Went through a couple more Goodfellow over the weekend, notes attached. Was very pleased with the Riesling–would recommend pouring a glass and leaving the rest in the fridge overnight for rather than PnP.
2023 Goodfellow Family Cellars Riesling Whistling Ridge Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge (5/19/2024)
I was very impressed with this. Better than some entry level dry German Riesling I’ve had. Takes a few hours to fully open but is really lovely. Zippy acidity, lime zest and white florals, actually felt like there was the slightest hint of petrol on the nose too. Acidity and minerals make the finish.
2021 Goodfellow Family Cellars Pinot Noir Durant Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (5/19/2024)
Double decanted this for 24h (1h decanter, 24h in cellar). Didn’t get a ton to be honest. Mostly one tone of red fruit, some stemmy notes. Has some tannins but didn’t feel like they were putting up a wall.
This is really really nice. Nose seems quiet at this stage but can get some yellow pear and white florals. Palate is a totally different story. Medium body, excellent mouthfeel, zippy acidity. Lemon meringue, pears, hint of almonds, lime zest. Finish is long with plenty of minerality and citrus fruit.
I have generally liked Goodfellow chards though this is clearly a step up. You could slip this into a blind tasting of high end chard and it would do well.
As delicious as this is to drink now, I’d hold for another 5-8 years. (93 points)
How many winemakers, anywhere in the world, have as deft a touch across all the grapes they work with? And now sparkling too (granted, early days). It’s quite remarkable, really.
Last night I opened a 2013 Whistling Ridge for my family, who are all visiting for Memorial Day. I gave the wine a two hour decant, which seemed about right. It was delicious, full of cherry and red fruit flavors. Everyone enjoyed it, including my father in law, who might have been persuaded that maybe building the wine cellar wasn’t such a bad idea after all!
2017 Goodfellow Family Cellars Pinot Noir Pumphouse Block Temperance Hill - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (5/18/2024)
Day 1: PnP. Aromatics are lovely - fall leaves, cherry, and a hint of bubble gum. Palate is a little light, a bit tart, looking forward to see the evolution over a couple of days. After about an hour of air it opened up a bit on the palate, showing more strawberry and tea. 92 pts
Day 4: aromatics still solid. A bit sappier, fruit has dropped a touch, black tea coming out more on the palate. Finish is long. 93 pts
Day 5: more floral aromatics dominating the red fruit. On the palate red fruit and black tea. Black tea has quieted down a bit, but still is out front on the 30 second finish. Tannins still present. 93 pts
Day 6: Red fruit and autumn leaves. A touch of black tea - where did it go? Fruit was a touch more mellow than I would have liked, but a enjoyable bottle. Note to self: 6 day slow ox. 93 pts (93 points)
The 2019 Lewman Skin-Contact Pinot Gris is still going strong and perhaps even getting better. It is still the prettiest wine I have ever seen. And Marcus must have thought it would age forever since he used DIAM 80!
I know that it will be great right now. I speculate that it might still get better. Regardless, it is a Goodfellow, so it bet it will still be interesting for a number of years.
Every bottle I’ve had of this has been just banging. I noticed the Diam “forever” as well. Wondered if I drank it too early. Maybe I’ll find out down the road.
Wait what? Doesn’t everyone drink bubbles 3 weeks after being bottled? Well if you are dum umm so curious you have to try it I would pop the bottle and let it go flat and see if it’s a white wine you like, that might be a better gauge for the future. No offense intended
