 Neely Hidden Block Pinot Noir 2008
VARIETAL: 100% Pinot Noir
REGION: Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA
PRICE: $65.00/ bottle
FORMAT: 6 x 750ml
AVAILABILITY: 4 six-packs
DRINKABILITY: now to 2020
91 POINTS -
February 2011, Issue #193
"The three Pinot Noirs I tasted under the Neely label all had advanced medium garnet colors as well as complex aromatics of pomegranate, apple skins, herbs and earth. My favorite is Neely's 2008 Pinot Noir Hidden Block Spring Ridge Vineyard, which possesses sweeter fruit, more complexity and a Cote de Beaune-like red fruit character intermixed with spice and earth."
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 Foxglove Chardonnay 2010
VARIETAL: 100% Chardonnay
REGION: Central Coast, California, USA
PRICE: $29.00/ bottle
FORMAT: 12 x 750ml AVAILABILITY: 4 cases DRINKABILITY: now to 2015
90 POINTS - Wine Advocate August 2011, Issue 196
"The 2010 Chardonnay is one of the top values in California wine. It possesses tons of ripe, varietal fruit in a style that is quite rich but not heavy. Clean citrus and floral notes add freshness on the long finish. Lees stirring gives the wine much of its richness, while aging in steel helps maintain freshness. There is remarkable depth and textural finesse here, never mind a price that is mind-boggling for this level of quality. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014."
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Bob & Jim Varner
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Bob and Jim Varner are twin brothers behind the wines of Varner, Neely and Foxglove. Jim Varner studied oenology at UC Davis in the 1970s and went on to work at Chateau Souvrain after graduation. Seeking a cool climate site to establish his own vineyard he found a beautiful plot 15 km from the sea in the Portola valley in the northern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. In 1980 he and his brother Bob, who took academic leave from a PhD program in genetics, planted the Spring Ridge Vineyard with Chardonnay and later Pinot Noir. The two brothers have been working together ever since.
Neely wines are produced for the Neely family from a property immediately adjacent owned by Dr. Kirk Neely and his wife Holly Meyers. The Varner brothers handle the farming and winemaking for both the Varner and Neely properties. The farming is organic and the winemaking is done with indigenous yeasts. The Pinot Noirs use a tiny portion of whole clusters in the ferments (usually less than 5 percent) and are matured in a blend of new and used oak barrels. The portion of new oak usually comes in between 25 and 30 percent. The goal is fresh, mineral, fruit driven Pinot Noir.
Foxglove is the small negociant business Bob and Jim set up sourcing grapes from a variety of vineyards throughout Santa Barbara County, Paso Robles and Monterery County seeking out beautiful, balanced fruit. The Foxglove wines have been recognized as delivering great value year over with Antonio Galloni recently praising the wines as "among the finest values readers will find anywhere in the world."
The chardonnay from Foxglove is unoaked (as are all the Foxglove wines) but had its lees stirred regularly contributing to the wine's caressing texture. It does not undergo malolactic fermentation in order to preserve juicy, fresh acidity.
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