No idea if it’s exactly the same process Marcus is describing on this thread, but the eps of IDTT and Bedrock pods with David Ramey have great info and background on “brown juice” Chardonnay vinification.
2 Likes
Came here to say the same thing. The Ramey episode in general is just great.
1 Like
Love this. And love hyperoxidized musts.
I think this might be the hardest thing for people outside the winemaking world - and sometimes even within it - to wrap their heads around: this separation of what happens before fermentation from what happens after fermentation. As you say, in some ways it doesn’t matter how oxidized your juice is, the yeast will pull it into a reduced state no problem - it’s what they do! The question then is whether or not there’s anything desirable in the original juice that would be harmed by oxygen - as in varieties like Sauvignon Blanc being made in the modern style. Whereas for some varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Gris (and I hear Riesling, though I have no experience with it myself), hyperoxing the juice can be actively beneficial in getting rid of things that are more likely to be a problem later. I think the exact nature of what’s going on in this process is still far from fully understood. I certainly wrestle with it.
Going back to the other post upthread, the other thing that blows people’s minds is that there is essentially no relationship between how oxidized a juice is and how reductive it gets during fermentation. I think reduction is probably the most misunderstood topic in all of winemaking.
4 Likes
Every time I go down to the cellar lately I come back up with a 2023 Whistling Ridge Riesling. I’m finding it impossible to leave my stash alone. 
4 Likes
We just had the 2010 Matello Souris a week or so back. Fantastic!
So much going on. Lovely florals, with black cherry and raspberry notes. Some notes of undergrowth, cinnamon, sweet tobacco, cola, and a bit of bell pepper. Still pretty tannic, and likely will improve even more over the next 5 years. Very nebbiolo like.
4 Likes
NV Goodfellow Family Cellars Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Durant Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (7/11/2024)
Open in fridge for an hour…this is my first go at the bubbles…gorgeous color…somewhat shy nose of candied lemon drops, honeysuckle, flint strike, pastry dough…starts out pretty sour pucker in the mouth(1g/L)…some under ripe peach, white plum skin…really bright and punchy with citrus…then the mousse caresses, fleshes and calms…it’s subtle with pastry and bread, a lite touch of the lees…some ginger spice…not as vinous as other bubbles i’m use to from domestics…reminds me a little of the 2018 Durant Chard in its subtlety, coming out a little quiet and reserved, yet all class! I can see some age on this doing wonders…it seems in more of a raw state right now…but I think it has everything portioned out, locked and loaded, for that right time to fire! Glad I have a few more bottles for when that happens! ++pts (93 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
6 Likes
Couple nights ago I opened a bottle of 2018 Goodfellow Chardonnay Durant Vineyard, and it was exactly what I needed. I had just opened a bottle of 2017 Domaine Pinson Chablis Les Clos which was premoxed (not that surprisingly, as most of the recent TNs on it say the same thing) and I became quite frustrated. One, that there’s still a premox problem in 2017, two, I’ve had a run of bad luck with bottles the last couple of months, so I had to go with a tried-and-true wine I knew I’d like…
Of course this wine did not disappoint. Goodfellow Chardonnays, like this one, are simply full of class and complexity.
10 Likes
Has anyone opened an ‘18 Richards Cuvee recently? I’ve got 2, wanted to get sense if should pull cork now or leave them rest longer
I think I’ve seen Marcus post that the 18s are a little shut down, both red and white. But 100% on that.
Edit; “not” 100%
1 Like
How was this? So curious how these age.
wow, not my experience on the whites!
Yknow I’ve had two of the 2018 Dundee Hills chards (different bottling of Durant fruit) in the last 8 months, the first was great, the second merely good. No idea if that is signs of shutting down, purely psychosomatic, or anything in between. Or maybe I’m misremembering the posts I saw on this!
If I only had two, I’d wait a few more years. I think the 2015s and 2016s are the ones to currently be enjoying. I am speaking about the Richard’s Cuvee specifically.
2 Likes
Enjoyed that very much last night and made sure that it was all consumed before heading out last night. Thanks again for sharing this one!
1 Like
I popped 18 Ribbon Ridge chard last weekend and it was drinking fantastic. IIRC, 18 Dundee chard was very good last November as well. No 18 SVDs chards lately, but thinking I should change that after seeing Todd’s note
1 Like
I would hold. We opened a 2019 for an event that was bubbles focused on a Monday, and drove it to Portland and back (2 hour round trip), then I tasted/drank the remaining 1/2 of a bottle two days later and it was fantastic. The 2018 seems more bound up at the moment.
1 Like
The AVA wines are in a great spot, more so than the SVDs (Durant excepted based on Todd’s note).
I think the WV would be as well.
1 Like
Had a ‘17 Richard’s. In a fantastic place. Great balance between weight and acidity. Seems to have gained some weight from release. Fresh, mouthwatering and long.
1 Like
What would you like to know about the wine? I didn’t take any formal notes, but tasted the wine shortly after it was opened and about an hour or so later before I left for the evening. I thought that it was a very good example of aged Oregon Chardonnay. I shared a 2012 Arterberry Maresh Maresh Chardonnay at a previous bottle share at the Cork Vault a few months ago and I’ve enjoyed the 2012 Cameron Clos Electrique Chardonnay in the last year or so. I think that the 2012 Goodfellow Richards Cuvee Chardonnay is just as good as the others at this point.
Perhaps @Jeff_Wilkinson @BillBounds @Mitch_Sayers @Kevin_Patrick took some formal notes…
I’m not sure that I tasted the 2012 Matello Richards Cuvee Chardonnay in it’s early days. I first met and started tasting with Marcus in 2013 and I started purchasing the Richards Cuvee with the 2013 vintage and the first year under the Goodfellow label. I have continued purchasing the Richards Cuvee on a yearly basis. It’s one of my favorite Oregon Chardonnays. I would imagine that I tasted the 2012 at some point with Marcus in 2014 or 2015, but I do not have those recollections or notes. So comparing then to now with this particular wine is a little difficult. I ended up with the 2012’s through the Spectrum Wines auctions of the Herb Farms collection. I gifted a few bottles back to Marcus and Megan for their wine library last year as a little wedding gift. Happy Anniversary a few weeks late.
Anyway, I think that my taste for Oregon Chardonnay is very similar to @Scott_Tallman . If you enjoy the energy, electricity, minerality and tension of the white wines, I would drink them sooner than later. And that’s not just Goodfellow, but I think that Ken and Erica suggest drinking their Walter Scott wines within 10+ years or so as well. It will be interesting to read the notes from the Walter Scott La Combe Verte Chardonnay vertical tasting in a few weeks that’s posted in the offline forum. It’s probably a little early to judge some of these wines for age ability and how they develop as the Richards Cuvee debuted in 2010(?) and Walter Scott X Novo debuted in 2013, etc. If you are ever in the Charlotte area, I will be more than happy to open some of these Chardonnays for you and we can have a side by side comparison of an older versus newer release.
Speaking of Goodfellow, I need to order more sparkling wine…
James
3 Likes