Foxen
Soloman Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Maria Valley, Central Coast, California, USA
Part of my October wine club shipment, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this little beauty. As opposed to the Burgundy Pinot I last reviewed, this is a strictly new world juice. As noted in previous reviews, new world producers (think US, South America, Australia, etc.) have started to play around with their Pinots and in California, a prevailing trend is to create a luscious, velvety juice from an otherwise subtle grape and then punch it up several more notches. This wine is a cuvée of Dijon 115 and 667 clones with a bit of Pommard. Solomon Hills is a part of the Santa Maria AVA, located on its western edge which means it is situated perfectly to take advantage of the maritime climate of the area. The soils are sandy loam which allow the roots of the vines to dig deep - yielding an excellent mineralty and salinity to the grape. As stated before, this isn't your average Pinot, feel free to pair with something fatty and enjoy. ~$58 | #foxen #solomonhills #pinotnoir
On the eyes: Pale, med concentration, ruby red, med stain, med+ tears, no gas/floc.
On the nose: Floral, clove, juicy strawberry and cherry, with just a bit of pleasant industrial aroma. Med+ alcohol.
On the tongue: Med acid, med tannin, med+ alcohol, med body. Tons of floral rose character and juicy red fruit flavor that dances on the palette, spicy going down, cinnamon and clove, with a nice subtle mushroom note, ending with toasty, smoky oak. Med+ alcohol, long finish. If you like your Pinots bold and heavily new world, you can't get much better.
Part of my October wine club shipment, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this little beauty. As opposed to the Burgundy Pinot I last reviewed, this is a strictly new world juice. As noted in previous reviews, new world producers (think US, South America, Australia, etc.) have started to play around with their Pinots and in California, a prevailing trend is to create a luscious, velvety juice from an otherwise subtle grape and then punch it up several more notches. This wine is a cuvée of Dijon 115 and 667 clones with a bit of Pommard. Solomon Hills is a part of the Santa Maria AVA, located on its western edge which means it is situated perfectly to take advantage of the maritime climate of the area. The soils are sandy loam which allow the roots of the vines to dig deep - yielding an excellent mineralty and salinity to the grape. As stated before, this isn't your average Pinot, feel free to pair with something fatty and enjoy. ~$58 | #foxen #solomonhills #pinotnoir
On the eyes: Pale, med concentration, ruby red, med stain, med+ tears, no gas/floc.
On the nose: Floral, clove, juicy strawberry and cherry, with just a bit of pleasant industrial aroma. Med+ alcohol.
On the tongue: Med acid, med tannin, med+ alcohol, med body. Tons of floral rose character and juicy red fruit flavor that dances on the palette, spicy going down, cinnamon and clove, with a nice subtle mushroom note, ending with toasty, smoky oak. Med+ alcohol, long finish. If you like your Pinots bold and heavily new world, you can't get much better.
One of the best Pinots I've had in a while. Having it with chicken tonight.
One of the best Pinots I've had in a while. Having it with chicken tonight.
Oct 11th, 2016
