NOSE: medium+ expressiveness; cool, savory, red berries; hint of pine needles; molasses/cumin mix; not funky; a bit high-toned.
BODY: pale rose red color with slight bricking throughout; color is of medium-shallow depth; light to medium-light bodied.
TASTE: tannic; red-fruited; some sweet oak; Nose is quite pleasant, but the palate comes across as if the fruit is falling away now; roses; high acidity; alc. not noticeable (13% abv); little bit of aged Pinot funk emerges a couple hours into tasting. I have a hard time believing this will improve from here — the oak intermittently stands-out more than I’d prefer. Drink Now and over the near term.
It appears that your bottle was consumed within 4 hours of opening. Is this correct? For scientific purposes, I would suggest saving a little bit for the next day(s). I probably have at least a case of this wine saved for a later date and I usually open a bottle at 6-12 month intervals. The last bottle was great on Day 1, but even better a few nights later.
Oddly enough, I received 6 bottles of the 2011 Matello Whistling Ridge Pinot from Marcus last week. Opened a bottle on Sunday night and tasted again last night. Great on Day 1 on pop and pour, but it seemed to close up through a couple of hours at dinner. Tasted again last night and the wine had added weight. It was fantastic.
Agreed, James. I’ve had other Goodfellow Pinots that I followed very closely over 3, 5, or even 7 days. Only problem with that is that’s a lot of work. I’ve also had at least a couple Goodfellow Pinots that seemed to be at their best within a few hours after opening.
Most of the time, when I pull a cork, I’m just looking to enjoy a wine, and it’s okay with me if I fail to prep it in a manner that helps it show its absolute best — that’s just too much work and worry for me. Now, that’s not to say I don’t care to some degree, and that’s why I make note of decanting time, and the length of time over which I consumed the bottle; if I have more than one bottle, I’ll let prior experiences guide subsequent ones.
50 points for being fermented grape juice
5 points maximum for appearance
15 points maximum for Nose
20 points maximum for Taste/Palate/Structure
10 points maximum for Overall
It’s essentially the scoring system popularized by Robert Parker. I have a very methodical and consistent way in which I use it.
I rather like this approach. I’ve drank many bottles of Goodfellow and other wines (of course), and while you can tweak this and that, it is ultimately either fundamentally an enjoyable wine or it isn’t. I don’t think I have ever had the experience of “Oh f^ck I wrecked this wine due to poor prep and now I can’t enjoy it.”
