2019 Goodfellow Family Cellars Chardonnay Berserker Cuvée Temperance Hill- USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (5/16/2021)
My experience with this wine was in lock-step with Brian (rieslinghoarder). I am a sucker for the flint, struck match smell in wines, and this has that in spades. There is also this lovely balance that reminds me of the Roulot wines I was buying for $36/bottle back in the days. I was surprised to see this was under a 10 year Diam, as I expect that it could age for much longer. A wonderful wine, and I’m shocked at the price-point/value this offers. I’m sure Marcus knows far better than I do, and I don’t think it will be likely that any of these bottles make it to the 10 year mark as good as this is. Bravo…I’m really really happy I bought these and still have more wines to discover with a new (for me) producer in a region that I love.
My biggest complaint with DIAM is their labeling/numbering system–I really wish that they would use something like DIAM1,2,3,4 or greek letters, or something else to convey the levels of density/permeability.
From what I’ve tasted and observed, the DIAM 5’s behave like “normal” grade corks, 10’s like “fancy/extra-nice” corks, and the 30 behaves almost like a screwcap with regard to how fast the wines develop (and how intense/long they go through bottle-shock). As David mentioned, ESJ has used DIAM 5’s for a while and those wines seem to be holding up fantastically.
I think it’s important to remember that the number reflects the number of years that the manufacturer guarantees the closure for. That’s not to say that they expect them to fail at N+1, but rather that they’ll behave like new up until that date, after which there will be more variability. Although my first full vintage was in '18 (and we bottled in a mix of 5’s and 10’s, depending on the wine), I have some older home wines under 5’s that show no signs of slowing down, even in some genres that you’d normally drink younger.
I fully expect the DIAM 10’s I’m using on my wines to last 15-20 years, and the 5’s to last 10-15. Will there be more variability at that point? Sure, but I think that a DIAM 10 at those ages will be less of a crapshoot than most natural corks will be then.
Also FYI, as far as I can remember (and see in various third party studies) there are no spec. differences between Diam 10 and 30 (they have the same oxygen ingress and transmission rates…); a winery would simply pay more for a longer guarantee. This is difficult to fully verify due to the lack of information on Diam’s website. By the way, the guarantee is also not spelled out by Diam. Definitely covers TCA and generally one would assume it would cover other flaws but there are no details.
Kirk, thank you for the wonderful TN and I am really glad that you enjoyed the wine so much!
I used the Diam 10 in the Beserker Cuvee, partly because it had a small amount of reduction prior to bottling and I didn’t wamt it to get out of hand, and also because I felt that the fruit would have no issue aging with the Diam 10. The Diam corks live well beyond their numerical marking, and I would guess this should go 10-20 years pretty easily(but doubt many bottles will go that long).
I cannot wait to try some of your 2019 Pinots! If you have a moment to drop me a PM with some of your thoughts of what I may like here are some left & right boundaries of Pinot Noir that I have & have not liked in Burgundy & Oregon. My hope is that this will help you as you know your wines far better than I.
In Burgundy: I do not tend to like most of the Pommard or Vosne Romanee Burgs that I’ve had. Anything that comes across as "bigger or more in the dark end of the fruit spectrum is just not my bag. I do tend to like Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey Chambertin, Volnay & if you’ve ever tasted the A. et P. de Villaine Mercurey Les Montots that is a long-standing favorite value of mine. Favorite producers in Burgundy include: Domaine Fourrier, Hubert Lignier, Henri Jouan, Domaine Castagnier, & Domaine Maume (before they sold the estate).
In Oregon: I’ve really love the PGC Estate Old Vine & Etzel Block. They are my “go-to”. I also have liked Ken Wright McCrone (but not others by KW), Kelley Fox, Hamacher, older bottles of Eyrie Reserve, and I also enjoy the Cameron funk. I do not care for most Archery Summit, Bergstrom, Domaine Serene, or Shea wines that I’ve had.
