Jonathan Ray’s Wine Pick: Foxglove Chardonnay
Well, goodness, isn’t this a little beauty? Produced by twin brothers Jim and Bob Varner (of Varner Wines fame) as part of their more approachable, easy-going Foxglove range, it’s a Chardonnay of immense style and extremely genial price (for Cal Chard). Made from top-quality grapes drawn from both Santa Barbara and Edna Valley, it spent three months in stainless steel on stirred lees to give a bit of oomph but is otherwise delightfully un-buggered about, with minimal intervention, no oak and no malolactic fermentation.
The result is deliciously poised and pure, more Burgundian than Californian, with fresh ripe citrus/pineapple fruit, a whisper of baked bread and just a touch of honey. It’s a perfect summer wine, yours to take away for £22.99 at Butlers Wine Cellar in Kemptown, or £51 to drink at your table at Fourth and Church in Hove, two fabulous establishments that should be on every wine lover’s list.
The details
2019 Foxglove Chardonnay, Central Coast, California (13.8%vol)
£22.99 (75cl) from Butlers Wine Cellar or £51 to drink in at Fourth and Church
Jonathan Ray is the Brighton-based drinks editor of The Spectator and drinks columnist of The Field and Spear’s.
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