December 2006 Wine Tasting Notes: "Do y'all have any sweet wine?"
2004 Foxen Late Harvest Viognier, Vogelzang Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley.
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Light golden straw in color, this wine offers aromas of peach and pear, honey and floral notes focused around acacia. The palate evokes floral sensations which make way for apricot, pineapple, grapefruit and tangerine as well as honey. Minerality is minimal. A rich, viscous mouthfeel accentuates the honey notes. Alcohol is kept at pleasantly restrained levels and acids are bright and lively. |
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RWB Score: 91 breakdown 10.6% Alcohol $35.00/ Retail (from winery); 125 cases produced, 375 mL bottles |
Light but clearly defined fruit flavors characterize this aromatic wine. Richness and scope of flavors wrapped in floral aromas makes for luxurious sipping. Very much a dessert in itself, this wine offers complexity and drinkability that should appeal to everyone. |
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More Foxen reviews. More on Santa Ynez Valley |
Harvested at 36 degrees Brix, fermented in steel tanks to a residual sugar of 21.4 g/100mL and aged 1 year in stainless steel.
Viognier is a Rhône varietal rapidly becoming popular in California. In addition to being offered in a single varietal, it is often blended with Roussanne to make white Rhône blends and is also used in that region (and in California) to soften Syrah and Syrah-based red blends. It is being experimented with in unconventional blends with Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. At its best, it shows perfumed floral aromas with tropical fruit flavors and a rich, almost viscous mouthfeel with a prominent mineral element. It is less apt to take on dominant oak characteristics than Chardonnay. Aromas and flavors typical of Viognier include: Acacia, Anise, Apricot, Guava, Honey, Kiwi, Mango, Mint, Orange Blossoms, Pineapple and Tangerine. Botrised late harvest Viogniers also take on a characteristic flavor character described as smoky, creamy, nutty or musky with a dried fig quality.
Botrytis cinerea - the fungus which attacks the grape skins, causing the fruit to shrivel and become dehydrated. Under alternating conditions of damp, misty mornings and warm, sunny afternoons the fungus infests the grapes, leaving them shriveled, dehydrated, and super-concentrated. This is called Noble Rot. In addition to concentrated flavors and sugars, there are unique flavors which are extracted from Botrytis during wine production. Neither Grey or Noble Rot are common in dry climates with constant sunshine such as Rhône Valley or the Central Coast.
The 2004 growing season was one of the shortest in the history of the state. Harvest came two to three weeks earlier than usual, at the start of August with crop yields that were 6% lower than in the previous year. It all started with a warm spring, progressed to a mild summer and ended with a burst of heat at the end (with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees in some places) which accelerated ripening. Viognier tends to ripen in the early portion of the the harvest season so it is unlikely that it was affected by truncated growing season. Viognier also tends to loose character in hot climates and that is of interest here because Vogelzang Vineyard is in Happy Canyon, in the southeastern-most and warmest part of the Santa Ynez Valley.
It is common for temperatures to exceed 100 degrees for extended periods during the day in Vogelzang Vineyard. The location receives short-lived early morning fog which burns off earlier than in any part of the Santa Ynez Valley. This makes for greater duration of high temperatures which often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit for extended portions of the day. A marine wind cools the area in the late afternoon allowing the vines to rest overnight. It is this climate that makes Vogelzang Vineyard well suited to growing Bordeaux varietals and warm-weather Rhône grapes. The vineyard soils are rocky, having been deposited by a landslide - before recorded history in the area. This soil is well draining and encourages development of concentrated fruit. To further capitalize on these conditions, there have been efforts underway since 2003 to replant the vineyard with higher density. High density spacing further reduces the nutrients and resources available to individual plants and results in better quality fruit with better structure and concentration.
The 2004 Foxen offering's complexity and just a hint of a 'bot profile' would suggest that temperatures in the short 2004 growing season did not get out of hand and possibly had enough cool-warm alternation in the harvest season to allow for the nicely complex extraction seen in this wine.
Foxen Winery was founded in 1985 and is closely tied to this region of Santa Barbara County. Co-owner Dick Doré is the great-great grandson of William Benjamin Foxen - the English sea Captain who purchased the Rancho Tinaquaic lands in 1837. This area initially encompassed most of Foxen Canyon and was the site of some military action in 1846 during the Mexican War. On Christmas 1846, Foxen warned American forces of an impending ambush, allowing them to take Santa Barbara without bloodshed and leading to California being ceded to the United States. Currently 2000 acres of the original 9000 acre land grant remains in the Doré family hands.
The winemaker at Foxen is co-owner Bill Wathen. He says he prefers to let the vineyard express itself. In that "hands-off" approach to wine making, lies the Foxen philosophy of producing vineyard-designated wines. Billy has over thirty years of experience making wine. He graduated from Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Fruit Science, specializing in vineyard management. His first jobs were working with two of Santa Barbara County's pioneers: Dale Hampton and Louie Lucas. He has worked as vineyard manager at Chalone Vineyard. There, he learned traditional French winemaking techniques under the tutelage of Dick Graff, another California wine pioneer. He returned to Santa Barbara County in the early eighties and, along with long-time friend Dick Doré, founded Foxen.
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5 points |
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Nose |
4 points |
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Palate |
4 points |
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Finish |
3 points |
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Astringency/Minerality |
5 points |
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Acidity |
5 points |
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Alcohol |
5 points |
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Aging potential |
2 points |
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Overall quality |
8 points |
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