The estate’s 2009 Cuvee Jeanne Marie is a blend of 54% Grenache, 23% Syrah and 23% Mourvedre that spent 16 months in French oak barrels ranging from 2-4 years of age. It is a deceptively medium-bodied wine laced with crushed flowers, licorice, leather, wild herbs and cherries. The Jeanne Marie is exciting, yet understated, with dazzling purity and a long, seamless finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2022. I was blown away by the wines I tasted from Foxen. Low yields, late harvests, fully destemmed fruit and bottling with no fining or filtration are some of the elements that define these exceptional, fine wines.Tel. (805) 937-4251. www.foxenvineyard.com

Tasted in May, this Grenache-based Rhone blend was still overwhelmingly vibrant and fresh in grapey, primary fruit raspberry, cherry and blackberry flavors. It’s appealing, but really needs some time to settle down and mellow, so the fruit and oak can mesh together. By the summer of 2009, it should be a wonderful wine, retaining its balanced lushness through at least 2012.——S.H.(12/1/2008)—— 92