2024 Kelley Fox Chardonnay Willamette Valley

2024 is the fourth vintage of this Chardonnay bottling, and this one is produced from two vineyards I love and respect tremendously: Durant Vineyard and Freedom Hill Vineyard (about 50% percent each). I’ve put them in a label drawn by my younger daughter, Violet, depicting a snowy owl about to light onto a Western hemlock branch.

The 2024 is a pale, shining gold and brilliantly transparent. The rich, creamy tropical fruit nose with powdery minerals continues in the mouth with a pleasing heft without the weight. Like a beautiful raindrop shaped by our Earth’s gravity but in a texture. Long finish. This Chardonnay is unadorned with new wood but still benefits from oak tree energy and the cool minerality of concrete amphora tanks.