Happy Hour Wine Tasting Featuring Kelley Fox, Bethel Heights and Foxen Winery Thursday, August 22nd 6:00pm
A mind of the caliber of mine cannot derive its nutriment from cows. - George Bernard Shaw on wine
We like cows but we like wine better!
It’s crazy that summer is almost over an that means only a few more Happy Hour wine tastings at the wine bar. This tasting will feature two of the top wineries from the Willamette Valley and one of the iconic wineries from Southern California.
Bethel Heights has been around since 1977 and has become one of the landmark wineries of the Eola Amity ava of the Willamette Valley. We have been big fans of this winery and have hosted several events over the years with the Casteel family. If you are traveling to wine country in Oregon we highly recommend a visit to their tasting room as it is one of the best experiences we had on our last visit to Oregon wine country.
Kelley Fox is one of the new kids on the block compared to Bethel Heights they started in 2007 and have managed to source some of the best vineyards available and have an incredible portfolio of wines.
And then there is Foxen Winery from the Santa Barbera area of Southern California. Bill Wathen and Dick Doré (also known as the “Foxen Boys”) have been making wine together since 1985, when they founded Foxen Winery & Vineyard at the historic Rancho Tinaquaic in northern Santa Barbara County. Their wines have become some of the most sought after in the region and we love their slogan, “If you don't know Foxen, you don't know Dick”.
Join us as we experience some incredible wines from all three of these producers specializing in chardonnay and pinot noir but we also have some other varietals on the table tonight along with some tasty treats from Toni. This is one of the last Happy Hour wine tastings of the summer. The fee for this tasting is $75 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
Happy Hour Wine Tasting Featuring Kelley Fox, Bethel Heights and Foxen Winery
Thursday, August 22, 2024
6:00 PM
2020 Kelley Fox Willamette Blanc
2019 Kelley Fox Chardonnay Durant Vineyard Lark Block Dundee Hills
2023 Kelley Fox Chardonnay Willamette Valley
2022 Kelley Fox Wines Pinot Noir Mirabai Willamette Valley
2018 Kelley Fox Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Dundee Hills
2021 Kelley Fox Wines Carter Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills
2022 Bethel Heights Chardonnay Estate Eola Amity
2014 Bethel Heights Chardonnay Casteel Willamette Valley Magnum
2022 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Aeolian Eola Amity Hills
2019 Bethel Heights Justice Vineyard Pinot Noir Eola Amity Hills
2020 Foxen Chenin Blanc Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard Santa Maria
2020 Foxen Vineyard & Winery Chardonnay Block UU Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
2019 Foxen Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
2019 Foxen Syrah Williamson-Doré Vineyard Los Olivos District
Menu
Avocado Tartar Served on Parmesan Toast
King Salmon in Fried Wonton with Hoisin Sauce
Pizza with Goat Cheese, Balsamic, Bacon and Figs
Beef Sliders with Gruyere and Truffle Mushroom Aioli
Chicken Quesadilla with Avocado Cilantro Sour Creme
The fee for this tasing is $75 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
A bit about the wineries at the tasting tonight and a complete list of wines available.
Anyone who avers that New World Pinot cannot match Burgundy for finesse and complexity has clearly never tried anything from this small, impressively consistent producer. Kelley Fox Wines is a small winery created in 2007 along with her father, Gerson "Gus" Stearns. The first vintage (2007) started with just over 100 cases. The annual case production is now between 2700 and 3000 cases, all from the historic Maresh Vineyard, the Demeter-certified biodynamic Momtazi Vineyard (both since the beginning) along with Hyland (1988 Coury Clone Pinot), Freedom Hill (barrel-fermented Pinot blanc), and beginning in 2018, Weber (1983 and 1988 Pinot), and Durant Vineyard (Chardonnay). Both Weber and Durant are family owned and farmed old vine vineyards in the Dundee Hills.
Kelley has been a full-time, year-round, on-the-floor Oregon Pinot noir winemaker since 2000. Her education includes a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Biology from Texas AM University. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with dual degrees in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Oregon State University and was admitted to the PhD program in Biochemistry.
Before completing her doctorate, She changed my path to pursue winemaking. Kelley learned winemaking not from a classroom or textbooks or from other regions, but directly from Oregon winemakers who had put in some serious time. She was deeply influenced by her dear friend and former employer, the late David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards. David was the ultimate iconoclast who pioneered the Oregon wine industry in the 1960’s.
Kelley’s winemaking experience includes Torii Mor, Hamacher, and Eyrie, and ten years as winemaker at Scott Paul Wines (August 2005 to about mid-April 2015). kelley now happily work for her own winery exclusively.
Starting with the harvest of 2019, Kelley is producing her wines at the winery of dear, longtime friends, Ann and Dean Fisher of ADEA Wine Compa.
The wines are made to reflect the land, the vines, the fruit of the vines, the year, and everything else unknown and unseen that comes with those things. They are Oregon wines, and hopefully, they are wines specifically of their vineyards. That said, the wines are not really "made" at all. She has no end result in mind each year for the what the wines will be. Kelley is not Pygmalion. What she is doing still takes a lot of inner and outer work- by responding to the essence of the fruit from each block, which is carrying the essence of the earth that bore it, along with the details of the year ( the weather, the stars and the planets, etc. etc.).
In the spirit of not being heavy and serious, the wine label honours the pariah of Oregon Pinot: the humble and mysterious earwig. While they are certainly not pests, these persistent little creatures sometimes dwell between the berries inside the grape clusters here. They can live inside the must for an impossibly long time, too. Kelley is always tring to rescue them when doing pigeage, and has developed quite an admiration and genuine affection for them. There is no deeper meaning. The label was designed by Peter Ballman.
2020 Kelley Fox Willamette Blanc
Price: $31.50 Your Price: $27.72 Quantity in Stock: 7
The Willamette Blanc 2020 is made from 70% blanc de noir old vine Weber Vineyard Pinot and 30% Chardonnay from three vineyards that in any other year would have been bottled as single vineyard wines of place. Many grower Champagnes that I have enjoyed over the years have been Pinot and Chardonnay, and while this bottling has no bubbles, it’s delicious. Andy Humphrey, my dear friend, cosmic steward, and vineyard manager of Weber, was incredibly generous and supportive during what was for me, a very difficult vintage requiring a lot of pivoting, and he picked my blocks 3 tons per day over 5 days in order to accommodate my smaller wine press and to help Stephanie and I whole cluster press a lot of Weber Pinot that would otherwise be produced as a red wine. All of the Pinot and Chardonnay in this bottling were pressed immediately after picking to avoid any skin contact.
The Willamette Blanc is a brilliantly transparent, very light rose-gold colour. One can easily see that this is a blanc de noir! It is not a rosé. The nose smells of fresh oceanic air, sweet rain and minerals. There are touches of citrus, blossoms, and strawberry, and it is a solid everyday “farmhouse” table wine.
The beautiful souls of these farms are very much alive in this wine-just not in high relief like in my single vineyard bottlings. I’m very happy about this wine, and I love the racy acidity. Sometimes it reminds me of a still blanc de noir with a classic brioche finish that I have often tasted in grower Champagnes. If I had the means, I would have made this a sparkling wine!
2022 Kelley Fox Nerthus Willamette Valley
Price: $25.00 Your Price: $22.00
I’m excited to offer you this delicious wine made of 34% Early Muscat, 34% Pinot gris, 18% Riesling, and 14% Pinot blanc. This year, I decided to whole cluster press all of the fruit at picking except for a couple of fermenters of skin-contact Pinot gris (one pigeage per day, pressed at dryness). Because of the timing of picks this year, each component was fermented separately, and the final wine was blended after all wines were finished. It was allowed to complete malolactic fermentation. Élevage was in stainless tanks until bottling.
This Nerthus is brilliant, transparent pale peach in colour with hints of pale pink. It’s visually very pleasing and the nose and mouth are even more so. The nose is full of fresh peach and honeysuckle notes along with powdery minerality. Though bone dry, there is mouth-watering peach character that is carried nicely by the refreshing acidity and lovely texture. This alpine-fresh wine is a real joybringer. It feels like spring, and I wholeheartedly enjoy making this wine every year.
Appellation: Willamette Valley A.V.A.
Picking Dates: Early Muscat, two sources: franc de pied vines planted in 1982 at Eola Springs Vineyard (7 October) and Willig Vineyard (29 September). Durant Vineyard Pinot gris (1993): 7 October. Weber Vineyard Pinot Gris (franc de pied 1983): 14 October. Resplendor Vineyard Pinot blanc: 22 October. Barnes Vineyard Riesling: 30 October
2023 Kelley Fox Chardonnay Willamette Valley
Price: $30.00 Your Price: $26.40
2023 is the third vintage of this Chardonnay bottling produced from a vineyard I love and respect tremendously: Freedom Hill Vineyard. Because these vines are young, I’ve put them in a label drawn by my younger daughter, Violet, depicting a snowy owl about to light onto a Western hemlock branch. As these vines mature, they will increasingly transmit the unique place on earth that they are in relationship with.
Beautiful pale lemon yellow in appearance, this Chardonnay is brilliant and transparent in the glass. The nose has hints of vanilla along with creamy tropical fruits, mixed citrus, and soft minerals. These delicious fruits are perfectly balanced by its fresh acidity. The mouth mirrors the nose, and the texture and finish are silky and pleasing. I hope you enjoy this Chardonnay as much as I do!
2018 Kelley Fox Chardonnay Durant Vineyard Lark Block Dundee Hills
Price: $43.50 Your Price: $38.28 Quantity in Stock: 14
Next to Domaine Drouhins estate vineyard planted in 1971, ancient Marine soils surrounded by Jory soils and this is the first vintage of Dijon Clone 76 fermented in concrete amphora and then racked to neutral French barrels only 240 cases produced annually and this wine has a beautiful nose of white flowers, briny mineral highlights with fresh green apple and lemon citrus fruit, a long complex finish with tongue tingly minerality lingering through the finish. Finish 45+ Most Excellent
2019 Kelley Fox Chardonnay Durant Vineyard Lark Block Dundee Hills
Price: $45.00 Your Price: $39.60 Quantity in Stock: 24
This Chardonnay is the very first for Kelley Fox Wines (though not for me as an Oregon winemaker). These beautiful, mature vines were planted in 1991 on a gentle, east-facing slope of ancient marine soil in the Dundee Hills. The Durant family started planting their vines on this farm in 1974, and have been living there and working there since. I don’t like talking much about clones, but I should write that these are Dijon 96-known in Burgundy for producing nervy, finely-balanced, and elegant wines. This wine was whole cluster pressed on the day of picking and then racked to two uterine-shaped concrete amphora tanks where they underwent primary fermentation naturally (no inoculation with yeasts).
The fermentations were very healthy, and took about two weeks or so to finish. When the wine was dry, the Durant Chardonnay was racked into neutral French oak barrels for élevage and malolactic fermention. The Durant 2018 is a pale lemon colour with the slightest hint of that yellow-green that newly unfurled leaves have at the beginning of spring. It is both brilliant and utterly transparent. The nose is full of minerality, citrus and a hint of Asian fruit.
The minerals and citrus continue in the mouth, and the acidity brings tension and suspension despite the richness one anticipates in the nose. The texture is lovely and long, and on this day as I write, it is a handsome kind of beautiful. I found the wine to open up a lot more on the second day after opening. Time in the bottle seems to be a good idea.
2021 Kelley Fox Wines 'Durant Vineyard' Lark Block Chardonnay, Dundee Hills, USA
Price: $48.00 Your Price: $42.24 Quantity in Stock: 2
The Kelley Fox Durant Vineyard Lark Block Chardonnay is pale, lemon-apricot, brilliant, and transparent. The nose begins with powdery minerals and fine notes of citrus and vanilla bean pods. The mouth is smooth and silky, and has racy acidity.
2022 Kelley Fox Wines Pinot Noir Mirabai Willamette Valley
Price: $45.00 Your Price: $39.60
the nose is beautifully perfumed. While there is (in its youth) a sense of fragility and nerviness, there is power that is more tensile in nature than in obvious structure or bulk. The Mirabai is an utterly transparent, light red with youthful, fuschia highlights at the edges. It is far deeper in flavor than the colour might suggest. It has the classic Maresh sun-warmed Hood strawberry and spice, with the classic Red Hills of Dundee silkiness, but this wine is fleet-footed, aerial, mercurial, and evokes flight, wind, and swift movement. Over time, this will likely be one of my most complex and age-worthy Mirabai’s to date.
After all of these years writing these kinds of notes and hoping to not have them sound like grocery store lists or to imprison my wines with my words, I have begun to sometimes include quotes from my friends who have tasted the wine in question.
2018 Kelley Fox Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Dundee Hills
Price: $85.50 Your Price: $75.24 Quantity in Stock: 16
Pretty nose with 50% whole cluster this vintage, with a nice hand of spice and red berry fruit very pure with some fresh earth here. Ripe strawberry and cranberry fruit with pommegranite with silky tannins and host of spice, earth and pretty floral notes with a long complex finish. Finish 45+ Most Excellent
2022 Kelley Fox Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Golden Crowned Sparrow Willamette Valley
Price: $97.50 Your Price: $85.80
Many years ago, while staying on the Maresh farm one night during harvest, I heard a songbird in one of Jim Maresh Sr.’s sequoias singing in minor keys just before first light. It took years to learn what this bird was. I had listened to countless songbird recordings to find it. Well, it was the Golden-Crowned sparrow. These lovely sparrows migrate south at night along the Pacific from Alaska and Western Canada in the fall.
The Maresh Golden is a medium, youthful and rich blue-red with brilliant transparency. Of course, the nose is full of Hood strawberries with the cool freshness of rain and the Pacific Ocean in the spring air, along with dark red cherries and spice. This beautifully structured wine has disarming purity and weightless power.
2022 Kelley Fox Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Liminal Willamette Valley
Price: $97.50 Your Price: $85.80
On the lighter side of medium true-red with blue overtones, this Maresh is captivating. The light plays all over it, and it is both utterly transparent yet impenetrable as always. When the bottle is just opened and poured into the glass, the nose begins with soft minerals and the classic Maresh Hood strawberries that are worthy of king’s treasure. There is a tiny bit of spice, too, perhaps from it being 100% whole cluster. As in past bottlings, once the wine is in the glass for a few minutes, there is a Pacific northwest ocean and rain-freshness and purity that makes me fall in love with Oregon for the millionth time since I moved here over 28 years ago. Still very young, there is a pleasing acidity appropriate for a serious, long-game Pinot. This Maresh bottling comes from not only my beloved Long Rows (40%) and Old Block (40%) in which I do the biodynamic sprays and canopy management personally, but also Block 1 (20%), farmed by Jim Maresh Senior, who is now over 90 years old and still farming the beautiful land that he and his late wife, Loie, planted together in 1970. My first Maresh Vineyard bottling in 2007 came entirely from Block 1. All of these blocks are self-rooted and were planted in 1970. The total production was seven barrels. This is a queen of a wine with exquisite, silky texture and an unforgettable finish.
2022 Kelley Fox Pinot Noir Durant Vineyard Willamette Valley
Price: $99.00 Your Price: $87.12
The Durant 2022 is medium-dark, youthful, rich ruby-red with beautiful light and transparency. It has the classic Dundee Hills nose of perfectly sun-ripe Oregon strawberries and subtle spices along with soft minerals. The mouth is the same, with a delicious sappiness and luxe texture without the heaviness. The structure is there in a way that is more pixelated than linear at the time of this tasting. Long finish. The Durant has the energy of full spring just into early summer: full of life. There should be a tarot card with a picture of this late spring queen all surrounded by Oregon strawberries and bluebird skies with puffy clouds and the feeling of building abundance.
2021 Kelley Fox Wines Pinot Noir Canary Vineyard Willamette Valley
Price: $97.50 Your Price: $85.80 Quantity in Stock: 12
Winemaker Notes: The Canary Hill 2021 is medium, rich, youthful ruby-red with brilliant transparency. You can tell right away that this is Eola-Amity and not Dundee: it’s darker and more structured. It has quiet power and noblesse. The nose is amazing and full of blackberries, freshness, and minerals. There is such purity in this one. The mouth is delicious and is full of red and blue berries and cherries with spice-and it’s cool and refreshing- the farthest thing from being fruit-bomb-ish. It has exciting tension and a long, gorgeous finish. I love the frame on this wine. A real beauty.
2021 Kelley Fox Wines Weber Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills
Price: $97.50 Your Price: $85.80
This is my third Pinot produced from Weber Vineyard, a beautiful vineyard just down Worden Hill Road from Maresh Vineyard that I have prized for a very long time. The vines in this block were planted in 1983 on their own roots. Strong, old Oregon oak trees and towering old maples guard the southern part of my block for this wine, while the eastern border of my block is a wild, mixed forest filled with unseen songbirds singing during the light hours. The Weber 2021 is a medium, youthful, and rich tone of red with brilliant transparency. The classic Dundee Hills nose is pure-fruited, inviting, and full red and blue berries and subtle spices. The mouth has beautiful, silken texture full of strawberries and raspberries. It has nice acidity and fine structure that has a long, silky, and weightless finish. When I wrote these notes, this wine felt like it should be in a fairy tale.
2021 Kelley Fox Wines Carter Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, USA
Price: $90.00 Your Price: $79.20 Quantity in Stock: 12
(93 points) " Magenta in color, the 2021 Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard is spicy with dusty dried cherries and strawberries complemented by hints of lavender and clove. Seductively round yet full of energy, the 2021 rushes the palate with masses of tart wild berry fruit and mineral tones guided by juicy acidity. This finishes with remarkable freshness, only lightly tannic, with a pleasant tannic crunch framing the experience beautifully." Vinous
2021 Kelley Fox Wines Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA
Price: $93.00 Your Price: $81.84 Quantity in Stock: 10
(98 points) "The 2021 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard is super-expressive and hits on all cylinders, with electric energy throughout. Aromatically, it’s layered with notes of pine needles, wild cherry, and fresh medicinal herbs, and on the palate, it offers ripe, supple tannins and an outstanding finish. It’s going to have a very wide drinking window over the next 10-15 years." Wine Enthusiast
United by their interest in wine, in 1977 Ted Casteel, Pat Dudley, Terry Casteel, and Marilyn Webb abandoned the academic life and, together with Pat’s sister Barbara Dudley, bought 75 promising-looking acres northwest of Salem, with 14 acres of newly planted cuttings in the ground. They moved to the vineyard in 1978 (except Barbara, who was in California working as a lawyer for farmworkers with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board) and started a new life. In 1979 they cleared and planted 36 more acres. In 1981 they harvested their first crop and started home winemaking in Terry’s basement. In 1984 Bethel Heights produced their first commercial vintage of 3000 cases: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Gewurztraminer, all Estate Grown.
For the first thirty years Ted was responsible for managing the vineyards and Terry made the wine. Pat and Marilyn shared responsibilities for marketing and business management. Over thirty years they grew their wine production to 10,000 cases, and made common cause with our fellow pioneers to establish the Willamette Valley as the home of New World Pinot Noir.
Meanwhile, five cousins grew up knowing the tidy rows and wild hidden places of Bethel Heights as their backyard playground, science lab and adventure park. Now they have taken their places as co-owners, co-workers, and stewards of this place.
In 2005 Ben Casteel (son of Terry and Marilyn) took over from his father as Winemaker at Bethel Heights. In 2007 Jon Casteel (second son of Terry and Marilyn) launched Casteel Custom Bottling, a mobile bottling company that serves wineries throughout Oregon, including Bethel Heights of course. Mimi Casteel (daughter of Ted and Pat) worked with the family at Bethel Heights until 2017 when she started farming her own vineyard at Hope Well and launched her Hope Well Wine project. Jessie Casteel grew up among the vines at Bethel Heights, but now lives in Chicago. Jessie brings a creative outlier perspective to the direction of the family business and serves as our ambassador in Chicago and points east.
So where did the name Bethel Heights came from? They found the answer in a small booklet written in 1941 by John E. Smith called Bethel, Polk County, Oregon. According to Smith, “One of the earliest settlers in this vicinity was Rev. Glen O. Burnett who came to Oregon in 1846 and built his house half a mile or so north of the present location of Bethel School. To the heights eastward, he gave the name ‘Bethel Hills’, Bethel being the name of the church in Missouri that he had recently served as pastor.”
The property now known as Bethel Heights Vineyard was originally platted in 1909 and recorded under the name Bethel Heights Walnut Groves. A number of the original walnut trees and their children still flourish around the edges of the vineyard.
Since 1984, both the Estate Pinot Noir and Estate Chardonnay have been the most transparent statement of Bethel Heights terroir that they produce, the sum of all its parts. Old vine storytelling delivered with tension and energy – these wines are the foundation of this producer and a statement to the terroir of their vineyards.
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY ESTATE EOLA AMITY
Price: $33.75 Your Price: $29.70
(93 Points) The 2022 Chardonnay Estate opens with scents of seashells, citrus blossoms and beeswax, and its flinty undertones are well integrated. The light-bodied palate is very energetic! Its flavors are deeper and more honeyed than the nose leads you to believe, and its taut acidity contributes to a shimmery feel on the finish. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The fruit was whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented in neutral 500L oak puncheons, traditional 228 L barrels, and one 3000L foudre (a big oval shaped oak tank). The new wine was aged on the lees with complete malolactic fermentation, and bottled after eleven months in barrelThe fruit was whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented in neutral 500L oak puncheons, traditional 228 L barrels, and one 3000L foudre (a big oval shaped oak tank). The new wine was aged on the lees with complete malolactic fermentation, and bottled after eleven months in barrel.
2021 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $84.00 Your Price: $73.92
(97 Points) The 2021 Chardonnay Casteel is complex and alluring, offering dynamic aromas and flavors as it unfurls with oxygen over several days. The nose offers lemon peel and panna cotta, spicy, honeyed undertones and streaks of flint. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive with impressively concentrated, slightly exotic fruit driven by focused acidity, and just enough smoky reduction adds even more complexity to its generous fruit. Year after year, the Casteel is one of the best Chardonnays coming out of Oregon, and this 2021 is especially gorgeous! Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2018 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $84.00 Your Price: $73.92
The 2018 Casteel Chardonnay is entirely from the block that rests immediately adjacent to the winery, planted in 1994. While it isn’t the oldest block of Chardonnay on our property, it has produced the most consistent quality for the past several years. Extended aging in both barrels and stainless steel combined with full malolactic fermentation provides a richness and creamy texture to balance out the high natural acidity of both our site and the 2018 vintage. This bottling has tremendous tension and poise and will benefit from decanting for early consumption or 5-7 years of cellaring.
2016 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $78.00 Your Price: $68.64 Quantity in Stock: 6
(95 Points) Tasted from magnum, the 2016 Chardonnay Casteel opens with intense mineral notions on the nose, aromas of pulverized stone and petrichor over lemon meringue, Red Delicious apples, hazelnuts, honey toast and clotted cream. Medium-bodied with a light creamy texture, it has beautiful white flowers in the mouth with honey nut and apple pie nuances and a streak of crushed rock running with the very bright acidity, finishing very, very long and honeyed. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2015 Bethel Heights Chardonnay “Casteel” Willamette Valley
Price: $78.00 Sale $68.64 Quantity in Stock: 7
Our 2015 Casteel Chardonnay opens with aromas of preserved lemon, brioche, white pepper and ocean air. The palate is both graceful and energetic, displaying the tension of a wine that will age gracefully over the next 8 to 10 years.
2014 BETHEL HEIGHTS CHARDONNAY CASTEEL WILLAMETTE VALLEY MAGNUM
Price: $125.00 Your Price: $110.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
(92 Points) “An outstanding value in a top-level Oregon Chardonnay, this beautifully rendered, barrel-fermented wine is a showcase of sharply defined flavors. The tree fruits are highlighted with details of spice and new wood, clearly delineated and well-matched.” Wine Enthusiast.
2015 Bethel Heights Chardonnay “Justice Vineyard” Eola Amily
Price: $67.50 Sale $59.40 Quantity in Stock: 7
The Chardonnay from Justice Vineyard over the years has developed a haunting sea breeze, saline quality both in the aroma and on the palate that distinguishes it from every other Chardonnay in our portfolio. The wine’s freshness, purity, and unique fingerprint are framed by bright acidity and a crystalline structure, perhaps providing a window into the marine sedimentary soils where it’s planted, soils that were once layers of sand on the floor of the ocean millions of years ago
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR ESTATE EOLA AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $97.50 Your Price: $85.80
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR ESTATE EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $40.50 Your Price: $35.64
This wine blends fruit from all the different sections of our estate vineyard. It truly encompasses the entire breadth of expression at Bethel Heights from the youthful exuberance of our youngest vines planted in 2002. A good amount of black raspberry and dark cherry fruit pretty floral notes and some exotic spices here on the nose a bit of a sauvage like character. A big and fruity wine with a firm hand of acidity silky smooth tannins and a nice balance of spice, earth and fruit. Finish 45+ Excellent +
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $112.00 Your Price: $98.56
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $60.00 Your Price: $52.80
Named for the wind that defines our Eola[1]Amity Hills AVA, the Æolian Pinot Noir is our vehicle to explore the dynamic evolving landscape that we farm. The sense of place and specificity that we value most highly in our wines takes many years to evolve. With our oldest vines we allow each block to speak for itself in a separate bottling. The second[1]generation vines at Bethel Heights, on the other hand, are just beginning to find their voice. In these years in between, the Æolian allows us the freedom to dream of what lies beyond the horizon.
2018 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $119.00 Your Price: $104.72 Quantity in Stock: 1
Black truffle along with an array of dark spices, black raspberry fruit and much more earth here on the nose. Nice structure here on the tongue brgith black raspberry and wild strawberry fruit with a good hand of that earthy character through the finish, nice spice and a bit of tannins here . Finish 45+ Excellent
2017 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR AEOLIAN EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $45.00 Sale $39.60 Quantity in Stock: 7
“I feel that the 2017 wines have the best natural balance we have seen out of a warm vintage since 2012. In spite of the heat the wines have terrific acidity, relatively low alcohol, and the different parts of our Estate show their personalities without being muddled by vintage.” Ben Casteel
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR CASTEEL EOLA-AMITY HILLS MAGNUM
Price: $195.00 Your Price: $171.60
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR CASTEEL EOLA-AMITY HILLS
Price: $90.00 Your Price: $79.20
Aromas of black cherry, pine resin, and black currants with hints of cooking chocolate and cinnamon lingering in the background. Flavors of black berries and dark chocolate play over a sinewy, taut structure of mineral laden acidity and fine-grained tannins. In a vintage that threatened to be over-wrought and soft, we were very pleased that the core of our Estate maintained the energy and focus we have come to expect, to support and carry the fruit long into the future.
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS JUSTICE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $84.00 Your Price: $73.92
Justice Vineyard sits adjacent to Bethel Heights Vineyard on the south, at a slightly lower elevation, where the underlying primeval sea-floor is tilted up and exposed to the surface below a very thin layer of volcanic topsoil. Grapes grown on these ancient marine sediments have a very different life experience from those grown in the volcanic soils at Bethel Heights, and the wines from Justice tell that tale quite dramatically.
2019 BETHEL HEIGHTS JUSTICE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR EOLA AMITY HILLS
Price: $60.00 Your Price: $52.80 Quantity in Stock: 16
(96 points) The 2019 Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard comes from mostly Dijon clone vines planted in 1999. It has lovely scents of blood orange, blueberries, tea leaves and cinnamon. The palate offers finely detailed flavors and an abundance of silty tannins, finishing with fantastic length and layers. (EB) (12/2021) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2022 BETHEL HEIGHTS PINOT NOIR LEWMAN VINEYARD WILLAMETTE VALLEY
Price: $81.00 Your Price: $71.28
This is our third vintage farming Lewman Vineyard and our second making a singular wine since we purchased the property. We had many excellent options at our disposal, and we elected to focus our attention on the southern blocks, which we felt had the best natural balance on the property. One of the many things that makes this property unique is the way savory and fruit come together: aromas of shiitake mushroom, soy, and cooking chocolate layer over black cherry, blueberry, and blood orange. There is a density and gravity to this vintage and this wine that will reward 3-5 years of patience and I think the real payoff will come in 10-15 years.
Bill Wathen and Dick Doré (also known as the “Foxen Boys”) have been making wine together since 1985, when they founded Foxen Winery & Vineyard at the historic Rancho Tinaquaic in northern Santa Barbara County. Since that time, their dedication has remained the same—the creation of very small production, sustainably-farmed, vineyard-focused wines using a "minimalist" approach to winemaking.
Life has come full circle for Dick Doré. Born and raised on the family-owned Rancho Tinaquaic, this sixth generation Santa Barbara County resident returned to his roots in 1985 where he established FOXEN Vineyard & Winery with Bill Wathen.
After working as a banker in the late sixties and seventies, this University of California at Santa Barbara graduate gave up his nine-to-five job and moved his family to Europe. Over the next year and a half, Dick traveled the back roads of France, Italy and Spain, where he developed his love of wine. Dick returned to the Rancho Tinaquaic in the late seventies, just as the Santa Barbara County wine industry was emerging. With his passion for great wines firmly established, he initially worked to support his family, which included working for the Tepusquet Mesa Vineyard. It was here that Dick and Bill’s paths crossed and a life-long friendship and partnership was established.
Born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Bill Wathen is a true Central Coast native. He chose to attend Cal Poly University where he graduated in 1975 with a degree in Fruit Science, specializing in vineyard management. After graduation, Bill’s first job was to work for two Santa Barbara County viticultural pioneers -- Dale Hampton and Louie Lucas, at the Tepusquet Mesa Vineyard (now owned by Cambria Estate) and the Nielsen Vineyard (currently owned by Byron Vineyard.)
In 1978, Bill went north to become vineyard manager at Chalone Vineyard, where he was mentored by California wine pioneer and Chalone founder, Dick Graff. It was here that Bill learned traditional French winemaking techniques and appreciation for great Burgundies. Graff’s influence inspires Bill’s winemaking philosophy to this day. Bill’s approach to winemaking is straightforward as he explains, “It goes back to my roots as a viticulturist. I make every effort to make the perfect wine in the vineyard. Maximized viticulture equals minimalist winemaking.”
Returning to Santa Barbara County in the early eighties, Bill joined long-time friend, Dick Doré, and began making plans to make wine together.
The winery was named in memory of William Benjamin Foxen, an English sea captain and Dick's great-great grandfather, who came to Santa Barbara in the early 1800's. In 1837, this Santa Barbara County pioneer purchased the Rancho Tinaquaic, a Mexican Land Grant that originally totaled nearly 9000 acres and comprised most of what is now known as Foxen Canyon. Captain Foxen adopted the distinctive "anchor" as his ranch cattle brand, which has become a trademark of the winery. It is very fitting that FOXEN has made its home on the 2000-acre Rancho Tinaquaic, which remains in family hands.
With the completion of FOXEN’s new solar-powered winery and tasting room in 2009, the historic and beloved “tasting shack was renamed “Foxen 7200”, where Bill and Dick now feature their Bordeaux and Cal-Ital-style wines, under a newly designed label. FOXEN Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Rhône-style wines are showcased in the new solar-powered tasting room at 7600 Foxen Canyon Road.
2020 Foxen Vineyard & Winery Chardonnay Block UU Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
Price: $39.00 Your Price: $34.32
(94 Points) The 2020 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Block UU is a regal, elegant wine. Citrus, white flowers, mint, white pepper and jasmine are all finely cut in mid-weight, racy Chardonnay that captures all the best this challenging year had to offer. Beautifully textured, with fine balance and real pedigree, the UU is superb. Vinous, August 2022
2018 Foxen Vineyard & Winery Chardonnay Block UU Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
Price: $37.50 Your Price: $33.00 Quantity in Stock: 18
(93 Points) The 2018 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Block UU sports a light gold color as well as a pure, crystalline bouquet of honeyed apple, pineapple, citrus blossom, spice, and white flower. It has a kiss of background oak, but it's beautifully integrated, and the fruit is front and center. With good acidity, a balanced, layered texture, and a great finish, it’s already drinking nicely yet should keep for 7-8 years, if you're so inclined. Jeb Dunnuck
2020 Foxen Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley
Price: $40.50 Your Price: $35.64
"A light to medium ruby core with an orange rim, the focus is earth and spice on this [...] Pinot Noir from Foxen. Notes of baking spice, leather, wet earth, cedary herbs are front and center, while black cherry, red currant, and blue plum notes finish things out. Plenty of tannins and acidity are present." - Jeremy Taylor, International Wine Report
2019 Foxen Pinot Noir, Fe Ciega Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills
Price: $81.00 Your Price: $71.28
(95 Points) "The 2019 Pinot Noir Fe Ciega Vineyard is a super-classic wine from this Sta. Rita Hills site. It offers plenty of bright red/purplish fruit, spice and blood orange are all perked up by bright acids that lend freshness, energy and verve. The Fe Ciega is an absolute standout in this range from Foxen." Vinous,
2017 Foxen Pinot Noir Block 43 Santa Maria Valley
Price: $75.00 Your Price: $66.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
(93 points) "The 2017 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Block 43 is bright, punchy and full of character. Next to the Block 8, the Block 43 has more overt fruit, while floral and savory notes lie in the background. Sweet red cherry, plum, and blood orange build in a supple, absolutely engaging Pinot that will drink well right out of the gate. This is such a pretty wine." – Vinous
2018 FOXEN PINOT NOIR BLOCK 43 SANTA MARIA VALLEY MAGNUM
Price: $172.50 Your Price: $151.80
(96 Points) "The 2018 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Block 43 shows the more floral, lifted side of Bien Nacido [...]. Red berry fruit, chalk, mint, rose petal and white pepper give the Block 43 a distinctive upper range of brightness that works so well with its energetic, mid-weight personality. Light on its feet yet also deep, the 2018 is positively stellar." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous,
2018 Foxen Pinot Noir Block 8 Bien Nacido Magnum
Price: $180.00 Your Price: $158.40
(95 Points) "Foxen's 2018 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Block 8 is fabulous. Bright red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal mint and savory herbs literally jump out of the glass. The 2018 is deep, intense and full of character. All the elements meld together effortlessly in a sumptuous vibrant Pinot Noir from one of Santa Barbara's top sites." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous,
2017 Foxen Pinot Noir Block 8 Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
Price: $75.00 Your Price: $66.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(94 Points) The 2017 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Block 8 saw the same upbringing but comes from a larger block. Its slightly lighter ruby/plum color gives way to a more savory, medium to full-bodied effort that offers classic notes of dried cherries, forest floor, and earthy, loamy soil notes. It too is beautifully balanced and layered, and it a terrific wine. Drink it anytime over the coming decade. Jeb Dunnuck
2019 Foxen Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
Price: $75.00 Your Price: $66.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
(94 points) "There’s a gamy element that extends across much of this Foxen vintage, and it works very well in certain bottlings like this one, which is light in hue but loaded on the nose with roasted berry and porcini aromas. There’s a sappy thyme and chaparral-scrub flavor to the palate, elevating the freshly smashed strawberry and cranberry core." Wine Enthusiast
2018 FOXEN PINOT NOIR JULIA'S VINEYARD SANTA MARIA VALLEY MAGNUM
Price: $172.50 Your Price: $151.80 Quantity in Stock: 1
2020 Foxen Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Santa Rita Hills
Price: $67.50 Your Price: $59.40
(93 Points) "A step up, the 2020 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard comes from a site on the eastern side of the Sta. Rita Hills. It has a smoky nose of ripe red and black fruits, spring flowers, and underbrush. This carries to a pure, vibrant, focused Pinot Noir with good acidity, silky tannins, and a great finish. It's one of my favorites in the lineup." JebDunnuck.com,
2018 Foxen Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Santa Rita Hills Magnum
Price: $111.00 Your Price: $97.68
(95 Points) "The 2018 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard is bursting at the seams with energy and intensity. A touch of whole clusters (25%) adds energy to a Pinot that impresses with its explosive power and overall tension. [...]. I would cellar the 2018 for a few years to allow more aromatic nuance to develop, but that will be challenging, as it is so compelling right now." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
2019 Foxen Syrah Williamson-Doré Vineyard Los Olivos District
Price: $60.00 Your Price: $52.80
(94 -96 Points) The 2019 Syrah Williamson-Doré Vineyard, tasted from barrel, is packed with inky blue fruit, spice and savory accents from the 15% whole clusters. It is another hugely promising wine from Foxen, but it is an infant. Vinous Media
2017 Foxen Syrah Williamson-Doré Vineyard Los Olivos District
Price: $55.50 Your Price: $48.84 Quantity in Stock: 6
Appellation:Los Olivos DistrictClone(s):Entav 174 (57%) and Entav 877 (43%) Harvest:Harvested by hand on September 15th, 2016Yields:1.98 tons per acre Crush:90% whole berry destemmed/10% whole cluster into open-top fermenters; 4-day cold macerationInnoculum:Rhône 2056Fermentation:19 day active with punch downs 2 times dailyBarrel Regime:20 months in large format French and Hungarian oak puncheons, 50% newRacking: Once late spring 2017; then prior to bottling in June 2018Bottling: Without fining or filtration late June 2016Alcohol: 14.1% by volumeTA: 0.56 g/100mlpH: 3.67Production:400 cases
2017 Foxen Heritage Cabernet Franc Tinaquaic Vineyard - Old Vines Santa Maria Valley
Price: $64.50 Your Price: $56.76
(94 Points) "Better, the 2018 Cabernet Franc Tinaquaic Vineyard Heritage Club is all varietal and spent 22 months in 33% new French oak. Medium-bodied, balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has terrific cassis and cherry fruits as well as sappy flower, violets, and herbal notes. The purity of fruit is spot on, and it has the balance and class to evolve for 10-12 years with no issues." - JebDunnuck.com