Hey Jason,
I spend a lot of time in Northern MI. 3 weeks this year in Harbor Springs. Love route M22 and have great friends in Glen Arbor. Mawby is a great visit.
BD 11 is going to be where the wheels come off! ![[berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif "berserker"){kind=small}
Kidding, but I am hoping that we can work up something really fun for BD 11.
Who’s writing these notes? Marcus and/or Megan? Certainly, it wet my appetite and immediately had my popping a '13 Deux Vert Syrah…
https://mailchi.mp/d1effa8a4c3c/2017-single-vineyard-releases-mailing-list-pre-order?e=c6480311f0
Hello All,
I want to thank all of you on the Mailing List and Wine Club for your support and enthusiasm for our wines, and welcome you to the 2019 Fall Release! Over the past few years, I feel that we have reached a new level with the vineyards and in the cellar. The 2017 vintage is the centerpiece of a trio of truly outstanding vintages, each unique, and of unquestioned quality. Where the 2016 wines had a remarkable purity of fruit, and delicious balance of acidity and fine tannin, 2017 moves into a more classic realm, personifying the old truism of Pinot Noir being the, “iron fist in the velvet glove”.
First the vintage. 2017 was a remarkable growing season, with excellent weather through the bulk of the year. Over the past several years we’ve been increasingly focused on canopy management, using no till farming to increase competition for nitrogen in the early growing season, and seeking more sunlight directly on the fruit and stems during the ripening period. The resulting wines have shown increased flavor development and acid maturity at lower Brix. With excellent weather, we harvested the second half of September and into early October, picking with modest sugars, excellent depth and nuance in flavor.
My two favorite vintages since I started making wine have been 2010 and 2005. The wines of the 2017 vintage for Goodfellow remind me of a combination of the two. Both 2005 and 2010 were aromatically beautiful vintages where the palate was lighter bodied and more refreshing, wanting a thoughtful environment when they were consumed. Both drank as dry, vinous wines, with fine but distinct structure, and tartly refreshing acidity. Both vintages have wanted a distinct rest period after early windows, but are now the most compelling vintages for current drinking.
Like in those two vintages, the wines of 2017 display tremendous elegance, class, purity, and transparency. Beautiful red fruit (Whistling Ridge and Temperance Hill) or red/blue fruit (Durant), low alcohol, great dry extract, distinct tannin, and bracing acidity. Heck yeah! For red fruit lovers, it’s a plethora of riches, but alongside the fruit in all of these wines are a remarkable array of non-fruit components adding depth, intrigue, and a complex nature. For those willing to invest time in cellaring these wines, the value is extraordinary. Especially given current Burgundy pricing, where good premier Cru wines now regularly start at $100/bottle.
The 2017 Whistling Ridge wines are aromatically ethereal, and from Durant Vineyard to Temperance Hill (more about this addition later), this is a vintage of balance, finesse, and structure, producing wines well suited for the table. They are perfect for washing down food, refreshing the palate, and heightening taste. With our use of stems and longer time in fermenter, they are savory and dry; quintessentially old school, with a distinctly “old-world” spirit. Very much in the nature of young red and white Burgundy.
Again, thank you for your support and appreciation of the wines over the years. All in all, the wines offered here represent a set of wines as exciting as we have released. The hardest part will be determining which wines to choose.
Best Regards,
Marcus Goodfellow & Megan Joy
20% all mix case orders, $30/box flat rate shipping
today through Saturday September 7th
email marcus@goodfellowfamilycellars.com or call Megan at 503-347-6366
Temperance Hill Vineyard
In 2017 we finally added an Eola-Amity Hills vineyard. Why did this take me 16 years? I have no good answer… but better late than never. Temperance Hill is one of the Willamette Valley’s great iconic vineyards, and in regards to terroir, there are very few vineyards in the valley that have as distinct a signature as Temperance Hill. I was extremely excited to be offered a portion of an older 1993 planting, set high up on an east facing slope on the far side of the vineyard. Farmed organically, and certified, this fruit produced a pair of beautiful wines: one designated Temperance Hill, and a smaller bottling called Pumphouse Block. Both are extraordinary.
2017 Temperance Hill Pinot Noir
$38/ $31 mix case price
Translucent crimson. Elegant nose of fresh tobacco, smoke, strawberries and red apple skin, with sea air, stoney ground, iris root, roses, asian spice, orange peel, and cedar cigar box. There are wines that leap at you and wines that beckon you into the glass- this is the later. The cedar note is a classic expression of Temperance Hill terroir, and I was happy to see it in this wine. The palate on opening is bright, with red berries, currants, pie cherries, rhubarb, strawberry tea and hints of citrus peel. Juicy and refreshing, with tartly balanced acids and fine tannins, the wine fills in texture with air, with a mid-weight silkiness that is ideal for pork belly, tortilla de Espanol, and roast chicken. 13.7% alcohol, 160 cases produced. Drink now, or from 2023-2034.
2017 Pumphouse Block, Temperance Hill Pinot Noir
$50/ $40 mix case price
Pure and expressive, with vivid red fruits of strawberry and red currants, cedar cigar box, bramble, raspberry leaf and floral aromatics, brown spice, cinnamon, and kirsch. This is more brilliantly red fruited, intense, and structured than the Temperance Hill bottling. Subtle tones of lilac and heather, orange zest, more cedar and tobacco, but at the youthful forefront, the brilliant red fruit. 13.7% alcohol, 75 cases produced. Drink now-2039.
Whistling Ridge Vineyard
The clarity and nuance with which Pinot Noir expresses minute differences in terroir continues to be a source of wonder. We have been working with Whistling Ridge since 2004, and over the past 15 years it has become obvious that while the vineyard has a overarching terroir, the micro-climates in the vineyard have very distinct personalities as well. The bowl shape of the House Block, tilted to the west. The way the ridge shifts to the south in the Long Acres, but still has both east and west exposures from small “wrinkles” in the ridge top. The subtle convex Southeast/Northwest arc of the land in the north side of the vineyard, where the Beloved Acre, the Chardonnay, and the Last Acre catch the first wind of the evening. In 2017 we separated out 3 different blocks for individual bottlings. Small amounts, 50-55 cases. These bottlings offer an in depth vision of the diversity of terroir. Three very different and extraordinarily beautiful bottles of wine.
2017 House Block, Whistling Ridge Pinot Noir
$50/ $40 mix case price
Think of a young classic vintage Nuits St. George. The wine has great depth without loudness (what musicians refer to as tone), and builds power in the glass with air. Darker red and black fruits with forest floor. Seductively mysterious, with clove spice, ripe strawberry, coconut oil, apple skin and red earth. Juicy palate, youthful, red/black, with a vinous, savory bramble and red currant finish. Lamb chops, lamb leg, brisket, rib eye and teres major (I am a firm believer in pairing these proteins with juicy wines over big.) 12.8% alcohol, 55 cases produced. Drink now, or 2025-2037.
2017 Last Acre, Whistling Ridge Pinot Noir
$50/ $40 mix case price
Layered and pretty, with aromas of red flowers, stacked firewood, red plum, dry earth, rosemary, mint, cantaloupe, myrrh and amaro spices. A slight wild and untamed edge is enticing in it’s nuances, and reminds me that one should not control everything in Pinot Noir. Fruits move between red and black on the palate; the wine is textured, intriguing, complex, and refreshing, with layers of supple fruit tones. Pair with wild mushrooms, porcini, hen-of-the-woods, hedgehog, chanterelles, all would be great! Rabbit, chicken, and game birds as well. 13.2% alcohol, 55 cases. Drink now, or 2024-2035.
2017 Long Acre, Whistling Ridge Pinot Noir
$50/ $40 mix case price
Expressive and elegant, wild and delicate. With wild red fruits, graphite, bright ripe cherry, fresh hay, hints of grilled peaches, black caps, kirsch, floral notes, tea leaves and polished sandalwood. Of the block bottlings this is the most restrained on the palate, with firm tannins in its youthful stage. Aromatically and structurally this reminds me of a young Clos St. Denis or Clos de Lambrays. That said, it will want the same care in choosing when to drink it or what to drink it with. Monkfish, sweetbreads, pork chops, and duck. 12.8% alcohol, 55 cases. Drink now with a meal, or 2025-2035.
2017 Whistling Ridge Chardonnay
$38/ $31 mix case price
Chalk, salinity, rock dust, and fresh grain. Meyer lemon curd, kumquats, orange pith, almond flower, and new spring growth. Linear body, briny and citrusy, stoney and salty in the finish. This balances broadness with enough structure and acidity to be enjoyable, refreshing, and age worthy. There are similarities to Chablis in the weight, drive, and mineral finish (at least to the classicist producers who still ferment in barrel). 12.8% alcohol, 113 cases produced. Drink now to 2030.
2017 Whistling Ridge Pinot Noir
$38/ $31 mix case price
Delicate, deep ruby, translucent but with depth of color. Aromatically expressive and very fine. Intense floral, peonies, ripe cherry, coriander and thyme, rose petals, lilac, hint of strawberry pie, summer forest, and amaro notes. The palate is clean, energetic and juicy, with soft fruits descending into a structure of amaro notes and savory mineral acidity. Pair with roast chicken, paella, pork, and savory (not spicy) sausages. 12.9% alcohol, 226 cases produced. Drink now to 2035.
2017 Heritage No. 10, Whistling Ridge Pinot Noir
$70/ $56 mix case price
Like very hight quality perfume, this is the hardest nose to deconstruct. Intensely aromatic, elegant, and thoughtful. Interwoven tones of fruit, spice, tobacco leaf, lily of the valley, black tea, salt and forest floor. Tranquil red currant, alpine strawberry, raspberry leaf, black tea and dried roses. Rich weight and precise balance, with fine tannins and mineral acidity. The Heritage wines are selected every year as being the most beautiful and ageworthy in the cellar, a singular expression of terroir. Once again this bottling is entirely of the Beloved Acre at Whistling Ridge. 13.3% alcohol, 110 cases produced. Drink now to 2040.
Durant Vineyard
The iron-rich volcanic soils of the Dundee Hills are one of the most distinct signatures of Willamette Valley terroir. The blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at Durant are both reaching points of vine age that we consider important, the Chardonnay vines are 25 years old, and the Pinot Noir 20 years of age. These are mature plants, adapted to site and shaped by the terroir. On a gentle East facing slope, the morning sun is kind, and the hot afternoon sun mostly shaded by the hill. At the foot of the hill, where the cool air pools, the Chardonnay stays bright and energetic. Our understanding and appreciation of this land continues to evolve, and the 2017 wines are classic expressions of the vineyard, with the special layering and nuance of the vintage.
2017 Durant Chardonnay
$38/ $31 mix case price
Lemon zest, kumquat, green pineapple, pears, lime leaf, and mango peel. Field flowers and wintergreen, sea beans and bay leaves. Tasted at room temp, this wine is voluminous yet dense, filled with the scents of exotic fruits and spices, warmly rich on a complex backdrop. Chilled a bit, the wine draws into bright citrus notes layered over a saline backdrop, smooth and perfectly balanced. According to recent taster: similar to En Remilly wines in Burgundy. The Durant Chardonnay often feels like it really blossoms with 2-3 years in bottle, and as it ages onward the nuance and layering that the vineyard is capable of are revealed. 13.2%, 113 cases produced. Drink now to 2027.
2017 Durant Pinot Noir
$38/ $31 mix case price
Strawberries and pipe tobacco, rain on pavement, boysenberry, moss, damp earth, raspberry leaf, and more warm red fruit. Even in a vintage as savory as 2017, the warmth and purity of fruit character in Durant shines through. A hint of anise, black tea and smoke, all as a nuance of the summer’s most perfect ripe strawberry. Pair with duck, mushrooms, truffles, and darker meats. 13.5% alcohol, 113 cases produced. Drink now to 2032.
2017 Heritage No. 9, Durant Pinot Noir
$70/ $56 mix case price
Pure red fruit, bright cherry, satiny with subtle herbs, spice and floral notes adding layering. Brilliantly supple texture, with quenching red fruit, forest floor, faint hints of earth, and refreshing juicy acidity. The follow up to 2016s lovely Heritage No.8, the No.9 is a single neutral foudre of 100% whole cluster Durant fruit that shone with elegance and subtle richness from the beginning. Remarkably light on it’s feet, pair this with pork tenderloin, coq-au-vin, chops, and brighter game dishes. 13.8% alcohol, 55 cases. Drink 2022-2034.
Rhys was my reference point as well. I liked the wines, didn’t like the tariff. Goodfellow is an amazing QPR, particularly in comparison to that. And yeah, the wines don’t suck.