2018 Kelley Fox Wines Pinot Noir Mirabai- USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (9/11/2020)
Decanted 3 hrs. While I liked the bottle I had in shelter in place May, a much more complete package was revealed last night. Fairly dark for a Fox Pinot, emitting a very pretty nose of dark raspberry and white flowers. Based on the color, a not so surprising thrust of fruit initially hits, spreading it’s layers of sweet strawberries and pomegranate on the palate. Deceptively soft, as the easygoing nature turns on the back half; a much more serious structure emerges, a firm tannic and acidic structure that wasn’t apparent at first. My final thought is this a very refreshing pinot that will drink young well, but look for this to round out even more in the next 1 to 3 years and hold for 10. (92 pts.)
I’ve crushed 6 of these and had to reload. Definitely a house favorite. My initial impression was this was more forward and less structured than the '17–but last couple of bottles have made me rethink this, more in line y=with your note. Definitely a solid pinot and great QPR.
Yep, pretty awesome label (I think KF’s daughter painted it) too, but it kind of bummed me out seeing that beautiful valley, the cougar, Mt Hood in lieu of how that scene would have looked had it been painted over the last couple of days
The Mirabai and Ahurani bottlings are usually pretty sturdy pinots compared to her single vineyard/single plot wines. They’re very nice wines, but i’m not sure they really express the elegance and finesse that Kelley Fox is all about for me.
i have this problem of not being able to hold onto these Mirabai bottlings long enough to see how they evolve. they get consumed way too fast at our house
Nice notes Dale. I just had to reload on this wine too. On a recent bottle we had, it really grew in depth of body and character over the course of the bottle. +1 for everyone’s comments, however I do think this wine nicely reflect Kelley’s unique style without requiring $75. I actually liked this wine better than the 2017. I wonder if this being a blend of Maresh and Weber vineyard vs. just Maresh in previous years made the difference. That Weber fruit is something special. When we tasted at the winery with Kelley and Dustin, my wife and I both thought the Weber bottling was the best one of the SVD.
thats funny because my wife and I consistently picked out the Maresh as our favorite. but when we were at the winery she was not working with Weber yet.
Right. If it was Maresh next to Momtazi or Hyland, I’d agree with you. But when we tasted the 2018 Maresh, Star of Bethlehem, and Royal Anne (Great!) followed by the Weber, we liked the Weber the best.
guess i know what ill be adding to my next shipment then! luckily KF is the one winery i have the go ahead form the wife to order any quantity i can/want!
I dug this out of a recent email from Eric at Sec Wines:
2018 Kelley Fox, Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, Weber, Willamette Valley, OR $74.89
Contender for Oregon wine of the year so far! Kelley Fox fans (and you are legion), take note: The Weber vineyard is just down the road from the famous Maresh vineyard and the vines for Kelley’s block are from an own-rooted 1983 planting. Kelley has been wanting to make wine from this truly great vineyard for years and this is her debut vintage working with Weber fruit. While this wine has many attributes that are similar to her Maresh bottlings (notes of earth, game, spices and hood strawberries), it shows Weber’s own distinct terroir with its sweetness of fruit without any sense of over-ripeness, a little more weight (still mid-weight) and textural density. Silky and seamless, this is a model of elegance, balance, depth and complexity -new world Pinot Noir at its best.
When Melissa and I tasted the 2018s with Dustin, our favorite was the Royal Anne Block. Weber was probably second – but all of the other single block bottlings were really quite good.
I agree with those who say that the Mirabai is a bit of a different beast, since all the block bottlings are 100% free run juice. I also think the Mirabai is a great value.
So are you saying that the Mirabai is from pressed juice or otherwise vinified differently than the block bottlings? I was under the impression that the the SVD were all from the best barrel selections and that Mirabai (and Ahurani previously) was from lesser barrels.
Agreed. The Mirabai is to drink and enjoy for what it has to offer now. I would not try to age them. You can, but they are not likely to get much better. That is just my take after buying for several vintages.
