Santa Ynez Valley Wine

I really have the 2005

California's answer to Chateauneuf-du-Pape with all the sunshine the left-coasters could muster, rendering a grape extract Oz style. Visions of the Sunburnt Cow dance in our heads.

I was hit with citrus pineapple melon fruits. Some earthy notes but delicate light and crisp. This night I enjoyed it with a lobster sushi roll.  

Lovely light nose of peach and apricot. I really like the texture of the wine, it's creamy and juicy at the same time, with the tiniest bit of a bite at the end and a long creamy finish. Flavors have nice fat stone fruits...

Foxen makes an amazing Sangiovese. Such a rich and dark fruit character, the blueberry really is distinctive yet there is a hint of earth and loam that lingers.

Jammy fruit, very distinctively Syrah nose. Peppery and slightly leathier, even in this relatively young vintage.Very long aftertaste, high alchohol content. Good for pairing with a thick steak.

Really bold and powerful with a soft touch, butteriness and mild acids are in perfect balance, the fruits are melonous and tropical. Would go great with couscous and salmon.

Lovely, intense aromatics combine hints of lychee and green tea with crisp green pear tones and well-integrated notes of fading spices, chalk, chestnut and lavender. Really rich yet bright on entry, with a seductive...

Blackberry and spice really shine in this outstanding wine, even has a chewy tobacco on the backend. Really impressive wine.

- Tasted at Lee's Wine Experience 11/7/09