Incendiary demand, tight-gripped allocations, and the inevitable race against the clock: This has become the ‘norm’ for Foxtrot, an Okanagan producer whose skyrocketing fame knows no bounds. As you are well aware, their generously priced wines have fooled elite blind-tasters into calling top-tier Burgundy—a feat that has earned our undivided attention—so it’s high time we rolled out their single-vineyard Chardonnay. We’ve known about it for a while now and we’ve savored a couple, too, but today marks the first time we’ve been in a position to offer one.
That said, I feel like we should keep this introduction as brief as possible because there’s just that little available to us. We thoroughly enjoy writing about wine, but the story will always be here, the wine will not. So, If you want to secure this 2015 “Four Shadow” Chardonnay, we suggest you act first and read later. It has Puligny tension, Montrachet richness, and Okanagan Valley distinction. These few remaining cases are the last of their library stock.
My own discovery of Foxtrot is a closely-held memory that ranks at the top of my wine experiences. Years ago, in San Francisco, a prominent collector invited me to a “fine and rare” dinner that included some of the world’s greatest wines—all of which were served blind. List the top estates from any region and there’s a good chance that label was in the lineup. As the hours passed and each new gem was revealed, affirmative nods and knowing glances were shared—until we were served “the best for last.” We swirled and smelled and then the arguments began: Not, mind you, whether it was from Burgundy—that, we were certain of—but from what expensive slice of land within the Côte de Nuits. With a grin, our host Douglas Barzelay revealed Foxtrot Vineyards Pinot Noir...from the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.
Though I don’t remember the specific vintage we had that night, what I can recall is that every single connoisseur around the table was shocked. In an instant, our perspectives about an entire region forever changed. Ironically, with the Okanagan Valley being so close to us—just across Washington State’s border—we know so little about it, but the climate is there, the terroir is there, the elegance and perfume...it’s all there!
Foxtrot influenced me so much back then, I ended up making a trip out to the Okanagan the following year. Though my time there was brief, I discovered one of the most breathtakingly beautiful wine regions the world has to offer, with promising wineries popping up everywhere. Tucked between mountain ranges, the Okanagan Valley lies due east of Vancouver, with a north-south orientation and a similar latitude to that of Champagne. Despite having a semi-desert climate (like many of neighboring Washington’s top vineyard sites) and a relatively short growing season, the Okanagan Valley is emerging as a premier “New World” region. It may be a bold assertion, but I feel confident in saying that as wine continues evolving, the Okanagan Valley, and British Columbia as a whole, will be increasingly buzzed about.
Foxtrot, like many wineries here, is relatively new, founded in 2004 by Gustav Allander and his Swedish-expatriate parents who purchased the estate and vineyard attached to it. When I reached out to Douglas Barzelay in 2018—the collector who originally introduced me to Foxtrot all those years ago—I had no idea that he and his business partner, Nathan Todd, were so captivated by Foxtrot that they seized the opportunity to purchase the estate, while retaining Gustav as winemaker. Sometimes we throw around the phrase “life-changing wine,” and for Doug, it’s meant in the most literal sense: Tasting Foxtrot compelled him to purchase the estate!
Today’s 2015 Chardonnay hails from the “Four Shadows” vineyard in the Naramata Bench, essentially a sub-appellation of the larger Okanagan Valley. Pressed up against the base of Campbell Mountain, the vines here are buried in ancient glacial till and sedimentary soils. Upon harvest on September 19 of 2015, the grapes were shuttled back to their winery and pressed into barrels (25% new) from renowned French cooper François Frères. However, a quarter of the crop retained their stems and fermented, including malo, separately after a 24-hour maceration. In all, the wine spent roughly 12 months in barrel before being racked and bottled with a light filtration.
After a 30-minute decant, the wine pours a radiant straw yellow hue and rolls out a powerful aromatic spectacle: layers of rich yellow orchard fruit, pineapple core, Meyer lemon curd, white peach, crushed white rocks, honey, yellow flowers, almonds, citrus blossoms, and vanilla bean. From start to finish, it’s ripe and intensely layered with vibrating acidity and crushed mineral power. All of this creates beautiful tension that reads like a Burgundian Premier or Grand Cru. Whether drinking now or in five years, we think you’ll be blown away by this 2015’s rich purity and multi-textural energy. Again, this is the very last of it. Enjoy!
