2013 Foxen Winery Pinot Noir Block 43 Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 750 ml

Too Much Demand, Not Enough Supply — Parker’s #1 Under-$50 American Pinot Noir of 2013

When we first knocked on cellar doors in the Côte de Nuits, it was 1978, and we were greeted with open arms. These were tough economic times, and even the likes of Roumier and D’Angerville were graciously receiving visitors. But, as years passed and the world economy improved, Burgundy collectors were introduced to the basics of the law of supply and demand. Unlike Bordeaux, where châteaux produce thousands of cases of wine per year, the finest Pinot Noir in the world is made in tiny quantities, just a few barrels at a time. If our memories serve us well (always a question mark these days), the 1978 Roumier Bonnes-Mares was released at $50/bottle. The 2015 Bonnes-Mares will fetch $1,500!

It wasn’t really until the early 1990s that our love affair with Pinot Noir turned stateside. We began scheduling twice-a-year trips to Carneros, Russian River, and Santa Barbara. A handful of American winemakers were making enormous strides, including Steve Kistler, Peter Michael, and the team of Jim Clendenen and Adam Tolmach at Au Bon Climat. Unfortunately, much like the Grand Crus of Vosne-Romanée, California’s top single-vineyard Pinot Noirs were crafted in tiny quantities. Demand quickly outpaced supply.

Little has changed in California since, except continued pressure from the law of supply and demand. Prices for nearly all of the highest-rated coastal Pinot Noirs have pierced $100/bottle, much explaining why The Wine Advocate’s 95-point Foxen Bien Nacido Vineyard Block 43 is the most astounding bargain of the great 2013 vintage, and Parker’s #1 Under-$50 Pinot Noir of the Year.

Last September, we ran our first story about the “Foxen Boys” — Bill Wathen and Dick Doré — and their predilection for going for the gusto in both their whites and reds. If Foxen’s Chardonnays are some of the richest and most intense of the Sta. Rita Hills, it’s the winery’s Pinot Noirs — particularly the minuscule production off of Bien Nacido Block 43 — that most push the envelope on ripeness and concentration.

That’s never been more true than in the phenomenal 2013 vintage in the Santa Maria Valley.

The 2013 Foxen Bien Nacido Vineyard Block 43 is an absolutely UNBELIEVABLE American Pinot Noir, a bottle that would hold its own in a Vosne Premier Cru taste-off in a ripe vintage like 2009. Dark ruby. Explosive aromatically, infused with flashy aromas of raspberry jam, black cherry, Asian spice, and a touch of new-wood vanilla. Rich, dense, weighty, and intensely concentrated, almost creamy in texture, at once ultra-opulent and perfectly light on its feet. Alcohol flirts with 14%, yet there is no sign of heat. Finishes with terrific length and persistence. The Wine Advocate suggests an aging window of now through 2025. We see no reason to believe otherwise.

95 points from Parker’s Wine Advocate. Foxen’s last 180 bottles have been earmarked for WineAccess. $49.99/bottle for a select few. Shipping included on 3 bottles.