2009 Southing Pinot Noir

Sea Smoke’s 2009 Pinot Noir Southing is gorgeous. It possesses striking textural depth and finesse. Juicy dark cherries, spices and flowers take shape beautifully as the wine fleshes out in the glass. The finish turns a bit fleeting as floral elements become more pronounced, but this is still a very pretty, nuanced Pinot. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. It had been a few years since I last tasted the Sea Smoke wines, so I was curious to check out these current releases. At their best, the Sea Smoke Pinots offer gorgeous textural richness, depth and personality. I have to say that Sea Smoke’s recent decision to add the words “California Grand Cru” to their labels is preposterous and blatantly self-serving, since the term means absolutely nothing. Moreover, this invented designation has the potential to be immensely deceiving to consumers who don’t know there is no classification – formal or informal – when it comes to California’s vineyards. A formal classification is a worthy objective. Perhaps it will one day be a reality. But if it does happen, it certainly won’t be up to wineries to classify their vineyards for us. Tel. (805) 737-1600; www.seasmoke.com

Deep violet color. Intense, oak-spiced aromas of dark berries, cherry liqueur, potpourri and woodsmoke. Deeply pitched black raspberry and cherry cola flavors show good breadth, surprising vivacity and a silky texture (this has a low pH of 3.3, by the way), with notes of candied lavender and sassafras coming up with aeration. In a ripe but energetic style, finishing with very good cling and lingering spiciness.