Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Ten 2004

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12 Reviews

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Winery:

Sea Smoke Cellars

Varietal:

Pinot Noir

Region:

USA > California > Santa Barbara > Santa Rita Hills

Type:

Red Wine

Color:

Drink Dates:

Drink Now - 2019

UPC:

 

User Tags:  color descriptors, berry, rich, fruit, pinot, big, bramble fruits, oak, spices, stone fruits 

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What to Expect

California has long struggled with Pinot Noir. Finding the right vineyards for this most fickle of grape, one that enjoys a cool growing season yet needs warmth close to harvest to fully ripen, has proven a challenge in such a sunny state. Cooler areas eventually became identified; the Santa Rita Hills, Russian River Valley and Mendocino's Anderson valley are all prime spots for Pinot Noir in California. Unlike the lighter colored and sometimes delicate Pinots of Burgundy, California produces many rich, deep Pinots full of slightly chewy dark berry and cherry fruits with hints of cola, Asian spices and forest floor frequently adding complexity.

Winemakers Notes

APPELLATION: Santa Rita Hills
COMPOSITION: 100% Pinot Noir (Grown exclusively on Sea Smoke's Estate Vineyard)
VINTAGE DETAILS: The 2004 growing season was quite a relief after a challenging 2003. Early spring and light mid-summer rains provided a bit of welcome soil moisture, while gentle but unseasonably warm breezes saw us through a lovely flowering period. The predictable Santa Rita Hills afternoon marine fog (sea ‘smoke’) then prevailed throughout the summer ripening period - until a surprise heat wave over Labor Day weekend compelled us to begin harvesting read more...our blocks on Riparia Gloire rootstock. The harvest season then proceeded at a more relaxed pace and finished near the end of September.
WINEMAKING: 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 16 plus days; some tanks underwent a longer maceration period of up to 28 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 favored lots with high extraction and intensity of flavor. The wine was aged for 18 months in 100 percent new French oak barrels and was bottled without filtration.
TASTING NOTES: Ten is a darkly colored and substantial wine. It is slow to develop in the glass, ultimately revealing aromas of dark plum, black cherry and currants, along with notes of cedar and a hint of earthiness. Remarkably rich in texture, the wine maintains good balance across the palate and culminates in a firm, but velvety finish. We recommend decanting this wine thirty to sixty minutes prior to drinking, particularly if consumed before 2008.
TECHNICAL NOTES Alcohol
pH
Total Acidity
Brix at Harvest 14.5% by volume
3.54
0.61g/100ml
25.4
RELEASE DATE: May 2006    (hide)

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