Yikes. That was a mouthful! But I can usually count on you, Mr. Tatar, to fill in the blanks. My knowledge does not run as broad or as deep as yours.
Great timing to the resurrection of this thread.
I no longer care for the style, and stopped buying years ago, but brought my final bottle of 2009 “Ten” from FL to SC this week.
I still plan to enjoy it.
mmm…cheesesteaks! 
I’m not AFWE which is probably why I don’t care for Burgundy and do like Sea Smoke. Maybe Parker has it right and Burgundy should stop growing a grape in a location clearly not suited to the grape. For me, the failure of a wine, is to not be flavorful. Who here really wants Cabernet Sauvignon from Niagera Canada? Not me. I guess its true, some people like white wonder bread.
I’m a buyer - especially of the southing which is an annual case purchase. Happy to take older vintages off of the hands of those who have seen these dramatic pallet shifts and answer the OP’s question with not. I find it to be easy drinking that is always enjoyed by company.
Truly loving the love for this thread - and for those who love Sea Smoke. I will say that there has never been a better time to explore other wines from that same specific area from the likes of La Voix (Steve Clifton’s label), Brewer Clifton, The Hilt (from Jonata), Melville, Crawford Family, Longoria . . .
Sea Smoke used to hold a more unique position in that it was one of the most well known (to wine geeks) wines from the Sta Rita Hills; that helped it establish its market - and allowed it to ‘set its price’. I continue to think that Don and company do a great job with the fruit, but there are other alternatives out there - just as there are with any wines these days.
Are these wines ‘unique’? Kind of - but again, with a little exploring, you might be surprised at what you can find at ‘more reasonable’ prices from the same area.
Cheers.
I need to remember to watch the date on the OP…thanks for the reminder, Merrill. I prefer it when old threads are resurrected…I just need to pay a tad more attention. I’ve had a couple Sea Smoke…I liked them.
The alternative is new threads on an old subject. Not sure which is right . . . is a separate “Sea Smoke, not or not - 2018?” thread better?
I’ve never known any wine that is so universally and strongly loved by people who enjoy good wines but at a non-geek level. If you had to pick a sub $100 bottle to win a blind tasting contest among that group, a Southing at around 6-10 years from vintage date would be the one to choose.
That may or may not matter to others, but I like knowing it’s a wine I love and almost any civilian I serve it to will consider it a genuinely special experience.
There are way too many overlapping or duplicative forum posts and I feel like people only read the first page or two of the forums. I wish there was a way to mark as permanently read all the posts I don’t plan on reading. For now, when I’m interested in discussing a topic I do a search to see if it’s already been discussed. If I find an old thread and I have something “newish” to say I post in that.
I have never purchased Sea Smoke, but I have that same “universal” experience with Ceritas Porter Bass Chardonnay.
I bought some of the 2004 wines; Sea Smoke was one of the first mailing lists for which I signed up.
Had to have the wine shipped to my father. When he brought the wines to my house, a month or two later, in the styro shipper was a glass bottle of Coca Cola.
I thought it was some joke - that Sea Smoke sent with the wine as a tongue in cheek comment.
For those on the Ebob/Squires forum, the wine was occasionally disparaged by calling it cherry-coke or that it was a Coke flavored wine.
I liked the wines (Southing, Botella and Ten). Yes, they were rich and full bodied, but I did not find the wine to be candied or overdone.
I dropped off the list because of price, shipping limitations and finding other wines that I enjoyed at a lower price point. (For a time, I think Kosta Browne was less than Sea Smoke).
As for the Coke bottle, juts turns out that my father stuck it in there when cleaning out the house. It was a bottle I had been saving for years as an original contoured shape bottle (the sometimes called “Mae West” bottle).
Which producers do you enjoy now?
I enjoy a broad spectrum of styles of Cali-Pinot:
Ceritas, Arnot-Roberts, Rhys, Kutch, on the lighter side running across and through Radio-Coteau, W-S, Sandler, Pisoni, Auteur, Lucia, and AP Vin on the richer side. I think of the Almond Joy/Mounds jingle when it comes to wine and Cali-Pinot in particular: “Sometimes you feel like a nut / Sometimes you don’t.”
Sea Smoke is a richer style but I thought well made. I found it somewhat similar to Pisoni: both are rich wines with depth of flavor and ripe fruit but well made and distinctive.
What a fascinating post. Does it matter if they’re cool? Do you want to spend $100 on pinot noir from California that is in a very large, rich style? It is well made. They have sparkling and chards as well, and they have solid vineyard access. The question should have little to do with whether they are cool, and all to do with whether the wines are excellent, and of a style and price that you’re seeking.
For what they are should they still be considered near top tier? I suppose so. They’re certainly much cheaper than Marcassin, and are probably competitive with Peter Michael and Kosta Browne. If that’s what you’re looking for, fire away. If not, find something else.
If you’re trying to impress a bunch of wine geeks, you’re going to fail if you’re asking the question in your OP. If you’re trying to impress your pals, ask them their thoughts on Sea Smoke. I certainly know some non-wine geeks who like to drink wine that would be excited to try it. And Caymus too. Just depends on styles and tastes.
I hesitated to post any remarks when this thread was first initiated and even now when it has been resurrected, but with the idea that it can be beneficial to some, here goes.
I bought SS from the outset taking all of my allocations of each and every release for many years. I know Chris Curran and love her dearly although its been way too long since we last had a hug. I knew that my dear friend Bruno dAlfonso had tutored Chris and suspected and respected he had some influence on the initial style of SS and perhaps throughout all of Chriss tenure. Having said that, I know Chris is her own person and does her own thing and I may have overstated my suspect of Brunos influence. Regardless, the style included picking super ripe fruit resulting in very high alcohol levels and requiring watering back to get back to some form of reality and balance.
In those days, I loved full on, in your face big and bold wines even Pinot Noir, sort of. My palate changed big time and I found that these wines were just too much for me so I sold all of my inventory to friends at my cost. Well, not quite. I did not include the cost of shipping charges. Along with all of my Pisoni Pinots, another dear friend, I sold wines I purchased for the first and only time ever as I have bought all wines with the idea of sharing and drinking them.
When Chris left, I understand there was a stylistic shift, one that tended to allow for the wines to have a bit more grace and elegance, but still fully expressive.
I`m thinking it would be a fun and interesting experience to taste some of the older ones as well as some newer releases blind when I do not even know SS is in the mix. How much has my palate really changed? How have some of the older wines evolved?
As stated earlier in the thread and often throughout the website, it still comes down to drink what you like and like what you drink.
Cheers
As my domestic mailing lists has grown, I find I finally have to purge; and my tastes regarding pinot noir are in a constant state of evolution. I purchased both Sea Smoke and Merry Edwards pinots direct for years but no longer. The darker, richer, riper, more oaked style is becoming harder for me to enjoy. I appreciate the quality of these wines, but prefer to purchase, cellar and drink wines like Anthill Farms, Arnot-Roberts, Cerise, Litterai, Auteur, Kutch, Rhys, Rivers-Marie, and Hirsch. I, for one, celebrate the fact that domestic Pinot Noirs are not monolithic in style. I celebrate diversity in my cellar and in my decanter. I still have some older Sea Smoke in my cellar, but find myself reaching for them less often. Funny, but me feelings toward Sea Smoke are much like my feelings for recent vintages of Caymus Cab and Walla Walla Syrahs. I understand the appeal; I don’t like to diss the wines or their lovers; but they no longer call my name.
Beautiful, heartfelt confession of your reality and honouring it. Great first post Steve and welcome.
I’ve had Auteur and Rivers-Marie and both of these producers offer variety, dependent on their vineyards. I actually opened a 2016 RM recently that was one of the most hedonistic pinot noirs I’ve had. The only one to top that was probably a Bevan Cellars pinot, which I would describe as cab-like.
I like Blake’s idea. It would be great to challenge assumptions by tasting all these wines blind.