Sea Smoke "10" Pinot Noir Pinot Noir 2007

The broad, rich, deep ruby/purple-tinged 2002 Pinot Noir Ten offers up sweet black fruit, cola, and allspice aromas intermixed with discreet notes of wood and loamy soil. Full-bodied, pure, and impressively rich, with enough acidity and tannin to provide delineation, this powerful yet elegant, impeccably crafted beauty will drink well for 7-8 years. The designation "Ten" comes from the vineyard's ten different Pinot clones, which are blended together to create this cuvée.

Everybody liked the complexity and balance of this big wine. Opens with a blast of blackberry, cherry pie, smoky vanilla and molasses, leading to a very rich, full-bodied mouthfeel. Superextracted and tannic, but balanced and elegant nonetheless. Drink now through 2007.

The deep ruby/purple-tinged 2003 Pinot Noir Ten offers up stunning aromas of violets, creme de cassis, cherries, and flowers. It is an extraordinary wine that coats the palate with great viscosity, richness, and layers of flavor. There is a seamless integration of wood, acidity, tannin, and alcohol. A tour de force, this exquisite example of Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills should drink well for a decade. This wine was bottled about six weeks before I tasted it, which is usually a difficult period for many wines, even those bottled naturally. In any event, this up-and-coming Santa Barbara County producer demonstrates considerable potential.

(tasted from barrel shortly before bottling) Dark ruby-red. Deep aromas of plum and brown spices. Very ripe, roasted flavors of dark fruits, meat and minerals; wilder than the Botella and Southing. Offers good volume but the strong oak component currently dried the wine's finish. Winemaker Kris Curran isolates the Ten juice first: this wine contains all ten of the winery's pinot clones and is aged in all new barrels. I could not help but wonder if these wines would be even better for an earlier bottling.

Good saturated deep red. Dark raspberry and musky espresso on the oaky nose. Juicy, form and structured but also satisfyingly fat and sweet, with a finer grain and a higher pitch than the Southing. Still, the mocha and chocolate flavors show an almost Rhône-like ripeness. finishes with substantial but soft tannins and a positive dryness. This should benefit from a year or two of cellaring.

A classy effort, darkly colored, with high-toned aromas of cedar, plum and blackberry, this sleek, complex Pinot wins points for its excellent structure and long, expansive aftertaste that keeps revealing extra flavor nuances, finishing with firm, chocolaty tannins. Drink now through 2009.

Riveting aromas, intense,vivid yet elegant and supple, with rich blueberry, huckleberry and wild berry flavors that unfold gracefully, gaining complexity, depth and nuance. The flavors reveal a wonderful fresh earth and mineral edge on the finish. Drink now through 2011.