TN: 2016 Kelley Fox Ahurani (Momtazi) Pinot Noir

[ChrisJames]

Kelley Fox had her winery at Momtazi/Maysara Winery (McMinnville AVA) until 2018 and made wines from that vineyard up through 2017. She bottled three wines: Montazi, Momtazi “Tir” block, and Ahurani (from barrels which didn’t have enough distinction).

This was the third time I’ve had this wine since release and this bottle seemed the tightest. It has some pretty serious tannic grip at this point and has all the blackfruits – blackberry, black cherry, currants, plus bramble (for those of you who’ve had the joy of clearing out blackberry vines). I’d expect this to age well for a number of years given its quality. I’ll have to try it side-by-side with the regular Momtazi in a few years. I’ve not had any older wines from her current winery, but her Scott Paul wines age very well.

On a side note, it really impresses me how different Kelley’s Pinots are from Momtazi vs Maresh. The later seem much more floral, perfume, and feminine to me. It really shows how well she lets the individual vineyards speak. I actually prefer the Momtazi bottles that I’ve had so am sorry to see the end of that. I haven’t had the Hyland other than a barrel sample, but she only made that for 2017. From now on, she will just be making Pinot for Dundee.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

…and here I thought we had you hooked on Ribbon Ridge.

[Max_S1]

This was the third time I’ve had this wine since release and this bottle seemed the tightest. It has some pretty serious tannic grip at this point and has all the blackfruits – blackberry, black cherry, currants, plus bramble (for those of you who’ve had the joy of clearing out blackberry vines). I’d expect this to age well for a number of years given its quality. I’ll have to try it side-by-side with the regular Momtazi in a few years. I’ve not had any older wines from her current winery, but her Scott Paul wines age very well.

Does this remind you at all of Gevrey Chambertin? I bought a bottle out of my price range several years ago ($80) that blew me away and had a very similar profile, but the producer is now $125+.

[Mattstolz]

This was the third time I’ve had this wine since release and this bottle seemed the tightest. It has some pretty serious tannic grip at this point and has all the blackfruits – blackberry, black cherry, currants, plus bramble (for those of you who’ve had the joy of clearing out blackberry vines). I’d expect this to age well for a number of years given its quality. I’ll have to try it side-by-side with the regular Momtazi in a few years. I’ve not had any older wines from her current winery, but her Scott Paul wines age very well.

Does this remind you at all of Gevrey Chambertin? I bought a bottle out of my price range several years ago ($80) that blew me away and had a very similar profile, but the producer is now $125+.

Personally I think the Ahurani, Mirabai, and even often the Maresh bottlings lean far more Volnay-esque than. any other appellation. Maybe Chambolle towards the Maresh side of things. but the ahurani and Mirabai bottlings especially are so pure and elegant that its hard for me to equate them to anything more structured, tannic, or dark fruited than that

[ChrisJames]

…and here I thought we had you hooked on Ribbon Ridge.

Well…my wife and I had a long conversation about expanding our drinking horizons and decided we’d cut back on our Goodfellow consumption to just six nights a week.

[Todd_Hamina]

Kelley Fox and Volnay

[Todd_Hamina]

[ChrisJames]

Personally I think the Ahurani, Mirabai, and even often the Maresh bottlings lean far more Volnay-esque than. any other appellation. Maybe Chambolle towards the Maresh side of things. but the ahurani and Mirabai bottlings especially are so pure and elegant that its hard for me to equate them to anything more structured, tannic, or dark fruited than that
[/quote]

Todd beat me to pointing out that Kelley loves Volnay.

Matt, thanks for answering on the Gevrey question as I have minuscule Burgundy experience. Now please explain something for me. I would entirely agree with you that all of Kelley’s wines are pure and elegant regardless of vineyard or grape. But I have gotten the impression more than once on this board that somehow “dark” or “black” fruits are a negative. To me, they are just reference point on the spectrum and do not signify a wine that is jammy, heavy, bombastic, or otherwise lacking in balance and finesse (not that you said that) anymore than red or blue as colors are intrinsically brilliant or loud. So, I thought the Ahurani showed blackberry, etc. in a pure and elegant way just as I’ve had red-fruited wines that powerhouses. Am I misunderstanding terminology usage here?

Thanks