Friday Sips

Full disclosure, Marcus Goodfellow has been a good friend of The Cellar Door for almost 15 years and Bryan has had shared bottles and football trash-talk with him since 1994. Someone once related to us, that "the friends are the friends and the business is the business" which for us translates that when it comes time to making wine decisions, those minutes that we taste, friendship momentarily gets set aside. This all being said, after tasting the Whistling Ridge White from Matello, it reconfirmed everything we said a few years back about this wine, it is truly one of the best white wines produced in Oregon!

Inspired by the vineyard designated blends of Domaine Marcel Deiss in Alsace, Marcus has put forth something very special. Made with traditional grapes seen both in Alsace and here in Oregon, the desire to allow Whistling Ridge Vineyard to speak and transcending the varietals is mightily accomplished in this bottle.

Virtually glistening aromas of honeysuckle, apple, lemon, tinges of exotic spice and most importantly, a real rocky minerality which comes from the non-irrigated vines taking a vow of poverty and having to go deep to find the basalt rock and where the moisture lies within this vineyard's soils. Intense depth, dry, racy and radiant with loads of personality and structure in the mouth; long, mouth-watering and extensively complex on the finish. Given this wine's backbone, my gut tells me that this wine will also age very well. Drink it over the next decade and probably beyond. A mere 70 cases of this wine were produced for 2012 and it will sell out, especially given the buzz of just how special it really is!!

There is a plethora of 20 buck Pinot Noir done in Oregon. Unfortunately not all of them deliver, but the best and honorable producers like Matello always do. It's been fun to see this wine grow into its skin over the last 8 months and right now it is absolutely delectable. The 2011 Lazarus is an appealing, extremely well-crafted Pinot that performs mightily but never overacts.

Stylish red and blackcurrant fruit permeates from the glass and is enhanced by intertwined cinnamon, violet and red earth which follows into a smooth, velvet-laden mouthfilling texture that seduces, lingers and calls you back for another glass. Support the home team and drink this pinot now over the next 4-5 years with a range of dishes from grilled salmon to lamb shanks to pork roast and smoked fowl.

Marcus doesn't have a set recipe when it comes to making wine. Using his astute instinct, this eloquent Oregon Pinot rock star flexibly produces his wines by rolling with what the given vintage delivers. No compromising, Marcus always puts forth Pinot Noirs that reflect their origins and never become Napa Cab wannabes. Souris is one of Matello's apex cuvees and 2010 is a vintage that is turning into something quite special and really is starting to tell its own story and one that is very compelling.

Even in a youthful stage, profound scents with underlying perfume that in time, will stand above all other components in this wine. Violets, black cherry, fine earth and pepper with red licorice and Indian spices unfold as it sits in the glass. Superb, ethereal concentration; sculpted and not sweet, fat or over-thought at all. Nice depth and penetration, but plenty of backbone shows up on the drawn-out, luxurious, deep finish.

As mentioned earlier, Marcus and I have been friends for many years. Way, way back in the day before I worked at The Cellar Door and Marcus was making wine, I had Marcus buy and cellar wines from Alain Graillot. This may have screwed his wine-thinking up forever, but in a good way. See, Monsieur Graillot is one of the grand Syrah masters and is one of several French producers who have inspired Marcus to make Syrah. Another inspiration that comes from France would be the philosophy in Cote-Rotie to co-ferment Viognier in with the Syrah and Marcus does just so by adding a dollop into the Fool's Journey.

Serving up killer aromatics, this wine possesses tantalizing scents of violet, roasted earth, cranberry, white pepper and hints of asphalt. Keep smelling and you will definitely feel as though you've been to two continents! Finesseful, layered flavors that expand and fill the mouth. Firm, youthful notes show in the middle, but the wine extends beautifully and shows off a finish that ends with silkiness, depth and persistence.