White Wine Kelley Fox Willamette Blanc 2020

The Willamette Blanc 2020 is made from 70% blanc de noir old vine Weber Vineyard Pinot and 30% Chardonnay from three vineyards that in any other year would have been bottled as single vineyard wines of place. Many grower Champagnes that I have enjoyed over the years have been Pinot and Chardonnay, and while this bottling has no bubbles, it’s delicious. Andy Humphrey, my dear friend, cosmic steward, and vineyard manager of Weber, was incredibly generous and supportive during what was for me, a very difficult vintage requiring a lot of pivoting, and he picked my blocks 3 tons per day over 5 days in order to accommodate my smaller wine press and to help Stephanie and I whole cluster press a lot of Weber Pinot that would otherwise be produced as a red wine. All of the Pinot and Chardonnay in this bottling were pressed immediately after picking to avoid any skin contact.

The Willamette Blanc is a brilliantly transparent, very light rose-gold colour. One can easily see that this is a blanc de noir! It is not a rosé. The nose smells of fresh oceanic air, sweet rain and minerals. There are touches of citrus, blossoms, and strawberry, and it is a solid white everyday table wine.