- 2002 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills (5/13/2007)
We treated this wine to a stay in the decanter for about an hour or so before we drank it, where it showed a blood red color.
In the glass it seemed more ruby colored - lighter than it looked in the decanter.
It was still tight at dinner time - the nose lacked the aromatics I'd remembered from previous tries. With time and swirling it began to open up - I get iron or steel and a minerally note, but the oak treatment asserts itself as well, and reminds me of walking into a roomful of barrels of fermenting wine.
With a taste I find heat, both on the mid palate and the finish - just enough to notice. The wine has heft and richness - lots of dark berries and a hint of chocolate. The longer the wine stays in the glass, the better and more complex it seems to get.
Though this isn't my favorite style of wine, I enjoyed this bottle and it has a place in my cellar.
I'm guessing that the wine could use some more time in the bottle, or a longer decant.
If I were assigning points , I'd put it in the very good to excellent bracket, just short of outstanding, so maybe 89. I'm not really all that comfortable with the points thing.
Posted from CellarTracker