Drinking the 2004 Sea Smoke Ten Pinot Noir
The name “Sea Smoke” is highly evocative. When I hear this phrase, I imagine tendrils of fog slowly creeping across a dusky landscape of vineyards and cypress trees. I also remember the bottles of Sea Smoke Cellars wine that I have had in the past year or so, and the special occasions that correspond with those bottles. All of those occasions boil down to two things: dinner with good friends, and steak. Big, juicy steak. An unusual combination for typical Pinot Noir.
But Sea Smoke is no ordinary producer of Pinot Noir. After their shining moment in the movie Sideways, the good people at Sea Smoke had it made. Their lineup of three Pinot Noir releases (Botella, Southing, and Ten), plus their occasional Chardonnay release, has found serious acclaim and publicity. The wines themselves are delicious, fairly hard to obtain, and often talked about in the wine community. In essence, Sea Smoke has become a cult producer of American Pinot Noir, for better or worse.
This reputation as a cult winery is mostly deserved, in my opinion. At $28/bottle, the 2004 Botella was an absolute steal, and one of the best Pinot Noirs I’ve had. This wine is worth about $100/bottle at this point, which is excessive for a wine of which 1,200 cases were made. But this is how you know Sea Smoke is a cult winery: They generate aftermarket demand on a scale that would impress any small business owner. I had the pleasure of drinking the 2004 Botella on two separate occasions, at a steakhouse and at a Japanese restaurant, and the wine went much better with steak than with sashimi. Interesting. I do have to admit, though, that Botella and matsutake soup are an amazing combination.
I also had the 2004 Southing with steak. This wine was almost more like a Shiraz at first, with roast meat characteristics that I do not usually associate with Pinot Noir. But as a companion to beef tenderloin, this wine was outstanding, better even than the Cabernet Sauvignon we drank after we polished off the Southing bottles (all 4 of them). At $49/bottle and 2,400 cases made, the Southing has not escalated in aftermarket value like its brethren; you can find this wine for about $90/bottle or less at online stores, and recent auctions have seen this wine sell for under $60/bottle. I like this wine a lot, although as I said it really features a very different varietal character than most Pinot Noirs I have tried.
Until very recently, I had not yet tried the 2004 Ten. But since my friends and I were heading to The Metropolitan Grill for some steak, it seemed like the right time to crack open my lone bottle of Ten. How did it go? Quite well, I’d say:
- Aroma: At first, a lot of fruit and floral elements - red cherry and red plum with rose, vanilla, and spice. Over time, the bouquet shifted toward a cherry cola essence that was quite unexpected. Overall, the aroma seemed to be a finely focused blend of oak and fruit, with the emphasis on cherries and vanilla.
- Flavor: Rich, sumptuous, very full mouthfeel with well-integrated acid and tannic activity. Black cherry and blackberry dominate the flavor profile; very long finish on the palate. Very enjoyable and ready to drink now for sure.
- General impression: An interesting wine; I can see why people refer to this wine as something un-Pinotesque, although I thought it had strong Pinot Noir character to it. Is it worth over $200/bottle? I’ll leave that decision up to you. It is certainly worth the $69 I paid in 2006.
As I said, I had this wine at The Metropolitan Grill, where they just got in some 2005 Sea Smoke Ten. Their price of $170/bottle is actually a good value given the astronomical aftermarket pricing of previous vintages, although you can get the 2005 for under $85/bottle right now. The 2004 is obtainable at auction for about $120, which is still a decent value. However, for the price I would prefer to buy 2-3 bottles of Hirsch Pinot Noir, to be honest.
That said, the 2004 Ten is a terrific wine. I’d drink it again anytime. Unfortunately, I am unable to afford such luxuries, which is probably for the best. As my wife says, “It only makes you appreciate it more.” A very practical woman, my wife. Then again, she also loved this wine….