Sea Smoke Estate Ten Pinot Noir 2023

Alcohol: 14.5%

Grape(s): 100% Pinot Noir

Location:  Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, Central Coast, California

Tasting Notes: A brooding and intense wine. The aromas begin with notes of blueberry, cassis, a hint of lavender followed by a myriad of exotic spices, some hazelnut, thyme and an element of licorice. Firm, mature tannins—evidence of Ten's ageability—are followed by a long, velvety finish.

Notes: 16 months in 56% New French Oak. Hand-harvested clusters were sorted in the vineyard and then gently destemmed following an evening in our cold room. All ‘jack stems’ were removed on the sorting table. Musts were cold-soaked in open-top fermenters for five days, and then inoculated with cultured yeasts to begin slow fermentation. Each tank was manually punched down 2 times per day, with a total maceration time of 16 to 28 days. Upon completion of primary fermentation and maceration, all free run wine was transferred to tank for settling, and then pressed at extremely low pressure (0.08 bars) to avoid extracting bitterness. After settling overnight both free- run and press wines were racked to barrels. Ten was bottled with no fining and no filtration.

Winery Story: Sea Smoke was founded in 1999 with the purchase of a rare and magical property in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA north of Santa Barbara that had long been coveted by local winemakers and growers for its clear potential as a site capable of producing extraordinary Pinot Noir & Chardonnay. This incredible piece of land would become Sea Smoke’s estate vineyards and in 2001 our first vintage was released to wide acclaim, instantly cementing Sea Smoke’s status as one of the top producers of Pinot Noir in California. In the pursuit of coaxing the best possible expressions of Pinot Noir from our estate vineyard, we began farming organically in 2005 while also applying the principles of biodynamic farming to a portion of the estate.

Over the next ten years, we employed biodynamic farming practices across our estate vineyards and today we continue to farm organically and biodynamically while pushing into the realm of regenerative agriculture. Today, our portfolio is comprised of three estate Pinot Noirs: Grand, Ten and Southing; an estate Chardonnay; and Sparkling, “Sea Spray” that, together, express the full range and singular quality of our estate terroir.