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B-21 Top Recommendation
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Declared "one of the most exciting portfolios of wines made in the United States" by Eric Guido of Vinous, these Kelley Fox selections from Willamette Valley include a top scoring range of elegant vineyard-expressive Pinot Noirs and a rich, energetic Chardonnay, her record of exceptional quality earning the portfolio a devoted cult following worldwide and available in limited quantities outside her exclusive winery list.
Establishing her winery in 2007 with her father Gus Stearns, Kelley Fox was mentored by David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards before spending a decade as the winemaker at Scott Paul Wines, crafting her wines as a transparent expression of their vineyard origins with limited intervention in the winery and gaining access over her career to some of Oregon's top vineyards. Employing small lot fermentations with all native yeasts and aging in in used barrels, Eric Guido of Vinous describes Kelley's 2022 Pinot Noirs as "lifted, finessed and ethereal yet still vibrantly fruit-focused and nearly spiritual in the way that seemingly only Pinot Noir can be," while the white wines are "potent and rich yet driven by an energetic mineral core that adds remarkable depth." Sourced from the Dundee Hills AVA, the entry level 92 pt. 2022 Kelly Fox Pinot Noir Mirabai offers "soft elegant fruit as well as a supple texture and fresh acidity" according to Audrey Frick of Jeb Dunnuck, while the beautifully aromatic 96 pt. 2022 Kelley Fox Liminal Maresh Vineyard Pinot Noir has "approachable, fine tannins, vibrant, mouthwatering, even acidity, and crystalline purity" and promises to evolve for over a decade. Vinous critic Eric Guido calls the rich and juicy 96 pt. 2022 Kelley Fox Durant Vineyard Pinot Noir "a model of purity, silken to the core" with "unbelievable freshness," while the fresh and zesty 96 pt. 2022 Kelley Fox Maresh Vineyard Golden-Crowned Sparrow Blocks Pinot Noir is "darkly alluring" with "silky textures and simulating acidity," both built for a decade or more of enjoyment. Sourced from the Freedom Hill Vineyard and aged in stainless steel for six months, Audrey Frick of Jeb Dunnuck calls the 93 pt. 2023 Kelley Fox Willamette Valley Chardonnay "hard to resist," offering fresh, spiced fruit with "outstanding energy propelling it through the lovely, savory, mineral-noted finish" and declaring it "a tremendous value."
Focusing on the clearest expression of a vineyard's character, Kelley Fox is a name for Oregon wine fans to add to their must try list, or as succinctly stated by Vinous critic Eric Guido, "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." |
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The 2023 Pinot Noir Mirabai is ruby red in the glass and evokes wild raspberries, violets, dark stones, and forest floor. Supple and open, it has ripe acidity and fine tannins. Drink 2025-2040.
94 points, Audrey Frick, Jeb Dunnuck (Sep 2025)
Despite its modest price point, the 2023 Pinot Noir Mirabai (a barrel selection) comes from some of the top vineyards in the Dundee Hills. Fifty-two percent comes from own-rooted vines in the Weber Vineyard planted in 1983; 28% comes from Stater Vineyard, where vines were planted on rootstock in 1990; 11% comes from own-rooted vines planted in 1974 and 1984 in Durant Vineyard; and 9% comes from own-rooted vines planted from 1970 to 1988 in the Maresh Vineyard. It was fermented with around 15% whole clusters, and the wine was matured for 10 months in used French oak. It has ringing aromas of rhubarb, blackberry, raspberry, lavender and Angostura bitters, offering botanical undertones as it airs in the glass. The light-bodied palate is vibrant and expressive with wonderfully perfumed fruit, chalky tannins and a long, tremendously layered finish. 1,808 cases were made.
93 points, Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate (Dec 2024)
The 2023 Pinot Noir Mirabai mixes vivid crushed blackberry with bouquet garni, nuances of wet slate and rose petals. Juicy and pure in style, it entices the senses with depths of ripe black cherry and a cascade of autumnal spice. Acidity wins the day—long and staining yet incredibly fresh. The finish tapers off with a lovely licorice tinge that calls the taster back to the glass.
93 points, Eric Guido, Vinous (Jul 2025)
The 2023 Mirabai bottling of pinot noir from Kelley Fox hails from different vineyards in this vintage than was the case last year. The fruit composition of the 2023 version is fifty-two percent from the Weber Vineyard, twenty-eight percent from the Stater Vineyard, eleven percent Durant Vineyard and nine percent Maresh Vineyard; hence the Dundee Hills AVA for the wine this year. It tips the scales at 13.5 percent in 2023 and included about fifteen percent whole clusters. The wine offers up a beautifully pure and sappy nose of red and black cherries, sweet beetroot, roses, peonies, gamebird, a complex base of soil tones just a hint of black tea and gentle savory notes in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, precise and vibrant, with a lovely depth of sappy fruit, an excellent foundation of soil, beautifully integrated tannins, excellent balance and a long, complex and lifted finish. This is meant to be Kelley’s most user-friendly bottling of pinot noir out of the blocks and the 2023 is certainly already very easy to enjoy. That said, it is still effectively quite primary in personality and truly deserves at least five or six years in the cellar to allow its secondary layers of complexity to emerge. It is a beautiful wine in the making.
93 points, John Gilman, View From The Cellar (Dec 2024)
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