"Anyone looking for Oregon Pinot Noir purity and transparent communication of terroir from the soil to the vine to the bottle must explore Kelley Fox Wines." - Eric Guido, Vinous
Long-time B-21 Pinot Noir fans are now well-familiar with the spectacular offerings from this boutique darling of the Willamette Valley scene. With a critical track record to rival pretty much anyone else in the appellation, Kelley Fox is a bona fide star these days, and we're thrilled to have such an established relationship with her and her wines.
This outstanding set of releases showcases exactly why Eric Guido calls Kelley's wines "one of the most exciting portfolios of wines made in the United States." Her elegant vineyard-expressive Pinot Noirs and energetic Chardonnays are sourced from many of the most iconic vineyard in the Valley. The entire line-up is full of must-try masterpieces, from the 94-point "entry-level" Mirabai to the single-vineyard stunners like the 98-point 2023 Shafer Vineyard and the pair of 2022 standouts from Maresh Vineyard, one of the oldest sites in Oregon. Of these two, it's particularly worth noting that Kelley won't be making wine from Maresh going forward, so get your hands on them now. The whites are equally compelling, and not just the Chards (although these do present some of the sharpest buys in the category, all at under $40). Her Grüner and Pinot Blanc are a testament to her unwavering belief in these varietals, and the critics seem to agree.
Any way you look at it, these are among the most consistently excellent wines out there, not only in Oregon but in the entire country. If you haven't jumped on board the Kelley Fox wagon, you have no idea what you're missing.
With a jeweled ruby hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Limnal is a beautifully floral wine on opening and has a gorgeous perfume of pure, ripe raspberries, roses, incense, and sweet spices, with some blue floral tones coming through as it opens. Bright and medium-bodied, it has approachable, fine tannins, vibrant, mouthwatering, even acidity, and crystalline purity, gaining in depth as it opens in the glass. With a beautiful, clean, salty feel, it’s deceptive in its approachability and is only going to gain in intensity and depth as it ages. Drink 2025-2040.
96 points, Audrey Frick, Jeb Dunnuck (Aug 2024)
Kelly Fox has been working with this parcel of vines in the Maresh Vineyard since 2008. The vines were planted in 1970 and are ungrafted, in a parcel called the Long Rows Block, and the wine is raised entirely in used barrels and was destemmed completely in the 2022 vintage. The bouquet is stunningly complex for such a young wine, offering up scents of red plums, red and black cherries, fresh thyme, cardamom, gamebird, a beautiful base of soil, violets, roses and a topnote of bonfire on the breeze. On the palate the wine is pure, focused and full-bodied, with marvelous depth at the core, stunning transparency, fine-grained tannins, tangy acids and picture-perfect balance on the very long, vibrant and beautifully complex finish. The backend lift here is remarkable. Let this stunning wine develop with bottle age (if you can)!
96 points, John Gilman, View From The Cellar (Dec 2025)
The 2022 Pinot Noir Liminal Maresh Vineyard comes from own-rooted vines originally established by Jim and Martha Maresh in 1970. “These vines are very self-regulating,” proprietor and winemaker Kelley Fox explains. “When I was doing canopy work out there they didn’t need hardly any of the thinning or shoot positioning that the other vines do.” Grapes were destemmed, and the wine was matured for 10 months in used French oak. The nose is bursting with pomegranate, and with time in the glass, it reveals nuances of mixed tea leaves, bergamot and earth. The light-bodied palate combines tea-like tannins and vibrant acidity with concentrated, fragrant flavors, and it has a long, latent finish. 159 cases were made.
94 points, Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate (Dec 2024)
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