I just wanted to share a discovery that I just had. I was at our groups annual summer sipper event where we get the significant others and kids together, eat casual food and drink mostly summer sippers. I was introduced to Domaine Glennon and was able to taste both their Chardonnay and Rose and came away really impressed. I don’t have a bunch of experience with Oregon whites but there is a style of Chardonnay that I prefer, and Marcus Goodfellow who makes these wines, seems to hit that style for me.
As a fairly established taster (at least by my standards) I am always surprised when I mess something up so badly but in this case I whiffed big time. I blindly called this Puligny Montrachet before the unveiling and I as I re-smelled and tasted it, it remained in that vein. It has great acidity and zing with Meyer lemon and florals leading the way on the palate. The nose hits that fantastic buttered popcorn zone and texturally it is just beautiful.
The rose is one of the best Rose’s I have had in sometime and as I later found out, it is due to the extreme quality of the fruit. It is a full bodied rose worthy of more than gulping down. It is a wine that can be seriously enjoyed with food or alone as a sipper.
I got on the website after this lunch and bought 6 of each.
The proprietor is a good guy as well and a friend.
Glad the wine showed well for y’all,
Gosh, Tex, we share a friend - think of it!
I’m also a good friend of the proprietor, but my thoughts on his rose (from last year) are genuine. It is delicious. It bested about 30 foreign and domestic competitors @ a tasting thrown by a restaurant here last year.
I’m waiting for this year’s batch of rose and chardonnay to make its way to my doors.
Apologies it took me awhile to see this. I am in Oregon to bottle the 2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Flight delays have resulted in Marcus pretty well doing all the hard work without me. I am another one of those Berserkers who came from the Parker board and then was dumb enough to go and try this winery thing. Marcus told me this was a bad idea and that I was crazy and every year I realize just how wise he was.
Alston, The Chardonnay is from Durant vineyard. You are the second to tell me they mistook it for PM and of course we will take that as quite the compliment. I will echo Marcus in that I am very happy with 2017 in Oregon. The rose is quite a bit different and we don’t make much of it. Last year I had a very close friend battling breast cancer so we did the wine for her. The 2018 is quite a bit different than the 17 in that it is not a saignee and the grapes are from Temperance Hil, we still do a barrel ferment. It is exactly as you say with dark fruits and plenty of stuffing for food.
John, Your wines will be cold shipped to TX very soon. Also going to try and arrange a tasting at Little Death in San Antonio, ill send you details soon.
Landreth its good to hear from you it has been forever.
Merrill, Do not associate with Landreth! I hope to get to Napa to see you and Mike soon it has been far too long…work has been a little awful for me. I opened a 2009 blackcat when I was home with family a few weekends ago and it showed beautifully.
The Glennon program changed quite a bit in 2018, we picked up Pinot from Durant and Shea vineyards. As a result of the shifts we decided to drop all of the Wrigley and Bednarik into the Willamette Valley for 2017 (it should be quite a WV wine) until we stabilize on fruit sources. I will release the Pinot in the early fall.
If you loved the Domaine Glennon Chardonnay, you should try the Goodfellow Family Cellars Whistling Ridge Richard’s Cuvée chardonnay which is also made by Marcus. Very reasonably priced for the quality!
Glennon is my fathers name. I worked 3-4 harvests for Mike Smith in Napa and was blown away by the physical and mental grind of winemaking. My father is a 4th generation carpenter and his work ethic and his talent for craft is remarkable. The passion in my dad, Mike, Marcus, and many others is what the name tries to convey.
Doug, I love that wine. Did you get a chance to try the 17 WV Chard?
Yes I did! Marcus’s Chardonnays have always been great QPR.