Sea Smoke, Sta. Rita Hills (Santa Barbara County, California) Pinot Noir 2017

 Critics often joke about having to commit infanticide on occasion to be able to produce useful information for consumers on wines in the current marketplace that are not necessarily intended for near term consumption.  This wine falls into said category.  Don’t misunderstand – it’s quite something now, but more importantly, it has a brilliant future ahead as the carefully selected oak folds into the rich dark fruit mix.  Seductively blended from ten different clones, it’s a deeply textured wine that will please for years to come.