FOXTROT TASTING at WHISTLER CORNUCOPIA

I was fortunate enough to take part in a monumental tasting of BC Pinot Noirs at the celebrated Cornucopia event in Whistler BC, Canada in November of 2015. What follows is my compilation of tasting notes, and a summation of the attributes of two vineyards (that are vinified separately) bottled by Foxtrot Vineyards. Foxtrot Vineyards harvested grapes from their own Foxtrot Vineyards making a Foxtrot Vineyard Pinot Noir, in addition to grapes harvested from another area (initially designated as Erickson Vineyard from inception to 2010-then with a new owner of that vineyard being Peter Henricsson it was renamed Henricsson vineyard for 2011 and 2012). Note that the current owner of the Henricsson vineyard (Peter Henricsson) has gone out on his own from the 2013 vintage onwards and is making wine from this vineyard and is called Henricsson Vineyards. We will plan to follow Henricsson Vineyards and Foxtrot Vineyards resounding successes in the near future, as indeed they have the terroir and as evidenced from this tasting - they deliver the goods in spades!

• 2012 Foxtrot Pinot Noir Foxtrot Vineyard

  Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Naramata Bench

  2nd darkest wine of tasting. Deep ruby with melange of blackberry fruit on nose. Tight young unripe blueberries with no noticeable oak signature and flinty minerals on a full bodied palate. Finish monolithic with greater austerity than Henricsson bottling. (drink 2017-2028)

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• 2011 Foxtrot Pinot Noir Foxtrot Vineyard

  Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Naramata Bench

  Darkest wine of tasting. Ruby colour with soaring black raspberries on nose and a viscous intense port like monster palate, reminiscent of young Turley Zins. It rained during the 2011 harvest but no evidence of that in this big boy. Finished large with Swedish Blaber jam and balancing acidity splashed with minerals. (drink 2017-2026)

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• 2010 Foxtrot Pinot Noir Foxtrot Vineyard

  Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Naramata Bench

  Dark ruby with crushed black currents on the nose. Black pepper fruit bomb with no bitterness (read less noticeable tannic clout) on early finish-perhaps due to the new destemmer in the fieldhouse for this vintage. Long finish with greater austerity and minerality than Henricsson in this year. (drink 2017-2028)

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• 2009 Foxtrot Pinot Noir Foxtrot Vineyard

  Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Naramata Bench

  Medium ruby with some lightening at the rim with the first sign of subtle secondary vapours on nose. Big black and white pepper on an almost ripe California like pinot nose of young strawberries and blueberries. Long impressive balanced finish, clearly telling us that 6 years out seems to be in the ballpark for thinking about ploughing through these great delicious BC Pinots. (now-2023)

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• 2007 Foxtrot Pinot Noir

  Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Naramata Bench

  Light medium red with exuberant strawberry nose . 100% French oak and the 2nd vintage for 1/3 whole cluster fermentation, and incidentally cold macerated for 6 days. Medium bodied raspberry and blackberry mid palate with a seductive finish reminiscent of solid bottles from Morey St. Denis. (now-2023)

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• 2005 Foxtrot Pinot Noir

  Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Naramata Bench

  Medium ruby spending 15 months in barrel prior to bottling. Rosemary and subtle lavender nose with a rich complex midpalate of Oriental spices and strawberries. Slight ketones (blew off after 45 minutes) on a long ethereal finish. Shockingly delicious and a revelation for a 10 year old pinot from Canada. Wow !! (now-2021)

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This is a landmark tasting for Pinot Noir from Canada. Who knew that BC Pinot could age magnificently while demonstrating delicious varietal character and surprising consistency through the vintages. Henricsson vineyard is lighter in colour and seems to be approachable roughly a year or two earlier (good to go at 4-5 years ideally for my palate) than its Foxtrot brother, while demonstrating subtleties of vanilla and cranberries on the nose. Big red fruit and white pepper on the palate follows, with some smoke and herbs on a long, luxurious, feminine finish. Foxtrot vineyard is darker in colour with a youthful monolithic nose and a greater penetration of black fruits and black pepper on the palate-more masculine than the Henricsson vineyard. It takes about a year longer off the vines to balance out for drinking, typically about 6 years from the date of bottling for the magic to come forth. Although this is early days in the history of Foxtrot, I imagine that both of these vineyards will repay aging for an easy 10-15 years, as both are structured to last (Foxtrot maybe a year or three longer than the Henriccson) and both give startling complexity with a little bottle age (Henricsson vineyard may have a slight edge in the flavour department). Comparing the two is not unlike comparing the feminine red fruit charm of Chambolle to the more masculine black fruit clout as evident in Chambertin-both with their decided attributes and followers.
Writers and pinot followers love to try to peg non-Burgundian pinot noir into a slot of geographical similarity to the great wines of the Cote d’Or. These wines do not have the monster structure of most French Burgundies, but hells bells they are focused and consistent from vintage to vintage which stunned this taster. If I were pushed to peg these two fantastic vineyards and their tasting profiles-I would take the GPS to Morey St. Denis and equilibrate these wines to Clos des Lambrays (for the Henricsson vineyard) and Clos de la Roche (for the Foxtrot Vineyard). For me this is one of my favourite areas in the wine world of France, and unabashedly is the ying and yang of feminine luxury vs. masculine in your face !! High praise indeed but this tasting “ let the dogs out “ and should clearly be a pre-emptive indication to buyers that it is about time to get on the FOXTROT train, as things are a rockin on the Naramata bench lands where these two stellar pinots hail from.