Exclusive: Allocated Syrah Icon
- 94 pts Jeb Dunnuck94 pts Jeb Dunnuck
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2017 Foxen Winery Syrah Tinaquaic Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
Top Syrah, Over a Hundred Years in the Making
Santa Barbara County was an unusual place for a British sea captain to end up in 1837. When William Benjamin Foxen bought a cattle ranch there, he certainly didn’t anticipate that his great-great-grandson would transform it into one of the most magical sites for Syrah in the New World.
But sometimes greatness takes a while.
After a five-year wait, we finally have an exclusive chance to offer a second vintage of Foxen’s Tinaquaic Syrah, a bold, velvety powerhouse from one of the best regions in the world for the grape.
The last vintage we offered was one of the most member-beloved bottles ever—there wasn’t a single review below four stars—and the 2017 is a standout as well. It’s impressive from the moment it hits your glass, with black-hole-like color and bold aromas of blackberries, cured meat, black pepper, and Tahitian vanilla. There’s a wave of velvety tannins that envelops the palate, holding flavor for days, unfoldings with kaleidoscopic complexity.
Their Tinaquaic Vineyard is Foxen’s original site—land that co-founder Dick Doré's ancestor purchased long ago. He and winemaker Bill Wathen founded the winery in the old blacksmith barn on the property—thus the original anchor cattle-brand as their logo.
The vineyard’s warm, sunny days and cool, Pacific nights are a climate that Syrah loves. The day’s heat brings power to the wine, while the evenings allow for vibrant acidity and long hang-times. Factor in the well-drained loams of the ranch and you have an ideal setting for the grape to thrive.
We were only able to secure a tiny amount of this bottling away from Foxen’s allocation for its adoring fans, so California and Rhône Syrah lovers ought to waste no time.