Thanks for posting the 2011 Matello note. I found a bottle of this in my cellar, and will drink it before Spring.
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Had a 2020 Goodfellow Durant Chardonnay tonight, and . . . wow. A showstopper.
So much long, intense lemon and mineral finish. Don’t serve too cold, maybe 50s or low 60s is great.
I’ve been sort of stockpiling Goodfellow for a few years, wines seemingly too young when I’ve dabbled, and this was the first fireworks.
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I’m really glad to see that wine in the zone for you Chris. It was a bit closed up the last time we tasted it but that has been at least a year.
The 2019 Chardonnays have been dynamite as well lately, if you have any in your stockpile. The Durant was also in the zone last summer.
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I have several 2019s, looking forward to those.
Have you had the 2019 Richard’s or Berserker Cuvee lately? Those are the only ones I have multiples of, regrettably.
I mean, it’s better than not having multiples of those wines.
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Lately it’s been the 17 Richard’s that caught my attention. The two 19s we didn’t have last summer were the Berserker Cuvee and the Richard’s. That said, the 2019 THV was in a great spot and I feel the Berserker Cuvee correllates pretty well.
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I didn’t phrase it correctly. I regret not having multiples of other 2019 chards 
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Which one do you want me to open for winter storm Cora this weekend?
Has anyone tried a 2015 Heritage No. 5 recently? What did you think? We’re closing in ten years for that vintage, and I figure it might be time to pop one to give it a taste.
I have not. But every time I think of cracking a Heritage, I remind myself that the idea behind these wines was that Marcus was making them as a “heritage” for his kids. To my mind, that means age at least 20 years. That doesn’t mean they are not drinkable. They are just not ready.
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I had a different experience with the 2010 Lazarus. Much as I wanted to like it, and there were aspects to like, it could not come together as a cohesive wine. I am not sure how to describe it, but it was a confused wine- part over the hill, part with life and promise, but the end result was a disjointed wine that was intellectually interesting, but not enjoyable. The worst goodfellow wine I have had, which is praising with a very faint damn.
I was thinking something very similar here, in that at 10 years it might be time to check in, though I was leaning to later this Spring.
That doesn’t mean Chris is wrong, but with the Heritage wines, I want them to last 25-30 years but tyere are different points along the way that they usually taste good. And of course, different palates want different things from the wines. But ultimately, the vineyards dictate the aging curve as much as I do.
I have had the No. 6 recently though, and as is common with our wines the theme was time open makes a world of difference. We poured the No. 6 at Thanksgiving and it was very well received. Along with the 2022 West Field I think it was the most commented upon wine and increasingly so as the level of the wine got lower. (2017 Whistling Ridge was my personal fave)
The No. 5 is more robust wine but has the finesse of Durant vineyard, and I think it will still improve for a bit (08 Winter’s Hill and 11 Durant have been in a great spot for a couple of years with little decline). Let me know if you open one?
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I’m sorry to hear that Scott. The 2010 vintage has been a little bit of a mystery the past year or two. I’ve had superlative bottles and locked down bottles. The over-the-hill and youngish combination seems like bottle funk to me but if the wine stayed disjointed then that’s a bummer. The bottles we had before the mystery offer were both quite pretty and showed no signs of age, but 2010 is still natural cork and while it was a pretty magical solution 200 years ago, today it’s just frustrating. I’ll find a Pinot Noir of similar age to replace that for you, and hopefully you get a better experience.
Cheers,
Marcus
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Thoughts on No. 4? I only have two bottles of No. 6 (and zero of No. 5) so I’m hesitant to open one, but I have three of No. 4 and was considering opening one recently but ultimately couldn’t decide and went with something else. (I need that mystery pack so I can start opening some more Goodfellow/Matello reds without feeling like I’m making a big mistake being impatient! 
)
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Thanks Marcus, The bottle was open for probably 2 hours total, but maybe not long enough.
Please don’t feel you have to replace anything- a mystery 6 pack with some aged is (to me at least) accepting some level of uncertainty as we all know there are no great wines, just great bottles. I have been very pleased with the others thus far.
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Marcus, how was the 2022 West Field? Did it receive some time in the decanter prior to embarking on its journey that day/evening? 
I really like the Heritage No. 4 with time in a decanter. It’s old enough now that it doesn’t shut down with decanting, instead it really fills in and opens up aromatically. It’s still structured, but in an early primary place with lots of density, really attractive aromatics (dried roses and citrus peel, clean earth, velvety red fruits) and has a nice textural smoothness and tannins that are finer.
I’d say yes but definitely drink it over an evening or a couple of days. It’s still young.
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It did not, and many of the comments leaned to what it could age into. I think the peak drinking for the 2022 West Field is in the future…
…but if you like a bit of grip, it’s delicious. I would never say that it’s in a Pop-n-pour place, but I really enjoy drinking it now for it’s bright juicy fruit and then the savory tannic finish. Each counter balances the other and it just hits a spot for me.
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