2021 Matthews Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
ABOUT THIS WINE
The 2021 Matthews Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is comprised of several small vineyard parcels within the greater Columbia Valley, with key vineyard sites in Horse Heaven Hills, Red Mountain, and Royal Slope AVA’s as well as the famed Conner Lee vineyard. This wine truly represents the broad flavor and aromatic expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon from the diverse terroirs of Washington State. The new winemaking team worked with our vineyard managers to update our viticultural practices, reducing yields (on average) by 30% for each site. These restricted yields created small, concentrated berries. Further vineyard dedication meant we were able to harvest between 3-6 weeks later than previous vintages. This allowed each site to fully develop the proper ripeness and flavor profile we were looking for.
Each vineyard was hand-harvested in the early mornings between late September & early October, cultivating on October 28th for our last pick. Upon arriving at the winery, each vineyard parcel was hand-sorted, de-stemmed, and berry-sorted. The grapes were placed in tank and cold soaked for 2 days, before undergoing a 14-day fermentation and an additional 14 days of extended maceration, resulting in 32+ days on skins for maximum extraction and integrated tannins. The wine was cellared for 19 months in new French oak (25%) and used French oak (75%). In the spring of 2022, we selected 302 barrels to be carefully selected and blended. The wine was bottled in June, producing only 7,364 cases.
Twenty-two separate clones were included in the final blend.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
Matthews Winery is located in Woodinville, Washington, and was established by Matt Loso in 1993. They initially focused on Bordeaux-style blends. The winery was an early incubator for some of Washington’s early wineries including Mark Ryan Winery, Sparkman Cellars and Gorman Winery. Cliff and Diane Otis acquired Matthews Winery in 2008. They have been pivotal in guiding the winery through significant growth, innovation and development as well as hiring Alex and Hal.
Alex is a winemaker who came to Matthews Winery after a distinguished career at Quilceda Creek. A native of Snohomish, Washington, he once thought he’d pursue a medical degree, but developed a passion for winemaking after working on Quilceda Creek’s bottling wine. He changed course and pursued a degree in enology from California State University, Fresno. He studied in Burgundy, Tuscany and Switzerland. He joined Matthews as lead winemaker in 2021. Alex talked about how the Matthews opportunity gave him the ability for artistic exploration with different AVAs and varietals vs. a more traditional, historic brand with a set profile.
Hal received his degree in sustainable agriculture and talked about how he was trying to avoid making life decisions and got into winemaking. In the beginning, he was teaching classes in Taiwan. When he returned to the States, he worked a harvest at Quilceda Creek in 2010 where he remembers working 70 days in a row. It was agriculture-focused and rewarding work, so he eagerly accepted a position at Quilceda Creek in 2016 when it was offered. Since joining Matthews, Iverson has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of winemaking at the winery especially when it comes to the blending process across multiple AVAs.
Original: $43.99
-65%$43.99
$15.40Product Information
Product Information
Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
Description
ABOUT THIS WINE
The 2021 Matthews Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is comprised of several small vineyard parcels within the greater Columbia Valley, with key vineyard sites in Horse Heaven Hills, Red Mountain, and Royal Slope AVA’s as well as the famed Conner Lee vineyard. This wine truly represents the broad flavor and aromatic expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon from the diverse terroirs of Washington State. The new winemaking team worked with our vineyard managers to update our viticultural practices, reducing yields (on average) by 30% for each site. These restricted yields created small, concentrated berries. Further vineyard dedication meant we were able to harvest between 3-6 weeks later than previous vintages. This allowed each site to fully develop the proper ripeness and flavor profile we were looking for.
Each vineyard was hand-harvested in the early mornings between late September & early October, cultivating on October 28th for our last pick. Upon arriving at the winery, each vineyard parcel was hand-sorted, de-stemmed, and berry-sorted. The grapes were placed in tank and cold soaked for 2 days, before undergoing a 14-day fermentation and an additional 14 days of extended maceration, resulting in 32+ days on skins for maximum extraction and integrated tannins. The wine was cellared for 19 months in new French oak (25%) and used French oak (75%). In the spring of 2022, we selected 302 barrels to be carefully selected and blended. The wine was bottled in June, producing only 7,364 cases.
Twenty-two separate clones were included in the final blend.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
Matthews Winery is located in Woodinville, Washington, and was established by Matt Loso in 1993. They initially focused on Bordeaux-style blends. The winery was an early incubator for some of Washington’s early wineries including Mark Ryan Winery, Sparkman Cellars and Gorman Winery. Cliff and Diane Otis acquired Matthews Winery in 2008. They have been pivotal in guiding the winery through significant growth, innovation and development as well as hiring Alex and Hal.
Alex is a winemaker who came to Matthews Winery after a distinguished career at Quilceda Creek. A native of Snohomish, Washington, he once thought he’d pursue a medical degree, but developed a passion for winemaking after working on Quilceda Creek’s bottling wine. He changed course and pursued a degree in enology from California State University, Fresno. He studied in Burgundy, Tuscany and Switzerland. He joined Matthews as lead winemaker in 2021. Alex talked about how the Matthews opportunity gave him the ability for artistic exploration with different AVAs and varietals vs. a more traditional, historic brand with a set profile.
Hal received his degree in sustainable agriculture and talked about how he was trying to avoid making life decisions and got into winemaking. In the beginning, he was teaching classes in Taiwan. When he returned to the States, he worked a harvest at Quilceda Creek in 2010 where he remembers working 70 days in a row. It was agriculture-focused and rewarding work, so he eagerly accepted a position at Quilceda Creek in 2016 when it was offered. Since joining Matthews, Iverson has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of winemaking at the winery especially when it comes to the blending process across multiple AVAs.
