2021 Kelley Fox Wines – Dundee Hills Weber Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Ever since the late 1970s, Oregon has been on the map as one of the premier Pinot Noir-producing regions in the world, with the Dundee Hills perhaps as its prime location for quality wine. Join us as we discover just how elegant and ethereal these wines can be, especially in the hands of quality-oriented producers like Kelley Fox.
About the Winery
Kelley Fox Wines started due to the efforts of the eponymous Kelley Fox, who in the late 90s moved to Oregon and decided to quit her PhD in biochemistry for a future in the world of wine. At first, she helped in the tasting room and during harvests, but after being hired by Torii Mor in 2000 and being promoted to lead winemaker within a year, her career quickly propelled forwards. After Torii Mor she gained further experience at Hamacher Wines (2002), The Eyrie Vineyards (2003-2004), and Scott Paul Wines (2005-2015). It was at Scott Paul Wines that she founded her own label in 2007, transitioning to full-time winemaking in 2015. This experience helped her build a strong reputation and establish the right connections, causing her to be allowed to farm some of the Willamette Valley’s most prized vineyards, including the Maresh, Durant, Dux, and Freedom Hill vineyards – most of which are located in the famed Dundee Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area).
About the Region
In order to get a grasp on the Dundee Hills AVA, it is first important to examine the encompassing Willamette Valley AVA. The main history of the valley as a wine region goes back to 1965, when David Lett (of The Eyrie Vineyards) first planted Pinot Noir in what is now known as the Dundee Hills sub-region. His reasoning was that Burgundian varieties, and especially Pinot Noir, would grow better in Oregon than California due to the more marginal climate of the valley, and above all yield more elegant and fresh wines. He turned out to be spot-on. Others followed soon, but the real break-through of the region was in 1979 – when David’s Eyrie Vineyard South Block Pinot Noir 1975 (now a legendary wine) put Oregon in the spotlight. The wine came second in the top 10 of the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades (pitting new world versus old world wines) and was rated the top Pinot Noir – cementing Oregon as a quality wine region.
This result was met with some disagreement, and thus the worlds of Oregon and Burgundy collided. Robert Drouhin, of Burgundy fame, organized a rematch soon afterwards, pitting the same Eyrie Pinot Noir against a comparable group of French wines considered to be finer than those used in the Wine Olympiades. Once again, the Eyrie bottling came in a very close second place (right after Robert Drouhin’s 1959 Chambolle-Musigny). After this, Drouhin accepted the result – after which he graciously ended up purchasing land and building a state-of-the-art winery (aptly called Domaine Drouhin) within a stone’s throw of The Eyrie Vineyards in the Dundee Hills – producing quality Dundee Pinot Noir ever since.
History aside, the wider Willamette Valley runs roughly 200km along the west bank of the Willamette River from Portland in the north to Eugene in the south, and is bordered by the Coast Range to the west and the Cascade Mountains to the east. The climate is characterized by a high diurnal range due to cold Pacific winds and fog being funneled in through gaps in the Coast Range in the evening. This results in a relatively cool and long growing season, which is perfect for earlier ripening varieties like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Three soil types are common, being volcanic basalt, marine sandstone, and wind-blown loess. The basalt, a result of intense volcanic activity in the past, is typically found at higher altitudes, while the marine sandstone, formed from ancient floodings of the valley, is more commonly found at lower altitudes.
All three types of soils are free-draining and thus compatible with the higher rainfall in the valley (falling mainly in the winter, not much in the summer). Additionally, they are of modest fertility – further contributing to the valley’s potential for quality wine production. One important note is that most quality-oriented vineyards are situated in the foothills of the Coast Range, benefitting from the higher altitude, the lower fertility soils, and the sunshine in the morning. It is no coincidence that virtually all sub-AVA’s are found in these foothills – roughly starting at 60 meters of altitude up and ranging up to 300 meters of altitude, above which it gets too cold for the grapes.
The Dundee Hills sub-region is located in a slightly more sheltered position compared to the other sub-regions, resulting in relatively less Pacific influence and generally warmer conditions. It is further shielded by both the Chehalem Mountains, protecting the Dundee Hills from cold breezes funneled through the Columbia Gorge from the north, and the Coast Range, protecting the region from too much cooling Pacific influence from the west. The altitude of the Dundee Hills is roughly 70 to 325 meters, a bit higher than the other sub-regions of the Willamette Valley, which helps to preserve acidity in the wines. This, combined with its sheltered position (which provides more warmth), results in balanced wines, with both ripe fruit and fresh acidity.
Locally, the soil in the Dundee Hills primarily consists of red, silty-clay basalt, known as Jory soils. These soils drain well, are moderately fertile, and hold enough moisture not to require irrigation in most years. This interplay between Pacific influences and volcanic soils imparts, according to Kelley, great energy into the wines, which Pinot Noir perfectly transmits into the glass. After all, as Kelley puts it, Pinot Noir is not difficult to make – it just reflects everything back in full honesty.
About the Winemaking
This transparency is also the reason why Kelley (in her own words) had to let go of her ego and not impose anything on the special vineyards she has access to – rather letting them speak for themselves. This translates into very gentle winemaking, using only mature oak barrels, natural yeasts, a bare minimum of Sulphur, no added enzymes, and only very gentle punch-downs by hand instead of rougher pump-overs. The wines are furthermore bottled relatively early, as according to Kelley, if you do not push for strong extraction (in line with her philosophy), wines often do not have the tannins to warrant extra micro-oxygenation. As an added bonus, wines with less micro-oxygenation tend to require less Sulphur at bottling. Kelley even goes as far as wanting to plant possible new vineyards on own-rooted vines, risking phylloxera in favor of an even purer expression of the place her wines are from. These techniques and ideas regarding winemaking, combined with biodynamic practices in the vineyard, in her case seem to yield ethereal, elegant, and transparent wines with beautiful pale ruby colours – all in a very balanced and harmonious way, perfectly reflecting her philosophy.
Kelley furthermore concentrates on older vines, as she notes that old vines root deeper, tend to find an easier natural equilibrium, and make more characterful and ‘deep’ wines – thus transmitting their terroir better. The Weber Vineyard is a beautiful example of this, as her parcels here contain franc de pied (non-grafted) Pinot Noir vines of the Pommard clone – planted in 1983 and 1987. The vineyard is further situated in the Dundee Hills sub-region and planted on the classic Jory soils, making this wine a benchmark Willamette Pinot Noir that showcases Oregon’s potential as a prime Pinot Noir region.
About the Wine
Now, let’s move on to the tasting notes and discuss the wine.
In the glass it displays a beautiful pale ruby colour, with an impressively bright and detailed look to it. Complex and nuanced aromas of strawberry, pomegranate, earth, clove, red cherry, raspberry, mushroom, grey tea, wet stone, and fresh cranberry. Lovely rose petal floral lift. Initially a bit closed on the nose, but everything is present on the palate. Complex, nuanced, and ethereal – not about power but rather about depth and complexity. Volnay-like. The fruit is crystalline and incredibly pure. The high-quality, pixelated tannins give underlying structure, and are well-hidden by the vibrant transparency of the fresh red fruit and floral notes. Almost like a feather floating through the air. Lovely concentration on the palate. Energetic and polished. Beautiful Pinot Noir, made to showcase the very special place it is from.
We reward this wine with a 95-point DWA score. Drink 2025-2041.
This review is written by our own Martin Bronkhorst. Kelley Fox Wines is sold in the Netherlands by Best of Wines, whom we would like to thank for providing us with this wonderful Oregon Pinot Noir.
Price: €84,64
Taste date: January 2024
Score: 95/100 DWA Score
Website: Kelley Fox Wines