Santa Rita Hills

Sea Smoke has long produced very good and unique Pinot Noir coming from a scant few miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. The ubiquitous fog that covers the mountains helps to grow Pinot in its naturally desired cool environment. What results out of this for Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is that Sea Smoke is more on the darker fruit side and carries an earthy quality that an abundance of Santa Barbara Pinot Noir does not.

This Pinot Noir drinks like Santa Barbara with a little bit of Oregon. The cool climate of the Santa Rita Hills allows for the development of pomegranate, rhubarb, black cherry, and green and black tea leaves, while its earthiness and minerality are the best attributes of Oregon Pinot Noir. Here the Southing, which has matured greatly over the years, stands apart of the run of the mill Pinot Noir. If you’ve ever been to Santa Barbara you can see the layer of clouds that hug the mountains like a blanket. Underneath that blanket are the Sea Smoke vineyards that were planted 25 years ago.

Ordered off the list at Craig's in Hollywood, CA.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemon, lime, slight floral note and  slight  smoke.  Full bodied.  Creamy texture.  On the palate, this is dry as a bone.  Delicious.  Lemons with slight lime.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Very food friendly.  Went great with a Veggie Burger.  Drink over the next ten years.

Allowed to breathe for a couple hours before serving.  A blend of 97% Syrah, 2% Roussanne and 1% Viognier.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has boysenberries, roasted meats and roasted herbs, and some black pepper.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the boysenberries come thru with an underlying char.  This is deep with some complexity.  Not as intense or explosive as many of Manfred's wines but still a big wine.  15.5% abv but not noticeable on the nose or palate.  This is getting close to maturity but might still improve.  It drinks great on its own but will work with grilled or roasted veggie

Great showing for this wine.  A cooler climate style of Syrah.  Garnet in color, ruby at the rim.  Mostly clear and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, black pepper, black olives and slight char.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, black raspberries, some black cherries with underlying earthiness.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue to do so for another seven to ten years.  Nice on its own,  it should be better with food.  Chili or beef stew would be a nice choice.  

Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherry fruit and roasted herbs.  There is some depth on the palate.  Full bodied.  Black cherries, black raspberries with underlying char and pepper.  This comes across more cooler climate, that is (for Syrah) lean, sinewy but with power.  No doubt this will get better as it matures.  Maybe another five years to get closer to peak and drink for ten after than.  A nice match with Indian food.  

There are not a lot of great producers of Grenache in California, but there are a few who excel and at the top is Manfred Krankl and his Sine Qua Non wines.  At age 13, this is just hitting its stride and just outstanding.  A blend of 82% Grenache, 14% Syrah, 2% Viognier and 2% Roussanne.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, black raspberries, roasted meats and spices.  Full bodied.  15.8% abv but no heat.  On the palate, black cherries with some black raspberries over a bit of char.  Deep and powerful.  Delicious.  Long finish.  The kind of wine that