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 Sea Smoke Cellars
Sea Smoke's winemaker, Kris Curran, works directly with
the vineyard crew throughout the growing season. Each of Sea Smoke's ten clones of Pinot Noir is hand harvested and brought to the winery for hand sorting. Each clone is then kept separate throughout the winemaking process, enabling Kris to develop an intimate knowledge of each barrel. These individual barrel lots form the basis of a complex flavor palette from which final blending decisions are made by the Sea Smoke winemaking team. This results in wines of exceptional complexity and grace - each one,
they believe, is a reflection of the unique terroir of thir estate vineyard.
Sea Smoke Vineyard
When producing world-class Pinot Noir, location is everything. For years, vintners have coveted a stretch of land in the western end of Santa Barbara’s Santa Rita Hills AVA known to have the perfect microclimate, soils, and exposure to grow world-class Pinot Noir. In 1999, fulfilling a long-held dream of owner Bob Davids, this sought-after stretch of land became Sea Smoke Vineyard. Located on south-facing hillside bluffs, our estate vineyard benefits from excellent sun exposure – producing grapes with optimum flavor, color and tannin development. The heat generated during the day is moderated each evening by a marine fog layer (sea "smoke"), which travels up the Santa Ynez River canyon, cooling the vines and resulting in a longer ripening period.
 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Botella 2004
APPELLATION: Santa Rita Hills
COMPOSITION: 100% Pinot Noir (Grown exclusively on Sea Smoke's Estate Vineyard)
The 2004 Botella is dark ruby in color and has a bright, fruit forward nose: cherries, cola, wild berries and exotic spices meld beautifully together. This wine is lively, yet sophisticated on the palate. A broad mouth is followed with rich, chewy tannins and a pleasingly long, crisp finish.
Rated 93 Wine Spectator
2004 Sea Smoke ‘Botella’ Pinot Noir
Grapes were hand-sorted and gently de-stemmed with no crushing; ‘jack stems’ were removed by hand. The must was cold-soaked in open-top fermenters for one to four days (depending upon the lot), then inoculated with a cultured yeast to begin a slow fermentation. Each tank was manually punched down one to three times per day over a period of 10 to 14 days. Upon completion of primary fermentation, and the desired number of maceration days, all free-run wine was transferred to tank for settling. Pressing was done at extremely low pressure (0.08 bars) to avoid extracting bitterness from the seeds. After settling overnight, both the free-run and the press wines were racked cleanly to separate barrel lots. The final blend includes lots that expressed lovely, elevated fruit tones and a balanced acid/tannin profile. The wine was aged for 18 months in 40 percent new French oak barrels and was bottled without filtration.
Napa Valley
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