Foxen 2022 Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley

The Foxen 2022 Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley opens like sunlight through morning fog—delicate, layered, and quietly insistent. The first aromas whisper of wild cherry and rose petal, grounded by the cool scent of forest duff and slate that speaks of soil and shade. It doesn’t try to captivate. It simply unfolds.

When it hits the palate, movement takes shape. The fruit is vivid but never oversings—balancing tension with flow, drama with grace. Tannins are close-knit and faintly mineral, guiding without grip. A whisper of dried herb drifts behind, adding depth without taking center.

This Pinot carries the pulse of where it grew. Fruit is drawn from Bien Nacido and Riverbench—two of Santa Maria’s signature sites that gift the wine its height and ballast, its clarity and calm. Long hang time, thin-skinned soil, ocean-bent airflow: these give hold to the fruit and length to the line.

Foxen’s hand in the cellar is respectful. Two vineyard sources, multiple clones, open-top fermentation, aged in neutral French oak—simple choice, complex result. Their work lets vineyard voice lead and winemaking listen.

This isn’t Pinot meant to startle—it’s Pinot meant to settle in. It’s the sort you open when you don’t need sound, only companionship in the glass. Serve it with mushroom ragù, roast chicken with herbs, or let it speak in quiet.

Foxen 2022 Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley—wine that feels like place, shaped in shade and song.