Santa Barbara & Paso Robles, California, USA
Bob and Jim Varner started planted beginning in 1980, they take a non-interventionist approach to both growing and winemaking in order to express best the individual blocks. Bob farms the vineyard and makes the wine in a deliberate, careful rhythm. They look for purity, focus, balance and terroir. Indigenous yeast and malo-lactic fermentations, gravity flow, minimal sulfur dioxide and esquive racking are important parts of the process.
Bob and Jim Varner believe that the best wines come from winemakers who grow their own grapes. Therefore, in order to create the most expressive wines possible, the Varner’s use traditional cellar equipment and creatively translate centuries-old winemaking techniques and attitudes learned from well-known French family winemakers. The winery at the vineyard is entirely devoted to the production of handmade, Santa Cruz appellation Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
You can taste the bottle age in this awesome wine starting to show secondary notes. The Varner family of Santa Cruz make this from a cool Los Alamos vineyard site. It’s taken on a golden hue, with flavors of apple and toasted lees. It’s a quiet stunner, for roast chicken.
The Foxglove wines are selected from several sites located in the Central Coast. The warm climate and ocean add a burst of fruit but with freshness. The use of oak is minimal yet adds some spice that will be a formidable match to skirt steak with peppers.
94% Cabernet Sauvignon with 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc blended in, fermented and aged in mostly stainless steel (also 94%) with 6% aged in oak, for a balanced, juicy and well-structured coastal Cabernet.
From Paso Robles fruit. Brambly, ripe Zinfandel fruit and spice in a fresh package. The use of stainless on the Foxglove Zin keeps the ripe fruit from being too dark. With a slight chill this is an excellent BBQ wine! RP 92
Foxglove is Varner's (the iconic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producer) second wine label made with fruit sourced from around the Central Coast of California. On the nose the ripe fruit from the Californian sunshine is tempered by citrus notes. The palate has balance and elegance with lemon zest and pineapple coming through.
From Paso Robles fruit. Brambly, ripe Zinfandel fruit and spice in a fresh package. The use of stainless on the Foxglove Zin keeps the ripe fruit from being too dark. With a slight chill this is an excellent BBQ wine! RP 90
Los Alamos Vineyard Pinot Noir from Varner is an absolutely outstanding California Pinot Noir, period (i.e., it’s not just good “for the money”). It has all the makings of a by-the-case summer staple, bright and versatile and ready to go right out of the bottle.