“Graceful, finely etched Pinots among the very best being made in the New World.” – Vinous

Excited to have an Oregon Pinot for a change. A special one, at that.

Most days, you’ll pay up for the higher tier Pinots from Oregon - Eyrie, Drouhin, Soter, Beaux Freres, Ken Wright, Bergstrom, and Evening Land all come to mind. They’re all excellent and worth every penny if you can afford them.

But the cost of entry tips well north of $100 for most of those. And this one is hardly an exception, at $90 on Kelly’s website for all current releases.

With 97 and 96 points, it comes with the recognition and makes our nearly 50% OFF price today all that more special. Yet to be honest, impressed as we were with what’s in our glasses, we all went wondering around the panel who Kelley Fox is. Her resume boasts Torii Mor, Hamacher, The Eyrie Vineyards, and Scott Paul. Fox is also a magna cum laude with degrees in biochemistry and biophysics! As a relative newcomer starting in 2007 with just 100 cases, she quickly rose to the upper echelons of Oregon Pinot.

Earlier this year, one of her wines was on The New York Times most memorable wines of 2024 list, and last month, she was picked as one of “The 7 Best Wines from Women Winemakers, According to Buyers” by SevenFifty. No doubt the buzz is on!

We love our examples from Sonoma or the Central Coast, but there’s some magic that comes with a great example from a place like Willamette. Sourced from the Weber Vineyard in the Dundee Hills, planted in 1978, seldomly spotted on other boutique and sought-after labels such as Patricia Green, Winderlea, or Arterberry Maresh. A true Willamette Valley insider’s gem.

Aged in larger neutral Burgundy barrels, it preserves the natural freshness and expression of the 43-year-old Pommard clones. Fresh, deep, and vibrant, with a medium body and whole lot of raspberry whips, just-ripening summer strawberries, forest floor dust, and hibiscus flowing freely.

Back to Vinous to sum things up, “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. When thinking about a vineyard, Fox looks beyond the soils, the exposures, and the vines. She looks to the trees surrounding the vineyard, flora and fauna to create an honest wine, true to its source… the result is one of the most exciting portfolios of wines made in the United States.”

Highly limited. What are you waiting for??

97 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “The 2022 Pinot Noir Weber Vineyard is so floral and perfumed, with blue fruit shining through and a juicy lift of ripe berries, forest earth, sweet earth, and violets. Ripe and rounded, it’s lush and expressive out of the gate, with ripe tannins. It feels more immediate, but it’s going to age gracefully over the coming 15 years. Drink 2024-2039.”

96 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate “The 2022 Pinot Noir Weber Vineyard comes from own-rooted vines planted in 1983, and the wine was matured for 10 months in used French oak. It has pure, layered aromas of cranberry, pomegranate, orange peel, Angostura bitters and a kaleidoscope of woodsy and spicy accents. The palate is slender yet bursting with flavor, offering layer after layer of spice-laced berry fruit. It’s structured by abundant, dusty tannins and vibrant acidity, and it has a long, complex finish. Drink 2025-2040.”