An elegant, vibrant expression of Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir from the celebrated team at Sea Smoke. The 2024 Botella emphasizes freshness and immediate appeal, showing bright red fruit, aromatic herbs and beautifully integrated French oak.
Named for the mineral-rich Botella soils found around the Sea Smoke estate and elsewhere in the Sta. Rita Hills, this cuvée is sourced from exceptional neighboring vineyards. Earlier harvesting, gentler extraction and shorter barrel maturation distinguish Botella from Sea Smoke's more powerful Estate Pinot Noirs, creating a wine of purity, energy and finesse.
Producer: Sea Smoke
Wine: Botella Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2024
Region: Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County, California
Country: USA
Grape: Pinot Noir
Style: Dry Red Wine
Alcohol: 14.5%
Oak: 12 months in French oak, 30% new
pH: 3.47
Acidity: 5.9 g/L
Nose: Bright and expressive, opening with fresh raspberry and red cherry, followed by aromatic chaparral and savory bouquet garni. Subtle vanilla bean and a delicate touch of toffee provide additional complexity.
Palate: Silky and energetic, with juicy red cherry and raspberry fruit at its core. The wine combines generous Pinot Noir fruit with fresh acidity, herbal nuances, and restrained oak, creating an attractive balance between richness and freshness.
Structure: Medium to full-bodied with polished tannins and vibrant Sta. Rita Hills acidity. The relatively restrained use of new French oak allows the fruit and cool-climate character to remain at the forefront.
Finish: Elegant and persistent, with lingering red fruit, herbs, subtle vanilla, and gentle spice.
Botella represents a different side of Sea Smoke.
While the estate's celebrated Southing and Ten Pinot Noirs are structured for greater concentration and extended aging, Botella is deliberately crafted to be brighter, fresher, and more immediately expressive.
The grapes are sourced from vineyards neighboring the Sea Smoke estate in the Sta. Rita Hills, one of California's most distinctive cool-climate Pinot Noir regions.
Individual vineyard blocks are fermented separately with gentle cap management. Compared with Sea Smoke's Estate wines, Botella sees earlier picking, less time on the skins, shorter barrel aging and less new French oak, all intended to preserve aromatic freshness and purity.
The 2024 was matured for 12 months in French oak, of which only 30% was new.
The result is unmistakably Sea Smoke in its polish and precision, but with a wonderfully approachable personality.
The 2024 Botella Pinot Noir shows a particularly attractive combination of ripe red fruit and freshness.
Sea Smoke's own tasting notes highlight raspberry, red cherry, chaparral, bouquet garni, vanilla bean, and toffee.
The vintage has also received early critical recognition, including 95 Points and Editors' Choice from Wine Enthusiast, which praised its combination of crisp red-fruit aromatics with a richer palate of cherry, blood orange peel and eucalyptus.
Drink now–2034
Botella is deliberately produced for earlier enjoyment than Sea Smoke's more structured Estate Pinot Noirs and is already highly expressive.
Enjoy now for its vibrant red fruit and aromatic freshness, or cellar for approximately 5–8 years to allow the fruit, herbs, and oak to develop additional savory complexity.
Serve slightly cool at approximately 55–60°F / 13–16°C.
A short 20–30 minute decant will help the wine open when enjoyed young.
A wonderfully versatile Pinot Noir for the table.
Excellent with roasted duck breast, grilled salmon, roast chicken, pork tenderloin, mushroom risotto, truffle dishes, grilled tuna, roasted root vegetables and soft-ripened cheeses.
Its combination of bright acidity, red fruit and savory herbs makes it particularly well suited to dishes where a heavier California Pinot Noir might overwhelm the food.
For lovers of Sea Smoke Southing and Ten, Botella offers a fascinating contrast: the same commitment to precision and Sta. Rita Hills character expressed through a fresher, more immediately approachable style.
Bright. Silky. Aromatic. Distinctively Sta. Rita Hills.
