Foxen Vineyard & Winery Chardonnay Block Uu Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 2022 (750ml) *

Old vines drive this single-block Chardonnay, sourced from Bien Nacido Vineyard's Block UU in the Santa Maria Valley, where plantings date to 1972 with later additions from the 1990s. Foxen bottles it as a vineyard-specific expression, fermented and raised for eight months in puncheons (a quarter of them new), a light touch of oak meant to frame rather than dominate. It reflects the cooler, coastal-influenced character of the appellation, and it leans toward structure and site over overt fruit.

Expect a phenolic, textural wine with real presence. Lemon confit, almond, and dried florals like chamomile lead, along with yellow apple and a whiff of oatmeal, while the fruit stays deliberately in the background. The palate is precise and vibrant, threaded with an earthy, saline minerality that gives it focus, though there's roundness too, with mulled pear and honeyed citrus filling in. Powerful yet translucent, it drinks well over the next several years.