2021 Yamhill-Carlton Chardonnay (declassified Tsai if my memory serves me) was in a phenomenal place this weekend. Enjoyed over three days, and it was really integrated by the end of day 2. This was just about everything I could want in chardonnay—light and alive on its feet, with a chiseled mineral backbone. If I’m patient I’ll try to see where my last bottle land in 3-5 years…!
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Was there a 2021 Tsai release and a declassified 2021 release that came from Tsai? I’m just curious if I have my bottles registered incorrectly in CT because I have them entered as Tsai designated. (Maybe I’ll pull a bottle and take a look later.)
In 2021, we did do a designate bottling from Tsai and a declassified Yamhill-Carlton bottling from there as well.
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I hope we’ll see everyone tomorrow on the Wine Berserkers Quarterly online. It should be fun and I promise not to talk too much!
If anyone has any questions about the specific vineyards, this shoukd be a good (and casual) place to ask.
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My Solano Cellars mailing list email came today and it features Goodfellow sparklers!
It was an email, so I can’t link it, but it was well done!
I’m giving it a try…
Goodfellow Family Cellars: Burgundian Tension, Champagne Elegance
“Goodfellow is among the best producers in the Willamette Valley…elegantly styled, transparent wines sourced from some of the region’s oldest vineyards.”
– Wine Advocate
Burgundy luminaries like Dominique Lafon are looking to Oregon’s Willamette Valley as the next great source of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; Marcus Goodfellow is one of the reasons why.
Launched in 2002, Goodfellow Family Cellars has focused its strategy on old vine sites, conscientious farming, and traditional techniques in the cellar. They work with iconic Willamette Vineyards like Temperance Hill, Durant, and Whistling Ridge, making parcel-specific bottlings that express their sites with immense clarity, affirming their standing as one of Oregon’s great producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Now, Marcus is launching a passion project a long time in the making: a lineup of Champagne-method bubbles made from those very same exceptional vineyard sites.
If Burgundy greats had their eyes trained on Marcus and the Willamette Valley before, it seems it’s only a matter of time before their counterparts in Reims start doing the same.
Marcus’ path to becoming one of Oregon’s great winemakers was a nontraditional one. Restaurant gigs in Los Angeles and Portland first introduced him to wine, though the interest was more incidental than intentional. When he was offered the chance to work a harvest with the iconic Evesham Wood, the attraction was largely driven by a desire to return to his family’s agricultural roots rather than professional aspirations. But he found unexpected encouragement in the community of McMinneville’s granary district, surrounded by the Evesham Wood team, Eyrie Vineyards, and crucially, Westrey Wine Company founders Amy Wesselman and David Autrey. There, he made his first vintages and established long lasting relationships with some of the most important grape growers throughout the Willamette Valley. Now, his understanding of the exceptional, varied terroir of those great vineyards has defined his reputation, not only in Oregon and the US, but globally.
Goodfellow’s vineyard program is a precise, measured exploration of not just the Willamette Valley’s great sites, but the most expressive parcels within them. Over his two decades working with his core vineyards, Marcus has identified particular character offered by each parcel, knitting them together to create wines of immense balance and character. While each of his sites play an important role, one vineyard defines Goodfellow’s program above the rest: the windswept, sloped Whistling Ridge vineyard.
Whistling Ridge Vineyard
Planted to marine sedimentary soils along an exposed, southern facing ridge, Whistling Ridge is a site marked by nervy acidity and elastic tension, perfectly suited for sparkling wine. It served as inspiration for Marcus to launch his sparkling program, and the grapes pulled from these deep rooted vines make up the core of the fruit for the lineup. Ripening with low sugars, consistent exposure to breezes, shallow soils, and low vigor, the Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Gris (a rare, Champagne-method expression of Pinot Gris) from Whistling Ridge showcase the terroir of the site: textural, weightlessly dense, and brimming with minerality.
If his Blancs de Blancs and Noirs are reflective of Whistling Ridge’s commanding character, his NV Willamette Valley Extra Brut captures the same stylistic balance that has been the hallmark of Goodfellow’s still wines for decades: both a respectful reflection of method, and decidedly more varietally and site expressive than most NV Champagne offers. Made from a blend of 68% 2021 vintage Pinot Noir from Durant, Whistling Ridge, and 32% 2021 Chardonnay from Whistling Ridge, each vineyard source has a clear influence. There’s the brisk acidity and tension from Whistling Ridge; the soft aromatics and weightless power from Durant, where the vines bathe in the early morning sun; and the chalky, salt-laden minerality of Tsai.
Goodfellow’s sparkling wines are incredibly tiny production – quantities are extremely limited!
2113 Vine St.
Berkeley, CA 94709, United States
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2022 Tsai Vineyards BdN - wow, just wow. Popped the cork and it had about 15 minutes in glass before first sip. Immediately noticed the nose as I walked past the glass on the counter in the kitchen. I’m no sparkling expert, but this was one of the first where the nose caught me like this did. We then dove in, wife and I immediately looked at each other and she asked what this is, “New one from Goodfellow” I responded. Her response was “that makes sense”.
I wish I had more of a tasting note for you all, but we didn’t give it much time and I stink at tasting notes. But enjoy if you have these in the cellar.
Our new favorite sparkling!
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My second favorite of the sparklers — absolutely knockout wine. Just can’t top the Durant BdB.
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That’s the beauty of wine! And of the Goodfellow sparklers…
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That’s a heck of a write up, thank you for posting that Anton!
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That’s great to hear Keith! I’m really glad you and your wife enjoyed the wine so much!
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Don’t tempt me into a good time. It’s hard to not pop one before 1 year post DG mark when notes like this exist 
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I say go for it. You can always buy a few more bottles. They are really drinking nicely.
While I’m sure there will be improvement, I don’t think more time on the cork is necessary for this one.
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