Pulled a 2004 Sea Smoke Botella Pinot Noir out to match with duck breast and berry sauce, wild rice, & young broccoli. Have had this stored since release. Not very familiar with Sea Smoke but at the time of release they were a pinot noir darling from Santa Barbara County. Opened bottle and poured a small portion into a glass. Low aromatics and the color was very dark red. In the mouth the wine was very thick black cherry, blackberry, and blueberry rich jam. The flavors came off as simple and monotonous in delivery but lasted significantly on the palette. Almost no perceptible acidity in this wine which over enhances richness. No wine flaws but the richness sans acidity is definitely not my cup of tea. As a Sea Smoke neophyte I cannot tell whether stylistically this richness is correct or the wine lost balancing acidity over time as this wine is admittedly 18-19 years old. I have no other Sea Smoke wines in my collection. Would like to hear other 'beserker experiences.
The Botella wine was from young vines that were not deemed worthy of putting into the southing or ten bottling.
I really love the Botella although I haven’t had one with that much age on it. I do have a 2008 sit in the cellar waiting for a special occasion
It was a young vines pinot that sold for $28 or something, and 2004 was about the ripest low acid vintage there is. Those were quite delicious for a number of years though.
I just had my last 2002 Southing with @Viet_Ly a few weeks ago and it was gorgeous. It had aged beautifully and was in great balance. Their second vintage.
As I understand it wines don’t lose acidity. Tannins and oak may integrate, fruit may fade, the wine may transform in other ways, but acid is acid.
My experience is that wines can lose perceptible acidity with age. That does not mean that the acid disappeared but rather transformed into other products . One well known conversion is that tartrate does form esters with the ethanol present. Quoting from a Roger Bolton AJEV article in late 1984.
"The production of ethyl acid tartrate in aged wines is sufficient to decrease the sensory acidity and apparent harshness and thus have a mellowing effect…The overall reaction was slow to reach equilibrium under typical wine storage conditions, but easily accounts for the formation of several hundred milligrams of ethyl acid tartrate per liter during wine aging. "
With regards to the Sea Smoke pinot noir my sense from others is that specific wine and vintage probably had lower acidity to start with and some of the other components provided a freshness in that wine’s early life. No doubt aging wines is a complex chemical process that is influenced by dynamic composition changes, temperature, and oxygen. Sometimes the result is better, or worse, and/or just different. To me that is one of the attractions of storing wine.
It sounds like a typical Sea Smoke to me.