Love & Squalor

Curious what the OR folks thing about Love & Squalor.

The 2013 WV Pinot is sub-$30 at my grocery store, and I’ve had probably three bottles as impulse-open-that-night purchases.

It’s a great wine for that price. Nice mix of red and dark fruit. No thinness that 2013s can sometimes have, solid medium body from beginning to end. There’s a hint of forest floor that I really love that is hard to come by in wines at this price point. Excellent balance of the elements I’m looking for and reasonable complexity.

I recommend giving it a try if you come across it.

Michael

Never had their Pinots, but sounds like worth a shot. I do dig their Riesling, especially the Antsy Pants.

Speaking of local grocery stores, was pleasantly surprised to see ‘14 Goodfellow WV Pinot at PCC Fremont at a great price. First time I’ve seen Marcus’ wines in Seattle.

Agreed on the nice tense Riesling. Never tried the Pinot.

I shop at Ballard Market if anyone local wants to try it. Nice selection, truly atrocious prices.

Michael

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Matt is in Texas and Monday a few of us are meeting him for an off line. I’ll post a few notes.

It’s good juice from good people.

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+1

I like the 2013 L&S Pinot Noir quite a bit. Very bright, juicy, and refreshing with lots of tertiary non-fruit notes layering around the core.
Super drinkable for me while providing the intrigue I like in Pinot Noir.

Thanks Todd & Marcus! Ironically, I probably wouldn’t’ve tried it if y’all had better WA distribution.

Marcus, that matched my experience pretty closely.

Michael

Scott, just went to the old Greenlake PCC. Got the last three bottles of 2014 Goodfellow WV. Excited to give that one a try.

Michael

Better? More like any? WA is a very protectionist state because they know OR is so incredibly more delicious a place. Why else do you think they covet Walla Walla so much.

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Glad you found some. I’ve drank many of Marcus’ wines, but never the WV Pinot. I plan to grab quite a few this weekend. The Fremont PCC still has quite a few should you want more (maybe I should go buy mine now).

Todd - As much as I love Seattle/WA, you are speaking some truth!

Michael (and Scott), the Goodfellow WV bottling we did for PCC is a set of declassified barrels from Durant, Whistling Ridge, Deux Vert, and Johan(not a regular source of Pinot Noir for me, but I like the farming-Dan Rinke is farming biodynamically and an ex-pat of Rhys, and the site is quite unique with a lot of exposure to the winds of the Van Duzer corridor.

Let me know what you think of the wine.

For $15, it’s great. (PCC also had the Love & Squalor PN on the shelf for $28, yours was $16, 10% off for a mixed six pack.)

Light bodied for the vintage (but not for Goodfellow, of course). Nice tart cranberry and cherry core. I feel like it’s more integrated on the second night, was a little austere on pop and pour, but fleshed out with air. Quaffable wine, can imagine it going great with the PNW summer. I feel like it has the signature of your wines with less stuffing, and more accessible young (although clearly needing a bit of air or time).

I’m curious about the business side of this. Is the PCC wine the same as the OPNC wine? Are there just two retail outlets? How did that come about? Are you doing another '14 WV for the normal channels? Will we see the SVDs at PCC in the future? Anything you’re willing to share would be great.

Glad to be a beneficiary, just curious. (750 cases is probably too much for a Berserker Cuvee, but the price is nice!)

Michael

The business side of this is really about the size of the 2014 vintage. 2013 was good sized for us, and 2014 was huge. When 2015 was substantial as well, I either needed to let go of fruit contracts or find a way to increase sales rapidly. As a new parent, spending the time to open new states and travel to visit all of our markets is not appealing right now. Instead I opted to take some very pretty wine from neutral barrels and make a cuvée for a couple retail accounts able to take significant amounts of wine. I am hopeful PCC will have some of the other wines as this cuvée runs out.

And while 2014 is a riper vintage, this is still a wine that will improve dramatically over the next few years.

Another fan of Love and Squalor here. Especially the Riesling, but also the other offerings.

I have not tasted the wines, but I appreciate the Salinger reference. One of my favorite short stories.

Sorry - not really on topic.

Thanks for the insight, Marcus. I’ll probably pick up a few more bottles of the WV for cellaring, and keep an eye out for more wines there in the future.

Michael

Cracked a bottle late last week. Michael’s note is spot on. I also liked this better on day 2, so will sit on my remaining bottles for a few months and keep a few to drink in the following years.

For the $14 I paid after my PCC discount, this is a ridiculous QPR. The common refrain that delicious, well made Pinot can’t be had for under $20 should look for this bottling.

Meant to update this thread. I opened my second Goodfellow a few nights ago, and thought it was even better than that first. A bit more open and accessible. Still lots of structure, still pretty austere compared to what I imagine most folks would want from a grocery store pinot, but what do I know. I’m thankful for this $15 gem. Thanks, Marcus! Thanks, PCC!

Michael

Can someone briefly compare and contrast for me the '13 vs '14 Goodfellow WV Pinot? If I have visitors coming this weekend who say they like Oregon Pinot, but I’m broke, making no money whilst on paternity leave, and having no proper cellar full of older Oregon Pinot, do I buy the '13 or '14 to drink this weekend?