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2017 Goodfellow Family Cellars Pinot Noir Heritage No. 9 Durant Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (10/23/2020)
Typically for Goodfellow, this is on the elegant side, but that doesn’t mean it’s light on flavor. There is plenty of fruit and savory here, and based on the structural balance I could see aging it for 5-7 years before I try another bottle, but 2-3 would potentially be sufficient. It’s a lovely Pinot. I would love to put it up against other Durant bottlings to assess the terroir expression.
Posted from CellarTracker
I have yet to get to Marcus’s Heritage pinots, but for now I’ll have to suffer with a 17 Durant that’s on deck, and great note David, has me very thirsty this am.
Is there ever been a better time to a consumer for OR wines? Quality, Availability, range in styles, and fair pricing. A golden era for sure.
I love these Heritage selections. Nice note.
Thanks very much for the note David.
It’s fun, and usually insightful, to compare the regular Durant bottlings with the Heritage bottlings. Typically the vineyard designates are comprised of lots with whole cluster ranging between 50-100%, raised in 1-2 fill puncheons(500 liters and 2 years per fill). The Heritage wines are almost exclusively 100% whole cluster, and since 2017 have been raised in the oldest puncheons in the cellar, coopered in 2011 and 2012.
The deeper volcanic soils in the Dundee Hills hold moisture very well, and give the vines a lot of energy for leaf growth, and little stress from drought. It’s a vineyard that has little problem producing beautiful fruit, and we mostly orient our work to highlighting the savory components.
As savory as the 2017 vintage is, I think this is a good window to look at the wines. I do expect them to close up shop for a few years at some point but so far they are still showing their potential.
The 2017 House Block and the WR Heritage are also drinking well with a few hrs of air. Love the 2017 Goodfellow Pinots I have had.