ABOUT: Prior to 2007 Kelley Fox worked for a mess of good Oregon winemakers - Hamacher, Eyrie, Torii Mor, Scott Paul, etc. She began making her own wines in 2007 and has firmly established a reputation and a label that fetches high praise. She leases vines from a variety of organic and biodynamic vineyards in Oregon, notably Pinot Noir from the Maresh, Momtazi, and Hyland vineyards. Her wines are very stylish with a fine balance of ripe red and black fruit aromas and flavors. Those tertiary qualities you reach for in Pinot Noir are there as well; earth, herbs, flowers, and salinity. We had the pleasure of tasting and stocking her Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Blanc and were blown away. It flew out the door. As do all her wines. Get some while you can. TASTE: This Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir is new to us and the words written about it at kelleyfoxwines.com says The vines I work with there have been farmed organically for years and biodynamically (uncertified) starting a few years ago. The Hyland Coury Clone 2017 is medium to darker red, and full of moving light and transparency. It has a pure nose of the reddest of red berries (the classic Oregon summer raspberries and strawberries-I hope you have tasted these before) with a certain coolness. It is complex with a velvety frame and nimble, age-worthy acidity typical of Hyland Vineyard, and a real boon in the string of warm vintages in the Willamette Valley (back to old school). It’s a beauty, it’s long, and it seems to embody some Platonic Idea of Red. If it’s anything like her other wines we’re in for a treat!
PAIR: Roasted parsnips and carrots, potato leek soup, caramelized Brussel sprouts with garlic, spinach and goat cheese ravioli, and roasted asparagus with lemon and a poached egg.
