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: 2016 Foxen "Bien Nacido Vineyard - Block UU" Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay

2016 Foxen "Bien Nacido Vineyard - Block UU" Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay

SKU #1378548 94 points Jeb Dunnuck

Outer quote mark The 2016 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Block UU comes from a great vineyard located just east of the town of Santa Maria and was brought up in 20% new French oak. A classic Bien Nacido bouquet of honeyed orchard fruits, crushed rocks, oyster shells, and white flowers flow to a rich, beautifully textured, concentrated Chardonnay that has everything you could want from this variety. With terrific balance, nicely integrated acidity, and a great finish, it's brilliant stuff that should evolve gracefully for 5-7 years. Inner quote mark (10/2018)

92 points Vinous

Outer quote mark Foxen's 2016 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Block UU is polished, nuanced and understated, with lovely white orchard fruit and floral character to match the wine's mid-weight personality. As always, this is an especially delicate, perfumed style of Chardonnay from Bien Nacido. (AG) Inner quote mark (9/2018)

91 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark The 2016 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Block UU offers up notes of citrus pith, lime, buttered apples and grapefruit, followed by a medium-bodied, glossy palate underpinned by bright, mouthwatering acids. It has a nice sense of completeness and finishes quite long. It's also quite keenly priced. (WK) Inner quote mark (4/2018)

91 points Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark Sea salt, preserved lemons, pan-seared apples, plumeria and honeysuckle show on the engaging nose of this bottling from a preferred block in this historic vineyard. The palate plays to the savory side of Chardonnay, offering an oily texture that carries flavors of cashew and marmalade. (MK) Inner quote mark (6/2018)

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2016 Foxen "Bien Nacido Vineyard - Block UU" Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay

Price: $29.95

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Product Reviews:

By: Heather Vander Wall | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 4/5/2019 | Send Email

Bien Nacido is one of the iconic vineyards for California, and for good reason. When tasting in the central coast, I'm always drawn to wines with fruit from this vineyard, and Foxen has done a great job with their Chardonnay from the UU block. It's a classic California Chardonnay, meaning you will encounter oak, but it's done very well, and highlights the incredible fruit from UU, rather than overpowering it. Creamy and full of expressive orchard fruit, this is a great example of the unique power of Chardonnay grown in Bien Nacido.

By: Chris DePaoli | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/22/2019 | Send Email

Fantastic Chardonnay from Bien Nacido is hard to describe, but this bottle of apple orchard and ocean spray notes is just another example of how good this vineyard can be. The folks at Foxen have enough vintages under their belt to know that letting the vineyard do the expressive work is the truest winemaking, and they let that show in this bottling. The subtle weight on the palette pushes the lemon bar from the back and the long finish opens up finally to the light, charcoally end that will be awesome with cranberry goat cheese or scallops.

By: Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/15/2019 | Send Email

Another stunning bottling of UU Block from Foxen; this is consistently delicious every year. The 2016 is packed full of caramalized baked pears, preserved lemon, subtle oak tones, saline minerals and oyster shell. The wine has real volume and intensity without being heavy or creamy. Stunning length on the palate and the flavors repeat and re-emerge time and time again. I love this vineyard...thanks once again Bien Nacido!

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Chardonnay

- It's hard to believe that up until about 30 years ago, this extremely popular varietal hid behind the veil of geographical names like Chablis and Puligny-Montrachet. Now grown all over the world and bottled by its varietal name, Chardonnay has achieved a level of branding unlike any other wine. Surprisingly, though, what you get when you buy Chardonnay can differ greatly from country to country and even within one country, depending on the climate where it's grown and how it is vinified and aged. From fresh, crisp and minerally with apple and lemon notes to rich and buttery with tropical fruit overtones, Chardonnay runs the gamut. In France's Burgundy, Chardonnay is the source of the prized wines of Chablis, Corton-Charlemagne, Mâcon, Meursault and Montrachet. It also the foundation of exceptional Champagne, where it is blended with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier or vinified on its own into Blanc de Blancs. It is also extremely popular in California, and is gaining popularity in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and South Africa.

Country:

United States

- When people consider domestic wine, they normally think about the state of California. The fine viticultural Region within California, including the Napa Valley, Sonoma, Santa Cruz Mountains, Mendocino and Santa Barbara, are capable of growing grapes of world-class quality. But there's plenty of fabulous wine coming from other states, too. Oregon, Washington and New York are also causing eyebrows (and glassware) to be raised around the world.

Sub-Region:

California

- With the explosive growth that California's wine industry has seen the past several years, it's easy to view winemaking and grape growing in the Golden State as a recent phenomenon. And while it's true that California's viticultural history is brief compared to several European countries, this state's roots date back well over 200 years. Due to the enormous response to California wine within the United States and worldwide, there are thousands of excellent and diverse wines being produced within the state each year.

Specific Appellation:

Santa Maria/Santa Barbara

- Santa Maria and Santa Ynez make up the two AVAs of Santa Barbara County, an area known for its natural beauty and temperate climate. The best grape-growing areas, however, are located on the very coastal reaches of these two appellations, and are cooled by ever-present fog and ocean breezes (it is even cooler and foggier here than Carneros!). As expected, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thrive while the more inland zones lay claim to Bordeaux varietals and some Rhône blends.

Alcohol Content (%):

13.4