Duke of Bourbon: E-mail Specials

Bill Wathen and Dick Dore have been making world-class wine at Foxen Winery in the Santa Ynez Valley since 1985. Their "rustic" tasting room is shown at right. Foxen Vineyards has been receiving much attention from the wine writers, especially in the last few years. Their wines consistently earn top scores from both the Wine Spectator and Robert Parker. Ratings for the wines in this offering are not yet in. We did taste them at our seminar in March and were reminded how consistently excellent Foxen wines are from year to year.

2006 is another in a series of excellent vintages for California's Central Coast and the Foxen wines can certainly lead the way. This year's releases are in great demand. Trying to allocate these rare and highly-desirable wines can become extremely complicated. We have decided to put together two combo packs for this offering.

Combo #1 - 3 of each of the wines described below.
List price - $624.00 Duke's price - $599.00

Combo #2 - 2 of each of the wines described below.
List price - $416.00 Duke's price - $399.99

Foxen 2006 Pinot Noir, Sea Smoke Vineyard
(List price - $75.00)
Foxen is the only winery, other than Sea Smoke Cellars itself, with access to Sea Smoke fruit. Parker and the Wine Spectator gave the 2004 vintage 96 and 94 points, respectively (and respectfully, too, we bet). We tasted the 2006 vintage, due for release in June, and it blew us away! Big, full and rich, it is sure to receive the same kind of accolades accorded previous vintages. Do not miss out on your chance to obtain this magnificent wine!

Foxen 2006 Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Block 8
(List price - $54.00)
Here is another blockbuster Pinot Noir from the capable wine-making hands of the Foxen team. Full and rich like the Sea Smoke we tasted, this is a fabulous Pinot Noir with loads of stuffing. While the wine has not yet been reviewed by the critics, the scores from previous years closely follow the Sea Smoke scores, so you know what to expect from the new vintage. Our opinion is that it should rank shoulder to shoulder with its Sta. Rita Hills relative and will be rated very highly.

Foxen 2004 Range 30 West
(List price - $35.00)
You may remember the Duke's offering a previous vintage of this Bordeaux-style blend which was called Foothills Reserve. Renamed after the geologic designation of the area in Happy Canyon that the grapes call home, this vintage more than lives up to the previous offering! We (and a couple of hundred members of our Wine Association) had the chance to taste it at our seminar and were reminded that the Central Coast is producing top-notch Bordeaux varietals as well as their famous Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. This is a very serious wine with both early accessibility and aging potential.

Foxen 2006 Syrah, Williamson-Dore Vineyard
(List price - $44.00)
This is, simply put, a great wine! Made from grapes grown around Dick and Jenny's home, this Syrah is earning high marks from the critics, too. In fact, recent vintages have earned 90+ scores. This delicious wine was also sampled at our recent seminar to raves from the assembled multitude. It is rich, deep and luscious with an abundance of sweet fruit flavor in the aftertaste. As this fairly young vineyard matures, the wines are becoming ever more spectacular!

Make your selection and

Call the Duke today!!

Note: Prices are good while our supplies last and we reserve the right to change them at any time without notice. We expect the wines to be released in late June, 2008. We will notify you when they arrive at the Duke to arrange for pick-up or shipping.