Anyone a Sea Smoke fan? What’s the 411?
My first mailing list! I stopped a few years ago. Prices are nearly double from when I was buying (although you can say that for almost all wines these days), but I was more surprised that my local total wine carries a few on the shelf which are roughly release price if you factor in shipping.
While not a typical pinot (I think of them as Americanized chateuneuf-du-pinot), I still enjoy drinking one every once in a while.
Would love to know if anyone feels the current release is as “age-able” as the past. Looks like less oak is used now.
Their wines have always aged really well, in defiance of assumptions about “that kind of pinot.” They really last and improve. I had my last 2002 Southing with @Viet_Ly last year and it was fantastic.
I see no reason the recent ones would be different in that respect.
The pricing has become an issue — it’s for each of us to say how much we like them and at what price we value them. I just buy 3-4 a year now. I think the Southing was $42 and the Botella $28 when I joined the list, but that was 20 years ago, so maybe $90 isn’t as crazy as it feels (and considering the rampant inflation generally in the last few years).
3 Likes
The crazy thing is that the Ten is now the same price as their other offerings - when did that happen?
And those these prices certainly are higher than they were in the past, they’re not ‘out of line’ considering similar increases from ‘similar’ north coast producers . . .
Cheers
My first mailing list as well, and one I stopped buying consistently many years ago. I was a fan back in the $28 Botella days, and I did pick up a couple of 2019s just to see where the style is at, but haven’t touched them yet.
Bonus points for “Americanized CdPinot” 
I used to like Southing but was never a fan of Ten. I found our last bottle gloopy and unpleasant for my palate.
A few years ago, they made them both the same price, basically by raising the price of the Southing to match the Ten ($80 at the time).
I agree with @Scott_Brunson , the Southing has always been much better than the Ten to my tastes. The Ten is much more heavily oaked, and while that does somewhat resolve if you hold the bottle 12+ years or so, it’s still never worthwhile to have had so much oak and it never gets as good as the Southing. Even at the same price, it’s an easy pass for me.
It would be interesting for some folks to try, say, a 2007-2011 vintage Southing blind. I’m not guaranteeing anyone in particular would love it, but it would probably go a long way to changing the stereotype of the wine.
1 Like
Used to enjoy, but between price increases, the increase in shipping, and addition of taxes the prices crept over $100/btl. I still enjoy those in my cellar, but without the level of excitement I had when I was buying.
1 Like
I could be mis-remembering, but I think the oak regiment was brought down recently on both the Ten and the Southing.