As some of you already know, Marcus recently kindly put-together a mixed case for me, per my request to “do your best to impress me and have me coming back for more.” Additionally, I took advantage of the Monopole Cru offer Marcus kindly put-together for us. So, in total, 18 bottles, spanning 16 bottlings, as I doubled-up on two of the offerings. At 18 bottles, Goodfellow immediately jumps into my Top 10 winery holdings, by quantity — imo, this reflects a meaningful effort to give these wines a legit chance to impress me. I told Marcus my intention with these incoming wines, largely, is to drink them in the near future. By “near future,” I’m thinking over the next year.
I am well-aware the reputation of these wines is that they needs lots of time and air to show well, and I intend to keep that in mind as I taste through them. The first two bottles I opened were the 2018 Heritage No. 11 from the Durant Vineyard and the 2016 Whistling Ridge. They were tasted side-by-side, over the course of a week, with 5 check-ins apiece. I tried to be as accurate, detailed, and honest as possible in my notes, and I think they largely speak for themselves.
I think I will continue to put my forthcoming Goodfellow TNs in this thread, as opposed to creating separate ones for each wine, as I normally would do, as I figure there may be lots of helpful conversation and debate that ultimately comes-about in this thread, with cross-references to our various tastings. I do plan to do blind tastings, and intend to structure them in a way that will allow us to compare vintages across a bottling or bottlings across a vintage. So, without further ado, my first two Goodfellow Pinots!
2018 Goodfellow Family Cellars Pinot Noir Heritage No. 11 Durant Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (10/26/2021)
– decanted 7.25 hrs. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 1.25 hrs on Day 1 –
– Day 2: tasted non-blind over 1.25 hrs, starting at the 31.25 hrs mark –
– Day 3: tasted non-blind over approx. 1 hr., starting at the 55.5 hrs mark –
– Day 5 (100 hrs) & Day 7: tasted non-blind over 45 to 60 minutes –
NOSE: very tight; dark red berries; clean; hint of melon (honeydew?). DAY 2: still tight, but a bit more giving than on Day 1; now a faint wet cement mineral note. DAY 3: still tight. DAY 5: clean; floral; red-fruited with a now-emerging cool little orange oil note. DAY 7: non-descript red fruits with touch of caramel, with a dash of “Vosne spice” adding complexity.
BODY: dark ruby color of medium-shallw depth; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: tight; lightly tannic; touch bitter – lightly green/weedy (g/w); fine tannins are noticeable; lightly floral. DAY 2: still tannic; g/w element still there; noticeable oak; medium+ to high acidity; still tight. DAY 3: even more tight today, but at least g/w element is receding. DAY 5: still reserved, but opening more; g/w mostly gone. DAY 7: quite enjoyable, but now starting to show a touch oxidized. A and I both liked this wine, but that’s mostly on the strength of potential; as it drinks today, it’s certainly on the quiet and stern side of things. Strong HOLD recommendation.
2016 Goodfellow Family Cellars Pinot Noir Whistling Ridge Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge (10/26/2021)
– decanted 7.25 hrs. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 1.25 hrs on Day 1 –
– Day 2: tasted non-blind over 1.25 hrs, starting at the 31.25 hrs mark –
– Day 3: tasted non-blind over approx. 1 hr., starting at the 55.5 hrs mark –
– Day 5 (100 hrs) & Day 7: tasted non-blind over 45 to 60 minutes –
NOSE: tight; brooding; red-fruited, but at times also veered darker; “darker” Nose than the '18 Heritage No. 11; hints of smoked beef sticks and cumin seed. DAY 2: dense, non-descript dark red fruits; background funk (brett?). DAY 3: slowly opening — almost moderately expressive now. DAY 5: same aromas as Day 3, but a touch more expressive. DAY 7: starting to smell oxidized, otherwise same as before.
BODY: dark ruby color of medium-shallw depth; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: a bit bitter; red currant; a bit “darker” than the '18 Heritage No. 11; 13.4% alc. not noticeable. DAY 2: I’m now sold on there being some low-level brett, although Ashley doesn’t think it’s brett; faint oak; earthy; medium+ acidity; still tight. DAY 3: still funky; not showy. DAY 5: finally open; still funky, with an underlying earthiness and gentle mineral note that strikes me as a hypothetical NSG/Gevrey hybrid. DAY 7: hint of caramel now, but otherwise same as Day 5. This needs time — it’s very subtle right now. It wasn’t until Day 5 did this wine open up in any sort of meaningful fashion. Strong HOLD recommendation.