in February and it’s only the 4th.

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Yes, March or April. They just completed the pre-blends. Oh, and I spoke to my dad last night – there will be no price increases this year.

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What is your association with Sea Smoke?

Last year was early March.

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My father is the owner of Sea Smoke. I was hired as the first employee and started up all the business basics and left after 3 years. I no longer am involved at all, except for going up at harvest and collecting my employee allocation. :smiley:

The wines are bottles when they are ready. There is no set schedule and it can vary from year to year.

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Poppy, tell your dad I’ll give him free legal advice in exchange for more than my ONE botella they keep offering me [beg.gif]