3/8/2024 - oeno1820 Does not like this wine:

Bitter, stemmy. Rustic flavor sans any bouquet.

2/2/2024 - wlsch Likes this wine:

PnP. Still a youthful ruby color. It's a little tight on pouring, but much more open than when I last tasted this in March 2021. There's cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, other red fruit, pie spice, slight forest floor, some minerals in the finish. Medium body, good acidity, integrated but noticeable tannins. It does seem to be slightly riper than the "typical" Eyrie style, but this still maintains the elegance I normally get from this producer. It seems like this is really just starting to open up. I have one more bottle left, and based on where this is now, I think it'd be wise to wait 3-5 years before opening the last one. There's no rush to drink this up. There are lots of new, excellent producers of OPN (whose wines I buy and love), but this is a good reminder that the folks who forged the trail are still making excellent wines.

12/7/2023 - lolo66 wrote:

1st time with this wine - very fruity *red fruits and berries* and aromatic. Dark color. def new world in profile. Wouldn't know how this would age, b ut it had plenty of structure

12/8/2023 - fdub Likes this wine:

Drank at Cleo’s holiday party. Opened a gave about 1 hour of air. For such a hot vintage this maintains great freshness. Dark cherry and forest floor. Some spice and tension on the palate. Long finish. Many years ahead.

11/5/2023 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine:

Very impressed with this offering, particularly at the $28 price. At a listed 13.0% ABV, this is light on its feet and, showing the vintage, nonetheless shows a surprisingly high intensity of flavor. Herbal, loamy red fruit is backed by a slightly drying acid and maybe some tannins. I’d guess there’s some stems in this.

This is apparently almost entirely Eola-Amity Hills fruit, and it has some of the characteristics of other producers in the area that I like, such as Evesham Wood and Walter Scott. It also reminds me of Goodfellow in its structure and light touch. Really enjoyed it.

9/20/2023 - Bjweiss wrote:

This wine is punching so far above is price it’s ridiculous. 12.5 abv is remarkable too. So much pure fruit here with raspberries, cranberries and cherries all present but a backbone filled with tea, mushroom and fall leaves here to bring complexity. Not a ton of structure, so I’m not sure it’ll age much past 5-6 years, but honestly there’s already so much development here that I don’t know I could keep my hands off these for more than a year anyhow. Really, really impressed with this wine and producer, which deserves some serious recognition here. Bravo.

1/27/2023 - DougLee wrote:

Red fruit. A bit spindly and oaky. No change on day 2.

9/29/2023 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine:

Absolutely banging and open for business as a pop and pour. Sometimes I’m discouraged by the interplay between a wine’s structure, bottle age, and air, and I’ve had Goodfellow Pinots really tighten up with a decant or, alternatively, open up generously with several hours of air.

But in this case I say drink right away, and there’s no need to wait to open this.

Structured but generous on the palate, with a brambly character undergirding spicy blue fruit, this wine is snappy and refreshing, with medium body and is completely knit together.

An absolute pleasure to drink and a reminder that this producer makes fantastic, killer-value pinot noir in addition to the whites that I drink more of.

6/21/2023 - oldwines Likes this wine:

Tasted at a retailer-sponsored tasting in NYC. Quite reduced as is the style of this producer. Pretty lean (bottle just opened and a bit too cold by my reckoning) herbal, floral, lemon curd and lime notes on the nose and palate. Better on the finish. Needs aeration and cellaring to be at its best. But, It seems like all the elements are there for an excellent wine in 5 years or more. This will not show well PnP in the near term, so don't even try!

7/12/2023 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine:

Trying to drink my last couple bottles of this. A terrible burden, I know.

This bottle is confirming my "drink now" appraisal. Excellent right out of the bottle. This does a good job of straddling the line between something rich, full and stinky on the one hand, and something that tastes like a chalky refreshing mountain stream on the other hand.

I have one bottle left and will be drinking it soon to ensure I catch it while it's this vibrant. At least in my storage conditions, I don't see upside and it's delicious now.

4/27/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

In anticipation of a pending library release, I wanted to check in on this bottle. The bottle was purchased directly from Goodfellow as part of a mixed 6-pack during Berserker Day 13 (BD13). The wine was Double Decanted (DD) at cellar temperature of 55 degrees with the cork removed for approximately 60 minutes. I removed approximately 1.5 ounces before returning the wine to the bottle. The wine was consumed over approximately 4.5 hours out of a Conterno Sensory glass.

The experience was a tail of 2 wines. The initial 1.5 ounces was slightly pungent with a sour taste. There was minimal fruit on the nose or flavor. The first glass was poured after 1 hour of the double decant and the initial experience nose and taste was starting to blow off but still had a slight presence. This glass had aromas of red cherry, flowers, earth, and some barnyard. The flavors were of under-ripe/sour red cherries, cranberries, and some minerality. There was high acidity with what appeared to be a light body.

After the first glass, the bottle sat at 55 degrees in a U-Line U-Chill with the cork removed for approximately 3 hours before the next glass was poured. Boy am I glad that I returned for another glass after letting it sit open for several hours. It was a totally different wine. Now it gained some weight and was leaning more medium bodied. The bouquet integrated and now displayed floral aromas, minerality and baking spices. The palate was slightly red fruited with red cherry and raspberry. There was a predominant presence spice and earthiness. The wine was no longer pungent or sour. It had medium- tannins and medium acidity. It was well integrated with good balance.

If I was to rate this wine from my initial glass, it would have received a score around a 90 but my final glass was very intellectual and enjoyable raising my rating to 93-94 points.

I have 1 bottle left and I will either hold for a few more years or if I don't have the patience, I will either do a long DD. Alternatively, I may just pop the cork, remove an ounce or two and let it slow ox with no decant or DD for several hours before consuming. I'm not sure how the wine will respond to a long regular decant. Younger Goodfellow wines have a tendency of shutting down with a regular straight decant and that is the primary reason for me steering clear of a straight decant but it may have enough age on it to not shut down and get it to where you want it to be quicker than a DD or slow ox.

2/2/2023 - Bagwhat Likes this wine:

Bottled under DIAM10. PnP into a Grassl Cru and followed for 3 hours on night 1. Ruby red with a faint orange tint creeping in at the edges.

This newly 10yo opens with a pretty, though quiet, nose of dark red fruits - like black cherries - as well as pine needles, scattered dried flowers, dead leaves, wet earth. Kind of a fall morning walk in the woods, and gorgeous. Only it’s like a memory of such a walk in that it feels like it’s fading and I want to turn the volume up. On some swirls a faint hoisin note pipes in and I wonder if it’s only beginning its next stage of life.

Initially the palate entry is a little thin, buffered on both entry and exit by acid. A bit of the bitterness of baking spices creeps in on the finish too. The fruit is very subdued. Over the course of night 1, the fruit expands a bit, but never comes to the fore. The texture is still on the thin side but it is seamless, with only an initial sharp edge that smooths out toward the middle and the quite long, herbal finish. Some grippy tannin pokes through the finish after a couple of hours and I’m curious to see how this develops on nights 2 and 3.

Edit: night 3 was more of the same, thin but also a little bitter. Night 4 though and it’s beginning to add some character in the fruit on the nose and smoothing out the palate (the acid and bitterness have resolved). Still missing a bit of depth in the mid palate for me, but a little better than where it started. But on night 5 (refrigerator between nights) the mid palate really thickened and the fruit took on a deliciously sappy cherry character. Maybe this needed a decant, or more time. Excellent.

2/1/2023 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Historically tepid account to this wine. And yes, I remain tepid on this wine. Being of warmer temperature doesn't help. Kinda tart and vapid all at the same time.

12/2/2022 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine:

Wow, I can honestly say this is my favourite Oregon Chardonnay I have ever tasted. I know a lot of others compare this to Burgundy and I can easily see the comparison. The oak is quite apparent on the nose along with white peach, mandarin, nectarine, vanilla, nutmeg and spices. The palate is rich and saline textured, with notes of ripe yet reserved orchard fruit, sweet spices, vanilla, fennel with a layered, nutty and slightly buttery mid palate, finishing long with notes of sea salt. This is my first experience with Walter Scott, and the hype is real. This is leaps above any other Chardonnay from Oregon I have tasted, and this is their entry level Chardonnay. Typically 2019 would be drinking well now, however I feel this just has so much substance and potential a couple of year will only do great things. Will certainly be ordering some of their 2021 futures, I recommend others do the same. 93-94+

12/1/2022 - Jack Cranley Does not like this wine:

Waaaayyyy too reductive. Smells downright poopy. It's a shame cuz I can tell there's some nice black and purple fruits down underneath there but it is definitely the type of sulfuric infusion that does not blow off with time. And believe me, I tried to aerate it. Bummer.

11/13/2022 - Ewhite30 Does not like this wine:

Really and eh bottle for me, second one too. It has a synthetic quality that just seems off - candied cherries, some citrus and a vanilla note…. Seems additive for lack of a better way to describe it. We purchased several a few vintages back, and generally buy across the Cameron portfolio every year, but this wasn’t good. I thought the first bottle was off but seems like it’s the wine.

10/22/2022 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine:

A fun little wine that has developed a bit in the years since I last drank it. Very peppery at first, it integrates nicely after an hour in the glass. This is light and savory, all about spice and brine. This was enjoyable to sip on its own on day 1 and was a lovely companion to a dinner with friends over an Italian smorgesbørd on day 2.

The Syrah under the Goodfellow label seems more “refined” (to my liking), but these old Matello Syrahs are really enjoyable and have their own distinct personality. I wonder how much the winemaking changed as opposed to simply the vintage character - I’ve only had the 2013 and 2011 Matello Fool’s Journey, and only the 2014 and 2015 Goodfellow Deux Vert.

10/8/2022 - foyfrcs Likes this wine:

Pale ruby.
Blackberry, red cherry, savoury nose.
Light/medium bodied, red fruits, spice palate.
Good wine, should drink well for 3/4 years.

11/9/2021 - jviz wrote:

Bumping up a point. A fantastic bottle at a fantastic value. Consumed over two days, I kept asking myself if I would call Oregon or Burgundy were I blinded. Probably burgundy for the acidity, spice and sous bois, but this has a nicely polished texture and sunny red to black fruits. I’d be curious to the whole cluster exposure herein, but it’s a beautiful pinot, very quintessential and a strong buy

10/23/2021 - oldwines Likes this wine:

This is a solid wine, with nice fruitiness and some decent structure. It is a translucent medium ruby-crimson color. The nose has vanilla, sweet baking spices, strawberry, raspberry and light herbal/floral under-tones. The palate reflects the nose with the addition of some black tea on the finish. A pleasant generous wine but not very memorable. Should drink well for another 3-5 years or so.

9/16/2021 - Bob H wrote:

Found this bottle in my “ready to drink” rack, so I figured what the heck 😜

Crisp and refreshing on the palate - we’re just having a simple salad for dinner tonight, and this should be fine with that.

Unfortunately, due to the fires last year, there won’t be a La Combe Verte in 2020, so I’ll have to wait till next year to order the 2021.

8/9/2021 - GWAsh64 Likes this wine:

still singing after 9 years.

5/23/2021 - galewskj wrote:

Single Blind Burgundy vs Oregon (Ciao Bella): My wine at the blind tasting. In all honesty, this wine is a little too big, dark, brooding. It is very earthy, there's a twinge of alcohol. This wine was better on release and each subsequent bottle less desirable. What to do with my last bottle, drink it now and cut your losses or wait 5 years and pray for a miracle?

1/4/2021 - Dale M wrote:

Much lighter in color than the 16, and much more reserved as well. In fact, I thought this is initially to be on the thin side, but it just needed to warm up to just a few degrees below room temperature to truly be appreciated. I wonder if the elevate has changed this year or just what nature provided? either way, I’m good!

2/16/2021 - nicefish Likes this wine:

Before and after pizza dinner. So zippy and fresh.

2/16/2021 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine:

Muted on day one, even after several hours of air, this opened up on day two a lot.

1/11/2021 - mmontanile wrote:

Definitely on the more closed side. Muted nose. A quality wine lurks but it needs very much air/time in bottle. Cherry. Acidic. Definite structure/grip. I would definitely wait on your bottles. Going to stash most of mine away and not touch for 2-3 years before checking in again.

12/6/2020 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine:

On day 1 this was somehow tired and flat. I wondered about premox, my storage conditions, bottle variation etc.

But on day 2 - wow. Everything I remember about this cuvée, consistent with other notes below. Stellar. Perfectly integrated, crackling with life, just creamy enough.

11/23/2020 - OregonLoafer Likes this wine:

When fall rolls around, I start drinking cocktails. Usually Negronis, but plenty of other drinks too, almost all of which are bitter and strong.

This has the effect of obliterating my palate and really tamps down on my enjoyment of a lot of wine. I've had plenty of bottles over the past few weeks that were all well and good, but I just wasn't motivated by them. I started to wonder whether I have grown numb to Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, which makes up the overwhelming majority of my red wine consumption. Or maybe it's just the seasonal depression kicking in here in Portland. Whatever the case, I even had the stirrings of a suspicion that having several thousand dollars worth of wine in various closets around my house is a hare-brained idea.

This bottle saved me from all that. From the outset last night, I loved it. It was lively with a pleasingly bitter edge that met my palate where it is. There was lovely red and blue fruit but also fresh herbs like thyme as well as orange rind. Overall this just had the exact energy that I was looking for, and drank well with "classic" spaghetti to boot.

Kicking myself for not having a closet full of the Whistling Ridge SVD. At least I have a few more of these left.

11/15/2020 - Motz wrote:

Ripe and concentrated. Blackberry, violets, coal (barrel char), and a touch of minerality. Overall, without flaws, but excessively polished, and, I might add, oaky. In sum, not my preferred style, and based on Kelley's higher end wines, I would wager not hers either. This label, though, does pay the bills, and allows her to make the magic she does in those wines.

Not to be overthought, rather simply enjoyed. Recommend drinking by 2025. 90-91.

10/23/2020 - Bathtub58 Likes this wine:

Decanted for 1 hour prior to consumption. Aromas/flavors of black cherry, spice, with a bit of tar. Overall, this is a baby Clos Electrique that seems like it will hit its peak over the next couple years. I saw a prior review said “funk.” I didn’t detect anything like that, say similar to the 2015 Clos Electrique which seemed to really suffer from reduction where some of the less preferable compounds dominated in that bottling.

9/18/2020 - fdub Likes this wine:

Too young. The wood is poking out a bit but has the framework and quality fruit to age very nicely. Another 3-5 years.

7/8/2020 - SB5784 Likes this wine:

Pale yellow / straw color. Nose is ripe and dominated by white and yellow fruits. A touch of orange peel. Some oak and brown butter spice as well. Definitely has the “round fruit” I associate with new world Chardonnay. Palate is similar, white peach and apple notes. Touch of lemon, but not like a white burgundy (not piercing), but certainly more than most California chardonnays. Medium to slightly fuller bodied. Some spice/oak on the palate. Decent acidity gives some structure, but sits behind the fruit at first. A nice wine and certainly good value. This is pretty delicious now, but question how much real development potential there. Drink up.

6/13/2020 - Kirk Grant wrote:

This really was a beautiful bottle of wine, if I had more...I'd still want to open another bottle tonight. It's light and ethereal and seems to glide down the palate all too easy. There's a beautiful perfume as as notes of rose, earth, and red fruits fill the glass. This is such a substantial step-up from the other single vineyards. Bravo...

6/7/2020 - rocknroller wrote:

Light gold color. Split bottle over 3 hours. This is clearly one of, if not, the gold standard of dry Pinot Gris. The '15 vintage offers a complex mix of Meyer lemon, white peach, wet stone and white flowers on the nose. The palate has another gear with even more complexity to the medium plus bodied frame of citrus, white peach, saline, wet stone, grapefruit, citrus zest and white pepper. This has great acidity and excellent depth.

5/6/2020 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine:

PnPed. OK wow, quite a nose. Very different than the Heritage #9. This has tons of rose petals, dried roses, and red twizzlers, with some sandalwood and spices and savory wood/stems/minerals? The palate is snappy and savory, with more florals and minerals and some tart red fruits. This isn't anywhere near as wound as the totally-nuts #9 but still needs some time to unwind. Tons of acid. Lovely Pinot snap. This is red and savory and floral with tons of acid on the finish.

Day 2: This is opening up nicely: cherry and wild strawberry fruit, with lots of spice: cinnamon, some cayenne, definitely some atomic fireball going on. . Red florals. There is something darker and more velvet-like as well: maybe some sous-bois and menthol and stems? Almost the 'game bird' that Gilman likes to talk about with some Bojos along with some raspberry fruit. There's a real savory-minerals aspect at the end of the nose. The palate is crazy acidic with tart red fruits and spice and tons of savory. Rose petals. The finish is wicked with all the elements from the palate - definitely some cinnamon-cayenne-atomic ball going on. Very precise.

12/8/2019 - WaWineFan in TX Likes this wine:

This wine is absolutely rediculous. Everything that a great Oregon Pinot should be. The fruit is amazing and the nose and layers come along with it. This is my 3rd bottle of this wine and I just tracked down 6 more after having it with dinner at Recipe in Newberg the other night. I know that 2016 was an excellent year for OR pinot, but I have tried many from this vintage and few, if any, have been in the ballpark with this wine. I am intrigued by the reviews that suggest that this wine is on the young side to drink, if this is going to get better it will be completely mind-blowing because its already one of the best OR pinots I've ever had.

4/25/2019 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote:

Fairly lean yet still approachable. Tons of cool dark fruit and mineral up front with touches of spice and truffle. Better than the 14 and 16 in terms of accessibility. Still in need 3-5 years time.

11/1/2019 - isaacjamesbaker wrote:

Delicious stuff, rich and honeyed and waxy, but showing moderate acidity as well. Complex ginger, clover, honey, candle wax, marmalade and floral tones. Could definitely use more time to develop, as it seems still quite dense.

6/3/2019 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Pure red fruit nose. Some dusty spice. Slight traces of heat. The nose is pretty. Palate leans more dark - black cherry and a blackberry - and has a real spicy vivacity to it. Black licorice to the palate as well. Pretty delicious. Also an earth mushroom tone. Loses quite a lot on night 2.

5/18/2019 - tomandlu wrote:

Pale garnet throughout. Lovely, dense nose of sous bois, strawberries, herbs, and some tobacco. Very full on the palate belying its light color, with flavors that echo the nose, along with a beautiful balancing acidity, supple tannins, and a long, rich finish. This is delightful to drink right now but I think it still has room to evolve.

4/22/2019 - JM_MadTown wrote:

It is a well made Chardonnay; however, it is lacking complexity. It does have nice orchard fruit, no oak and balanced acidity. I am retrying this wine after it has sat for day and it has improved.

3/16/2019 - Mr.Overhill Likes this wine:

Still somewhat restrained, but with good tangy cherry flavors and some nice zingy spiciness. Not at all to hot or fat. And it should age nicely considering the acids, which were enough to be noticed. Great qpr for under $30.

3/24/2019 - blackrood Likes this wine:

Pale ruby wine, aromas of stewed cherries, cinnamon, earth and mushroom.
Moderate intensity, low tannins, higher acidity, light body.

This wine is past its prime and the fruit is fading quickly. Still good but drink now.

5/24/2018 - Grape_ape Likes this wine:

dark, savory and earthy. nicely balanced. Pleasant surprise never having had this producer before, but they are on the radar now for sure

4/10/2018 - Bathtub58 Does not like this wine:

Coravin 1 glass. I don’t get the rave reviews on Cellar Tracker. Strong reductive notes, which diminished after a couple hours, but an underlying funk appeared that masked what seemed like good underlying material - a velvety smooth and fruity pinot. By hour 5, the nose still hadn't arrived and the wine still wasn’t expressive. Still some funk after 24 hours in glass. No tannins. Hard to drink and enjoy. 81?

12/18/2017 - chablis28 wrote:

Ok, now I have a new paradigm for drinking Oregon that suits my old school palate. I've been fond of saying "buy and drink Oregon PN in the so called off years and you hit a perfect blend of ripe enough fruit without over abundant richness." Here's my new one. "buy a firmly old school producer like Eyrie in the so called good years." Man did I love this wine tonight! PnP in Burg glass and slow ox for an hour before dinner. Paler semi translucent ambered red aged Burg colors. Is this wine 15yrs old? It sure looks like it :). Love the earthy faded fruit nose. A fresh weightless varietal correct palate with raspberry, cherry, Gevrey Chambertin like earthiness along with forest floor, savory spice notes. Excellent lift and depth. Going back for more, for sure. Real PN from Oregon! This vintage, aged in mostly neutral oak with some whole cluster. Easily found for mid $30s / drinks more like $50+ old vine Burgundy.

11/13/2017 - msuwine wrote:

This pleasant but over-priced Chardonnay is drinking well right now. Light yellow, almost silver in color; medium in body; somewhat muted nose of quince and saline. Tastes of pear, lemon meringue, saline, and vanilla, with a soft yet acidic finish. 13.2% alcohol. I followed this over several hours, but it actually seemed more diluted with time. This might be acceptable at $45, but it's downright frustrating at almost $90.

Drinking this wine is consistent with many Oregon Chardonnays I've had: subtle and subdued, it has a pleasant lightness and is quite drinkable, but it lacks the intensity or complexity to be truly impressive. I appreciate lighter Chardonnays, but this is almost watery. I know Oregon Chardonnay is supposed to be the next big thing, but I just don't get it: they might be polite, but they're not very interesting - and, as prices continue to rise, count me out.

9/19/2017 - AGELVIS Likes this wine:

This was opened 20 min before drinking (in bottle). Cherry red color. Sage, damp earth, raspberry and hint of vanilla on complex nose. Silky smooth palate with lots of raspberry and good acidity. Very bright, yet Burgundian, wine. Soft tannins on medium short finish. Really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to trying the better 2014 vintage.

8/6/2017 - drdecanto Likes this wine:

Tasted at Arroyo Vino Oregon PN tasting on 7/29/17: Pale garnet. Lovely perfumed nose. In the mouth-soft red fruits. Palate filling. Moderately ling fruit driven finish. Soft round tannins. Appears to have some aging potential. Harvested before the rains. $80