A few months ago, I was looking for a fairly Burgundian Pinot from Oregon and asked the board to help me select one. It became pretty obvious that Goodfellow was the most likely to fit the bill. I called Marcus, and we had a long conversation, and I ended up ordering an assortment.
Over the last month or so, I have been tasting and enjoying the wines. It took a little while to get used to the higher fruit, but the wines certainly showed complexity, and were quite unlike the Oregon wines I remember.
And then I tasted the Heritage’15. Let me say in the interest of full disclosure that before writing this note, I secured enough to satisfy the two Zoom groups I belong to, as well as a few extra for me. It was by far the most complex and interesting of all the wines tasted. The fruit was wild strawberries, with lovely bright floral flavors and spices. I loved the bright acidity, and although decanted a hour before, it still needed time in the glass. The finish was long, interestingly far longer than any of the other wines. I am going to cellar the remaining bottles for another three to five years, as I think we caught them a little young.
I am so glad I did this. My original motives were weird, but tasting the best of Oregon after twenty years of drinking Burgundy, and getting to know Marcus, who joined us for a Zoom tasting, has been really rewarding and fun.
This is a deja vu moment. Don Cornutt posted something similar not long ago. Huh. Maybe I should start buying. Nah, I better wait until someone who knows what they are talking about praises the wine.
I really appreciate this Mark, and it has been a pleasure talking about wine off and on for the past month. I am pretty sure that someday when we are looking at Covid in the rearview mirror, there will be a lot of unique and very positive things that came about in spite of it. I will definitely count getting to know you in my list.
The board has brought a lot of people into my world that I wouldn’t know otherwise(not least Mitch, Matt, David, Shan, Charlie, and Don Cornutt) and I am really happy that I do.
So stoked that Mark and his friends had a Goodfellow Zoom and appreciated the wines
The 15 regular SVD WR has some ripping acid and I remember drinking one on release and going this is not your typical Pinot Noir, will be awesome in 10+. I haven’t touched one since. The 15 Heritage #5 from Durant was special to me. Marcus poured and gifted us the the remainder of that heritage #4 which we enjoyed with traditional Steak Tartare, Roast Duck, and other local fare… It was a special wine moment for both of us.
Prior to that visit I listened to a bunch of the Oregon lover crowd here @WB and I’m hooked. Whistling Ridge makes some fantastic wines for my palate. There is clear hierarchy to the wines and the distinction from site remain vintage to vintage which excites me. What excites me more is that the SVD and QPR wines have all the same stuffing as the hiertiage. Better blocks and better barrel selection yield additional refinement but the base level cuvees from Durant and Whistling Ridge so over deliver in a big way for me. I miss the Souris. Glad I still have a few left. I’m still most partial to Whistling Ridge as a site.
BTW: Don’t miss the 18 Whistling Ridge Blanc. Its more intense and serious than the traditional WR blanc and might be incredible in about 20 years. I think Marcus agrees on the aging potential due to the serious XL diam on this bottling.
Glad others are trying Marcus’ wines and discovering how wonderful they are. Great wines that reflect site, and Marcus is a fount of information for those just dipping their toes in the Oregon wine scene. There are many fantastic vineyards in the WV, and Whistling Ridge deserves its place among those top vineyards.
Very glad to see folks posting notes on his younger Pinots.
Matello/Goodfellow is my number 1 holding. I’ve drank many bottles of his Chardonnays, White Blends, Rieslings, Pinot Gris, Syrah, and Cab Franc, but I let the Pinots sit. Of the many cases of Pinot that I’ve bought from Marcus, I’ve opened less than 5 bottles - mostly WV bottlings. Having tasted enough of them from others at 10+ years, I’d prefer to wait and am extremely confident my patience will be rewarded. Considering opening a 2008 WR Pinot at some point this year.
Yeah, great note and I’m glad that you found Marcus and the Goodfellow Family Cellars wines. I was smitten with the Heritage #4 during our annual visit with Marcus in June 2017 and I have purchased nearly a case of that particular wine over the years. No doubt that was the top wine of our Oregon trip in 2017 and we do a lot of tastings during the week. Structure and length for days.
As Scott T. mentioned, I would not be in any hurry to drink any of the Goodfellow wines. I would expect Heritage #4 to keep strutting for 10-20+ years. In fact, I would be more worried about drinking it in 3-5 years, as some Oregon Pinot can shut down. I’ll probably check in every couple of years on Heritage #4, but I’m in no hurry.
If you have any doubts about aged Oregon Pinot and if you are ever in the Charlotte Metro Area, I’ll be glad to open a few bottles for you. Several vintages from the 1990’s and 2000’s are still drinking great. Heck, after a long slumber, the 2008’s are finally coming around.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, can’t wait until COVID goes away and plan my OR trip. The only WR Heritage I’ve opened so far was #2, which was excellent, and I’m eagerly awaiting my summer weather holds to be delivered including the Heritage vertical from the quarantine offer.
Marcus, any chance you’ll be doing a similar offer during BDXII?
I am pretty sure that we’ll have something along those lines for Berserker Day. I haven’t had a chance to plan that far out yet, but we’ll try to think of something really fun.
Originally, the idea for the Heritage wines was focused on Whistling Ridge. But in 2015, I knewit was the last year that we would be working with the original vines at Durant. So that became the #5, and a really beautiful 100% whole cluster ferment of Fir Crest was #6.
I’m surprised there is no CT note for the 2012 Heritage 1. But the No. 3 is 2014, my oldest sons birth year. That’s him in the photo, helping me with pigeage at 17 days old, on the birth year wines thread. In 2014 we did pretty good work, but against big clusters and a lot of heat. I only bottled 25 cases of Heritage No. 3, and have only sold a case or two.
Thanks for clarifying. That makes total sense. Recent deliveries will have the same label, where the number is only on the back label. Sorry to be confusing.
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