98pts Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard is super-expressive and hits on all cylinders, with electric energy throughout. Aromatically, it’s layered with notes of pine needles, wild cherry, and fresh medicinal herbs, and on the palate, it offers ripe, supple tannins and an outstanding finish. It’s going to have a very wide drinking window over the next 10-15 years.
Winemaker Notes
It’s deeper red than my other Pinots, and both youthful and transparent. I love the hint of violets on the nose carried by red fruits, subtle spices on ocean air. Overall, this wine is deeper than my other bottlings, and the mouth is full of just-ripe blackberries with a hint of salinity and cola. This Freedom Hill is delicious and has a fine focus that continues through the long finish.
About the Winery
Kelley Fox is one of the wine world’s unsung heroes. She makes beautifully balanced, fragrantly-fruited Pinot Noirs in miniscule quantities from her biodynamically-tended vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. For me there are few better Pinot Noir producers than her in the USA.
This is Kelley’s first bottling from the Freedom Hill vineyard. The 2021 vintage was an excellent one in the Willamette Valley, with perfect sunny days and cool nights during most of July and August.