Twill Cellars and Kelley Fox Single Vineyard Excellence from 2023

Twill Cellars

One of our very favorite annual offers is here. Over the years we've been banging the Twill drum calling Chris Dickson's wines some of the most terroir-driven in the new world. He's a talented winemaker who is humbly executing his craft with the intent to provide the clearest possible lens for each site. The result is detailed, nuanced, and complex wines that are fresh, nuanced, and vibrant. They're fantastic examples that 100% deserve your attention.

Twill isn't a winery you'll see being peddled by critics because they don't submit for scores. Instead the trust is given to the wine drinker. After all, they know we enthusiasts are always on the hunt. And so when Chris recently visited us with the release of his 2023 single vineyards we knew this was an opportunity to showcase the project.

We're featuring a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from two distinct vineyards. It's also important to note that these wines compete with the Willamette Valley's finest while offering tremendous value.

Case discounts available. To take advantage of special discounted pricing, simply reply to this email with your order, or place the order through the website and we will manually apply the discount.

Stormy Morning Vineyard

Planted in 2001 Stormy Morning Vineyard is located in the far reaches of the Tualatin Hills AVA. Shallow, ancient marine sediments form the topsoil The site also benefits from cooling oceanic winds that emanate from the more Northern Astorian corridor. This vineyard has flown under the radar for too long.

Twill Cellars 2023 Chardonnay Stormy Morning Vineyard, Tualatin Hills

$49.99 bottle / $275.94($45.99) six-pack The best Oregon Chardonnays are the closest thing there is to elite White Burgundy and even the best Oregon Chardonnays (and this is one of them) cost just a fraction of great White Burgundy. Aromas of key lime, lemongrass melding with ginger, wets stones, and cream. The palate feels delicate yet still taught and refreshing with captivating and lingering flavors of lime cream, ginger, and apricot, braced by a slick vein of minerality. With such a fine edge this wine has years to improve in the bottle.

$49.99

Twill Cellars 2023 Pinot Noir Stormy Morning Vineyard, Tualatin Hills

$49.99 bottle / $275.94($45.99) six-pack This vintage is full of charm. Really expressive with a sort of oceanic feeling. Wrapped in Black cap raspberry, blueberries, blood orange and black tea. The palate has great drive that ramps up in volume packed with raspberry, bing cherry, citrus, earth, and an array of dried spices. Quite structured in its youth this perfectly ripe pinot either needs time in the cellar or a roast chicken with chanterelles.

$49.99

Johan Vineyards

Located in the Van Duzer Corridor AVA southwest of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, experiencing cooler, more maritime influences including wind and large diurnal temperature swings from day to night. Biodynamically farmed and planted in 2002 on a complex patchwork of silty clay loam and Helvetia (ancient marine sediments). One of the latest vineyards to ripen in the valley this vineyard always produces flavorful and vibrant wines.

Twill Cellars 2023 Chardonnay Johan Vineyards, Van Duzer Corridor

$49.99 bottle / $275.94($45.99) six-pack What a high wattage Chardonnay. Tightly wound and coursing with energy. Layered with aromas of crushed rocks, tangerine, nectarine, dried apricot, and a kiss of reductive gun-flint. Something new with each whiff. The palate feels very serious and is packed with punches of citrus and tree fruits. The acid profile almost sizzles and evokes a salivary response while the finish lingers and lingers. So classy but so youthful. It will be neat to see where this one goes with some time.

$49.99

Twill Cellars 2023 Pinot Noir Johan Vineyards, Van Duzer Corridor

$49.99 bottle / $275.94($45.99) six-pack Hard to pick one but this is my favorite. It's hitting on every level. Great bouquet that opens with iron, blood, macerated orange rinds, rose hips, and a hint of strawberry. The palate matches the bouquet seamlessly. The fruit and acid are perfectly juxtaposed with the tannin and savory. It's seriously fine tuned. Part of me can't imagine how good this wine will be in the future. The other part wonders how high the critics would score this if they had the chance.

$49.99

Kelley Fox

Kelley Fox has quietly reached the apogee of Oregon wine making. Coincidently, Kelley is not the type of person who seems to care about status and goes about her craft quietly and thoughtfully. While her wines are slowly being discovered nationwide, Kelley already has a die-hard following here in the Pacific Northwest. We’re well into the 2023 Oregon Pinot Noir release season, and it's hard to imagine a new world Pinot Noir that will be able to top the Pinot Noirs below. These wines are made in tiny quantities and sell out very quickly. First come, first served.

By now, 2023 is easily recognized as a wonderful vintage in the Willamette Valley, and these are at the apogee of the vintage. So yeah, we love them!

-Eric

Kelley Fox 2023 Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard, Eola-Amity

$73.99 bottle / $399.99($66.97) six-pack Carter is one of the older, and very best Pinot Noir vineyards in the Eola-Amity hills. Kelley’s block comes from own-rooted Pommard and Wadensvil clone vines planted in 1983. This is a master class in soil transparency and coiled energy. At the moment, this is the most reticent and lightest of these single vineyard wines, but, just wait…my money’s on this wine to be majestic (and probably the most complex) when it’s in its 10-15 year window. The Carter 2023 has a bright strawberry and raspberry nose with subtle spices, a floral hint, and a hint of forest floor earth that are carried through the palate to a long finish with real tension and power. Enjoy 2027-2039.

$73.89

Kelley Fox 2023 Pinot Noir Shafer, Tualatin Hills

$73.99 bottle / $399.99($66.97) six-pack This is the first vintage that Kelley has made from the little known and incredibly beautiful Shafer vineyard. These are own-rooted Wadensvil and Pommard vines planted way back in 1973! This is really beguiling wine. The nose is already so aromatic, and it’s just beginning to unfurl. Scents of baking spices, hood strawberries, freshly tilled soil waft up from the glass and segue to the silkiest palate you can imagine where flavors reprise the aromatic themes. Enjoy now- 2037. If I had to pick just one…

$73.89

Kelley Fox 2023 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Liminal, Dundee Hills

$73.99 bottle / $399.99($66.97) six-pack Along with Eyrie’s original vineyard, Maresh is probably the most famous and highly regarded Pinot Noir vineyard in the new world - and justifiably so. Unfortunately, this is the last vintage of this wine for Kelley as most of the vineyard needs to be replanted as the 1970 own-rooted vines are dying from phylloxera - a true loss for Pinot Noir lovers. The beautiful nose soars from the glass and segues to the seamless medium-bodied palate. This is a supremely elegant and balanced wine while still possessing a gorgeous kernel of strawberry fruit. Maresh's soil signature is on full display for those seeking a sense of terroir in the new world Pinot Noir. Delicious now, this beauty should gain in complexity for years and prove to be very long-lived. This wine has a spellbinding, quiet intensity. The Chambolle-Musigny of the new world. Enjoy over the next 15+ years.

$73.99

Kelley Fox 2023 Pinot Noir Durant Vineyard, Dundee Hills

$73.99 bottle / $399.99($66.97) six-pack This is old vine, self-rooted Pommard planted in 1974 and 1984 from the famous Durant vineyard. Classic Dundee Hills aromatics are on full display with scents of violets, dark cherry, and damp earth. The deftly-balanced palate combines power and concentration with elegance and finesse in a way that simply dazzles. Pinot Noir winemakers all over the world lust after this combination, yet so few ever realize it. The interplay between the beautiful red fruits (Hood strawberry and red raspberry) and earthy/mineral components are mesmerizing. The silky texture is seamless all the way through the long, penetrating finish. Enjoy now, or better yet from 2027-2038.

$73.89

Kelley Fox 2023 Pinot Noir Stater Vineyard, Dundee Hills

$73.99 bottle / $399.99($66.97) six-pack The Stater vineyard is situated directly between The Eyrie Vineyards estate vineyard and Durant Vineyard: talk about provenance! This is Kelley’s first vintage working with Stater and is the darkest in color and fruit profile while also offering the most weight, textural density and tannic structure, while still retaining the classic Kelley Fox balance. If any of the above Kelley Fox Pinots sound a touch too ethereal to you, the Stater offers a nice contrast.

$73.99

Kelley Fox 2023 Pinot Noir Mirabai, Dundee Hills

SALE $33.99 / Regularly $39.99 MIrabai is Kelley’s version of a “Willamette Valley” blend of vineyards. In this case, it’s all Dundee Hills fruit coming from Weber, Maresh, Stater and Durant. As it is pretty much every vintage, this is delicious Pinot Noir that can be enjoyed now and over the next five years at a very nice price. From Kelley: “The Mirabai 2023 is medium-dark, deep youthful red with blue undertones and brilliant transparency. The nose is a heady mix of minerals, subtle spices, ripe strawberries, and other dark red berries and cherries. The mouth is juicy and classic Dundee Hills silky with forever strawberries that end in a long finish. This Mirabai has depth, richness and power without any heaviness. It’s full of movement.”

$33.99