12/16/2024
Rootstock is proud to represent two producers whose wines made Mr. Asimov’s list of standouts for 2024!
Kelley Fox Dundee Hills Dux Vineyard Chardonnay 2022
Each year, Oregon chardonnays seem to get better, more precise and more interesting. One that I’ve enjoyed several times this year was the 2022 Dux Vineyard chardonnay from Kelley Fox in the Willamette Valley.
Ms. Fox tends to float under the radar compared with the more well-known Willamette producers. She offers quirky, sometimes pointed opinions. Referring to her own wines, she said, “These are living things and quite inscrutable.”
I’ve found them lovely, precise and detailed, each well worth scrutinizing. This bottle riveted my attention in August with its beautiful texture and feeling of being alive in the glass.
Martin Texier Brézème 2020
With his stunning, finely etched, long-lived syrah wines, Martin Texier’s father, Éric Texier, put the long-forgotten region of Brézème, in the southernmost part of the Northern Rhône Valley, back on the map. Now, Martin Texier is doing the work as well, making terrific wines of his own even as Éric Texier continues his work.
Martin Texier’s wines do not require as much aging as his father’s before you can enjoy them. He farms organically and works without the addition of sulfur dioxide, an almost universally used antioxidant and stabilizer. This Brézème, like most of his wines, is pure and energetic, as much fun to drink as it is delicious.