Yes. You could have taken those words right out of Kelley’s mouth. She makes her reds as if they are whites. I think her Maresh bottlings will evolve for ten years easily. And the Royal Anne is at least a 94. 
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The interesting thing is that the “entry-level” pinot Mirabai is often a slightly bigger wine than most of the Maresh vineyard bottlings. Though not bigger than the Weber vineyard pinot.
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If anyone has opened any of the 2013s from previous berserkerday library offerings, they are still going strong. and thats not just Maresh: even Mirabai/Ahurani are still getting better at this point.
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I’ve had the 08 Maresh recently and many more years to go. Had a 19 Royal Anne recently and seems like it has shut down honestly. Wasn’t nearly as expressive as when I had it a year ago. Kelley’s wine have great longevity so don’t be afraid to age them.
I love Kelley Fox wines in general, and her 2019 Maresh in particular. But I’m genuinely curious about @Mattstolz and @Cody_S 's comments about 2008 and 2013 Kelley Fox wines.
My question is are they just surviving or starting to transform into something greater for those who love aged wine?
These wines are so delicious young, I’m tempted to drink most, and stick a few bottles in the back of the cellar for the future. Would this be a mistake?
Ok, I’ve talked myself out of it. I’ll bury half for later.
Thanks for the help.
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If you didn’t see this, check out Jim Anderson’s comments on a KF Maresh vertical. about how they put on weight and ideally shouldn’t be touched for ten years. Post #4.
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I too love the 2019’s and when I tasted at the winery last year they were our favorite wines of our entire trip. In general I love the 2019 vintage. When discussing Kelley’s 2008 specifically I feel like this wine has improved greatly over the last few years. There was more oak on this particular vintage than usual and I feel like it has integrated very well now and is really starting to open up. Since her first vintage was 2007 I believe and I’ve only had that wine once, it’s hard for me to tell what real time (20+ yrs) will bring. Obviously 2007 and 2008 were very different growing seasons and the 07 was showing much leaner than the 08 but equally impressive. I completely understand and agree with you that these wines show incredibly well young so it’s hard to not drink them quickly. I think this is due to the elegant style and deft touch Kelley uses. I can say that the 07 and 08 have improved a good bit since release but they have not done anything crazy in terms of transitioning to secondary or tertiary flavors yet. They are still elegant, perfumed and everything they show in their youth but with even more grace and silkiness. I’m not sure if they will ever transition they way 20-30 yr old Cameron Clos Electrique or Thomas wines do but I have no reason to doubt that as talented as Kelley is. I can tell you that I typically try to start drinking Maresh bottlings with 8 yrs of age on them (2015 now) and see where they are before determining how much to hold back. I try not to touch them until this point and it has served me well so far. I scratch the itch with opening her Mirabai wines young while I age the single vineyard stuff. That Mirabai in an insane value and is not far off the higher end wines in terms of quality.
In short, I’d hold back a few of the more structured vintages to see for yourself. If you enjoy them young, drink the crap out of them and don’t look back. There is no wrong answer when to enjoy these incredible wines! I do enjoy aged wines more than young so for my personal taste I think there is absolutely a benefit to aging some for my palate.
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A couple of other points regarding comparing 2019 to previous years.
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2007/2008, Kelley used 30% or less new oak. Since 2012 she has used zero.
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Up through 2015 she used screw tops rather than cork. Those have the potential to change the aging curve to the upside, She now uses natural cork. I hope she switches to Diam one day.
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She had always used 30-100% whole cluster. In 2019, she used zero for everything as far as I can tell. You can draw your own conclusions about the affect of that from the “Whole Cluster” thread.
I have not had older KF wines, but I’ve had Scott Paul wines where she was the winemaker with much the same techniques and vineyard sources. The 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2013 were all notably young and fresh in the last few years.
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I wish I found her wines much earlier. I’ve had a bottle here and there since the 2016 vintage, but only started to buy to cellar with 2019.
I bought six 2019 and six 2021 Mirabai as cellar defenders, alas the 2019’s did their job already. I’ll short term the 2021’s and maybe two of each of the other SVD’s, and bury the rest.
Thanks, @ChrisJames and @Cody_S
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Hello all. If there are any questions that pop up regarding these lovelies, I am more than happy to help. It seems like the 2019s are getting discussed the most and especially the Maresh vineyard designates. Don’t hesitate to throw one out and I’ll do my best to answer it thoroughly.
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Ok I’ll bite! How is the Maresh Royal Anne different from the Maresh?
Location, location, location.
The longest running Maresh Bottling, which for the longest time has had no name associated on the label but does now (Liminal), are two 1970 planted blocks on the eastern side of the farm. The most southerly facing is pommard and the more sheltered of the two is wadensvil. The Maresh, now Liminal, is the best free run barrels from both of those blocks blended together. Probably the most delicate and pretty of them all. A personal fave. The others are magical…but you can chose a favorite child.
The Royal Ann Block are younger (early 90s planted) pommard, which abut a hundred year old Royal Ann Cherry tree grove half way up in altitude on the property. Hence the name. It’s just named block 10 at the farm. With a southerly exposure and open out to the west too. Of course shaded by trees to the east. Kelley gives it the cute name. I also think the trees help provide some character through yeast sharing, fruit/flower dropping and root connection. Every time I enjoy the wine…my first thought is ‘Cherries?’…blame the trees. The 2019 is singing.
I’m hoping to get the rest of the country shipping here soon so whomever were able to get some from B14. Temps have been a little unpredictable out to the east and south.
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Great into. And I’m a 100% with you on the cherry tones in the Royal Anne. Red Barn and Star of Bethlehem are also unique Maresh blocks, correct? Very sad that 2018 was the last Red Barn bottling. Will Star of Bethlehem continue in 2021?
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[ChrisJames] you are spot on about the blocks all being unique. The Red Barn is sadly no longer with us. It is the two 1970 blocks just off of the Barn (tasting room). To me it has a bit more lushness than the Liminal from the same age and clonal old vines.
The 2021 Star of Bethlehem Flower Block will be released this fall…mmmmmm. This one is just above the Royal Ann Block on top of the hill. More sun, more wind, more exposure. I have noticed more texture and boldness than all the other ones, probably why it tends to get the most attention. The domestic pallets tends to gravitate to fuller wines. Is it a monster? Oh h*ll no. It’s just the more pronounced.
I’ve noticed over the many years, that some folks just gravitate to one bottling over another. Everyone’s pallet is different. All in all, they are very special.
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I was honestly surprised by the older Kelley Fox wines ive had for that exact reason. I really enjoy them young, they have such good energy and elegance and balance young. But the older ones Ive had did seem to gain from the time in bottle: a bit of added complexity, a little bit more stuffing (in a good way, I was worried it would become even lighter which I dont know would have benefitted her wines).
the trick is leaving them alone long enough to get the age on them. that’s why its so awesome when they do library releases for berserkerday: she aged them for us!
Had my second to last 12 Maresh a couple of weeks ago and in my opinion it’s still on the rise. Really lovely bottle!
What do people think the optimal age is to start drinking their KF wines? Do they see a dumb phase or can you pretty much drink them at any point in their development? @Dustin_Swenson when are you and Kelley enjoying her wines the most?
@dcornutt This thread has gone far beyond your TN. Now that @Dustin_Swenson is also chiming in, maybe you could change the thread title to “All Things Kelley Fox” or something like that. A specific KF thread is long over due and this way, there is no need to start over.
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Since Dustin is sleeping in today, I’ll share my thoughts. I always buy a six pack of the entry level red, Mirabai (and previously Ahurani) for immediate drinking. For the red single vineyard wines, I think they can be drunk from the get-go, but will get much better with time. Last year, I tried a 2017 Hyland and while delicious, I thought it was definitely too young. For the whites, the track record is short, but I am inclined to drink them in the first few years after release. I believe Ms. Fox would concur with this.
The wines typically show amazingly well after about a year or so after bottling. In their extreme youth they are like a baby giraffe…they’re walking, but not as majestic as they could be. That being said, I tend to start checking in on them around the 3-5 year mark after bottling. I’m popping '17s and '18s now. I’m also not the most patient and my cellar isn’t the largest space. Wine has to leave to make room for the next stash. And the winery library is quite small/young and there are only a few wines I’ve gotten to try. When I do try the older ones I am always wildly amazed at how youthful in nature they to tend to stay. @Mattstolz said it well with the weight tends to build up over time too. It’s a great balance. I’ve been working with her for many years now and I still have no clue how she does it. Must be a touch of art and whimsy.
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