2009 Sea Smoke "One Barrel" Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
From the winery: "Each year we select the best barrel of our estate-grown Pinot Noir; every bottle of ‘One Barrel’ produced is from that single, special barrel. It is a unique combination of vintage, vineyard location, Pinot Noir clone and barrel cooper —never to be repeated. Two hundred and eighty prized bottles, from One Barrel."
A friend opened this wine for me. I had tasted Sea Smoke Pinot before, mostly “Ten”’s I think, but I had never even heard of this one. I believe it’s offered only to certain members of the mailing list, and then only one bottle at that. Nose is dominated by notes of eucalyptus and menthol with some fresh herbs tossed in for good measure. Pleasant enough palate of black cherry and cola. Decent finish. Not bad, but I can think of better Pinot to acquire for $150 a bottle (Marcassin, CIRQ and Boar’s View come to mind), and several that I would consider better for half that price (see Ferren and Kosta Browne for example). A well made wine. Simply not worth the price of admission for me.
— 6 years ago
A nice Pinot from the Mondavi's. Dead ringer with Cirq. — 7 years ago
Deliciously fruit forward. Probably peaking. — 4 months ago
Much different than any California Pinot I’ve ever had. Dark ruby. Nose ripe red fruit. Great balance and flavors that blend well, cherry ?chocolate. — 7 years ago
Needed some Pinot for the braised short ribs - but not the whole bottle. So we did a twofer and enjoyed the surplus while it cooked. I miss the old Cirq so this is the next best thing. Very ripe and bursting fruit. An immediate wine but not treacly or overwrought. It’s definitely a new world in your face PN but it’s never less than a treat. Also it never takes long to finish. — 10 months ago
Fruit forward, bright cherry notes, beautiful nose and legs. Highly extracted and wonderful mouth feel. A stunner. — 6 years ago
2014 Kosta Browne Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. Frighteningly good! (Get it? You know, Halloween? Never mind) The Santa Lucia has become one of my favorites from KB. Beautiful bright garnet color. Spicy aromatics of berries, wild flowers and anise. Honeyed fresh ripened black cherries and Dr Pepper (in a good way) on the palate. A mushroomy, sandalwood, herbaceous, forest floor component lurking in the shadows Vibrant and powerful. Good acidity. I don’t understand the professional reviews that describe this Wine as “light-bodied.” What am I missing? Maybe because the grapes come from the coolest region of KB’s three appellation level Pinots? In any event, I think I prefer it to the Russian River and Sonoma Coast bottlings. Don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by a KB. Along with CIRQ, Marcassin and Ferren, my favorite Pinots. My best to Dan Kosta after the devastating fires. — 7 years ago
joe mama
Not sure purist pinot people would like as much but great black cherry with just enough acidity to balance..really enjoyable — 2 months ago