Over the weekend, I opened a bottle of the 2005 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir, just an incredible wine. I will write about it in the near future. The wine maker for Sea Smoke is Kris Curran. Though she makes only Pinot Noirs for Sea Smoke, she has her own label where she makes other wines.
Kris Curran started her own label, Curran, in 1997. She started out with Pinot Noir but it did not work out as she could not obtain the quality of grapes she sought. So, she chose a few different varietals instead, including Syrah, Sangiovese and Grenache Blanc. She sources the grapes from premium vineyards in the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley.
When I bought some Sea Smoke from Domaine547, I also decided to buy some Curran wines. I figured that if Kris Curran could do so well with Sea Smoke, then her other wines were probably quality wines as well. I bought some of her Curran Syrah, Sangiovese and Grenache Blanc.
As I was having Chicken Parmigiana for dinner, I decided to try a bottle of the 2004 Curran Sangiovese ($30). This wine has an alcohol content of 14.5%. The grapes for this wine come from the Rogun Vineyard, planted exclusively for Kris. This half-acre vineyard is located in the warm, eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley. The wine is aged in new French oak for about two years and then for another six months in the bottle.
This wine has a dark red color and a spicy nose. On the palate, it is full bodied and a taste of blackberries, ripe plums and smoky spices. There is a bit of vanilla as well. It has a long finish, the smokiness lingering on your palate. It is a well balanced wine with moderate tannins. It is a wine that should be drank with food and paired well with the spicy Ariabatta sauce on my Chicken Parmigiana.
I very much enjoyed this wine and would recommend it as a Drink & Buy.
4 comments:
Richard, thanks for this review of the sangiovese, which I haven't had. I love Curran's grenache blanc, which I think is a textbook example of the varietal characteristics and oh so good. Will definitely put this one on my wish list.
Good to know that you enjoy her Grenache Blanc. I did buy a bottle of that as well and have not tasted it yet. Have you had Curran's Syrah? I have a couple bottles of that as well that I have not tasted.
Richard, your tasting notes are really good. Maybe even better than ours...maybe we can quote you!
Thanks Jill. Though I enjoy your tasting notes and think they are informative. Feel free though to quote me or put a link to my review.
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