2014 Foxen Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Block UU

The 2014 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Block UU is rich, tropical and beautifully layered from start to finish. Impeccable in its balance, this mid-weight, expressive Chardonnay will drink well for at least another handful of years. The Block UU is terrific and also a wonderfully expressive Bien Nacido Chardonnay. Sweet floral overtones add the closing flourish.

Foxen's 2014 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Block UU is one of the quirkiest California Chardonnays readers will come across. The plant material here is Chardonnay grafted onto own-rooted Riesling rootstock that was originally planted in the early 1970s. Oddly enough, this wine often shows distinctly tropical, Riesling-inflected notes, as it does again in 2014. White peach, ash, slate, pear and crushed rocks show superb energy allied to power in a Chardonnay with searing intensity, fabulous balance and tons of personality.