Six months ago, we laid it out as simply as possible: Unless you’re planning a trip across the northern border, you’re not getting your hands on Foxtrot’s “The Waltz.” The overwhelming majority of this hyper-limited cuvée is consumed and cellared in Canada, and, much to the chagrin of everyone else around the globe, only one other territory is allowed access: California. Once you all pounced on every last bottle in March, we thought that was it—but Foxtrot surprised the importer with a mid-summer gift by releasing the final 20 cases from their cellar. And that’s what we have for you today. After that, nada, zero, zilch. If that’s not already distressing enough, no 2018 vintage was produced, not a single bottle, so this final drop will have to hold you over until the ‘19s trickle out.
If you’re new around here, allow me to explain Foxtrot’s allure: This deeply special Okanagan estate has skyrocketed in fame in recent years, namely because their outrageously fair-priced wines have fooled elite blind-tasters into calling top-tier Burgundy. Foxtrot hasn’t just confidently stepped onto the world stage of Pinot Noir, they’re threatening to steal the entire show! A blend of three special blocks—the lion’s share of which is from a rare slice of own-rooted vines—“The Waltz” is a sublime marvel that should dominate the conversation of all-time Pinot Noir greats. We’ve said it before and we have no issue hammering it home again and again: To sleep on this wine is to miss one of the world’s great Pinot Noirs.
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! And while today’s “The Waltz” is, shall we say, the ‘baby brother’ of Foxtrot’s flagship Pinot, it certainly doesn’t drink like it!
Foxtrot’s Pinot 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 and a handful of Pinot Noirs are vying for the top spot—Foxtrot being one of these elite names. 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!
“The Waltz” in 2017 predominately came from two sites: Foxtrot’s own self-rooted “Evelina Block”—an extension of their original estate vineyard—and “Raisin D’Etre,” both of which feature soils that range from sand to clayey loam to glacial sediment. Rigorous sustainable farming is practiced throughout the growing season to ensure each unique parcel is treated accordingly. After harvest in 2017 (one that came three weeks later than ‘16 and ‘15), each lot was handpicked, mostly de-stemmed, separately cold-soaked for three days, and separately fermented via naturally occurring, airborne yeasts. Following two weeks of fermentation and multiple ‘punch-downs’ each day, the wine aged in 30% new French oak with the remainder going into neutral barrels. After 20 months of maturing, the site-specific wines were blended together, racked, and lightly filtered before bottling in October of 2019.
Just as I was left speechless with Foxtrot’s top estate wine, the level of aromatics and depth in “The Waltz” has left me stunned. You’ll rattle off vivid fragrances that are typically reserved for the best wines of Willamette Valley and Burgundy, and the lush power that is found in top Santa Barbara labels. This 2017 pours a brilliant ruby-magenta and instantly expresses an alluring mix of lush black cherry, black raspberry liqueur, pomegranate seeds, ripe red plum, damp violets, crushed rose petals, citrus peel, tea leaves, crushed stones, underbrush, and intricately woven baking spices (they source their barrels from Francois Freres, among the very best French coopers). Lush, lifted, incredibly balanced, and marked with a strong mineral component, “The Waltz” is premier Pinot Noir, plain and simple. After patiently waiting for the wine to open up in a decanter, serve around 60 degrees in large Burgundy stems and prepare to dazzle your friends—serve it “blind” of you want to really want to dial up the shock factor. Cheers!
