2005 Sea Smoke Southing

Popped and poured at Berserkerfest 2.5 tonight, and brought by Dan H.  This showed a little bit better than the ’05 we had back in February, but still needs some time.  Hints of black cherry, and dark black and blue fruits on the nose, with some smokiness, spice, and sweet vanilla. 

On the palate, this seemed a bit tight at first, but opened up nicely over the course of the night.  On the palate, nice cherry, hints of cola and spice dominated, but the wine was still tight at first.  There didn’t seem to be all that much heat on the finish, and the tannins seemed to be pretty well integrated.  Even so, this is another hold wine for me for the next 2-5 years before I think the fruit shows really nicely.  Even so, this definitely opened up nicely over the course of the evening, and unlike the ’06, there wasn’t a drop left at the end of the night.  91 points.