2022 Matthiasson Napa Valley White Wine

Tasting Notes

• The Sauvignon Blanc brings a clean fresh citrusy acidity and some tropical character. The Ribolla Gialla brings seashell minerality, nuttiness, and structure to the blend. The Semillon contributes viscosity and waxiness that adds gravity and weight. The Tocai Friulano adds spicy aromatic notes. The acidity and fruit expression are balanced by a rich lees character and a faint backdrop of creamy oak. There is interplay in the wine between lightness and richness, as well as focus and complexity.

  The 2022 White Wine has its trademark spice and mineral quality, and another perfect growing season helped the wine deliver plenty of acidity and freshness. Trademark flavors include white peach, kaffir lime, lychee nut, beeswax, ripe fig, and pineapple, with prominent wet stones like flint, oyster shells, and freshly baled straw.

• Aromas: This wine presents a complex bouquet of white peach, kaffir lime, lychee nut, beeswax, ripe fig, and pineapple, complemented by prominent wet stone minerality reminiscent of flint and oyster shells.
• Flavors: On the palate, it offers a harmonious interplay between lightness and richness, with flavors mirroring the aromatic profile, enhanced by a rich lees character and a subtle backdrop of creamy oak.
• Texture: The wine exhibits a balanced acidity, providing freshness and a mouthwatering quality, while the Semillon contributes viscosity and weight, resulting in a wine that is both focused and complex.

Food Pairings

The versatility of this white blend makes it an excellent companion for a variety of dishes:

• Seafood: Grilled halibut, seared scallops, or oysters on the half shell.
• Poultry: Roasted chicken with herbs or turkey breast with a lemon glaze.
• Vegetarian Dishes: Butternut squash risotto or a creamy mushroom pasta.
• Cheeses: Soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert, as well as aged Gouda.

Vineyard Technical Specifications

• Blend Composition: 46% Semillon, 29% Ribolla Gialla, 23% Sauvignon Blanc, and 2% Tocai Friulano.
• Vineyard Sources:
  • Ryan’s Vineyard: Located in the cool and foggy southern part of Napa Valley, this vineyard provides the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The site features alluvial gravel soils and benefits from daily wind currents from the San Francisco Bay, promoting acidity and freshness in the grapes.
  • Bengier Vineyard (formerly Vare): Situated at the mouth of Napa’s Dry Creek canyon, adjacent to the creek, this vineyard supplies the Ribolla Gialla and Tocai Friulano. The rocky fluvial soils and cool air drainage are ideal for these varieties, contributing minerality and structure to the blend.
• Winemaking:
  • The fruit was lightly whole-cluster pressed.
  • All four varieties were blended immediately upon dryness, racked, and returned onto the lees for aging until bottling.
  • Aged for ten months in 15% new Boutes barrels, with no stirring, to preserve acidity and freshness.
  • Malolactic fermentation was prevented to maintain bright acidity.
  • Filtered before bottling to ensure stability.
• Technical Details:
  • Alcohol Content: 12.0% by volume.
  • pH Level: 3.40.
  • Total Acidity: 6.5 g/L.
  • Production: 1,143 cases produced.
    This is the wine that really put Matthiasson on the map, back in 2005. A blend of grapes originally from Italy and France (Sauvignon Blanc, Ribolla Gialla, Semillon and Tocai Friulano), it is their conception of a mythical “ideal” white wine, thus the name.