The 2012 Pinot Noir Block 8 Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley is pure class, with fabulous purity of fruit and an elegant, seamless style. Exhibiting notions of sweet red fruits, crushed flowers and sweet spice, it shows the suppleness of the vintage, yet has solid richness, a layered, balanced feel and a terrific finish. Completely destemmed and aged 17 months in 50% new French oak, it’s an awesome Pinot Noir to drink over the coming 5-8 years. I was blown away by these new Pinot Noir releases from Foxen, and they’re up near the top of the vintage. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same with regards to the Rhone blends, and these had superficial, mid-weight profiles geared for near-term drinking. As to the Bordeaux blends, these come from the eastern most AVA in Santa Barbara County and are labeled under the Foxen 7200 label. Tel. (805) 937-4251; www.foxenvineyard.com