Winery - Matthews
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A step beyond the immense 2003, this actually supercedes the sheer massive power of that wine with a sleeker, more elegant structure. Classy, bright, lifted scents lead into a peppery, red-fruited Syrah annotated with citrus oil. Tart, young, clean and delineated, it is Matt Loso’s immaculate, concise winemaking at its best. This can go a long way; it continues to add depth and layers of mineral and texture as it breathes open.
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Matthews Syrah - 2004
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This single-vineyard effort, the top bottle from Matthews, is a comet of a Cab that streaks across the palate with crisp, tart, tightly focused berry fruits. It leaves behind a tail that broadens into a pretty rainbow of flavors—black cherry, mineral, black tea—and keeps its concentration through a long, resonant finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A full-bore Bordeaux blend with all five varieties. Two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon sets the backbone, and the wine unfolds with plenty of power, dark, plummy fruit and full, roasted espresso-like barrel flavors. If there’s a down spot it’s the acidic tang to the finish, which seems a bit jagged.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Winemaker Matt Loso dropped Semillon from the blend a few years ago, then tried fermenting in all stainless, moved to barrels in 2005 and will jump to concrete in 2006. The 2004 Klipsun is yeasty, bone dry and richly textured. The young, beery yeast flavors are augmented with light, fresh herbs and hints of citrus zest and honey. Lingering, lovely textures.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is surely the most ambitious Cabernet Franc/Conner Lee wine ever made, and it’s priced accordingly. I love the purity, the focus and the way it plays across the palate; it’s a real high-wire act. Cab Franc does not lend itself to either elegance or completeness as a varietal grape, which is why it is almost always blended. But here it is the whole show, and it’s razzle dazzle all the way. Ripe blackberry and black cherry fruit is framed in spice and tannin, with a sweetness rarely found. The finishing notes of fresh roasted coffee and mocha linger sensuously in the back of the mouth. A rare mix of delicacy and power.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This has rich tannins, dense fruit and overall deep flavors. This is a dark wine, just this side of brooding, with ripe blueberry and cherry fruit, softly chalky tannins, whiffs of smoke and splashes of pepper. The dark fruit flavors are bold and seamless, melded with smoke and chocolate, dotted with ground espresso, and finished with a nice lift. This probably needs another five years to really show all of its complexity.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This young, dense, saturated, complex and extremely tight wine is sappy and packed with myriad berries and red/blue fruits. It is wrapped in stiff, hard, thick, dark tannins that add tight layers of moist earth, black tea, roots and bitter chocolate. This baby needs time.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is 85% Stillwater fruit and 15% Klipsun. It was fermented in three quite different ways, a mix of 25% concrete eggs, 25% new French oak barrels and 50% stainless steel. Moving toward a Pouilly Fumé style, winemaker Matthew Loso has crafted a sleek, racy, highly textural wine, loaded with refreshing flavors and scents of cut grass, citrus rind and extended lees contact.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This vineyard-designated Sauv Blanc is half fermented in stainless steel, 40% in concrete eggs and the rest in French oak. It is completely different from the winery’s Columbia Valley bottling, with much riper and rounder fruit flavors showing off stone fruits, such as peaches and apricots, along with tropical hints of papaya. There’s plenty of stuffing and spice, and a perfect mix of the grape’s innate herbaceous and grassy qualities, ramped up with riper, sweeter fruit.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Ripe and thick is the name of the game here: Aromas are one step away from Porty, and flavors are of very ripe mulberries and blueberries. It’s thick and syrupy on the palate, and chewy on the finish, with enough fresh acidity to keep it in good balance. 175 cases produced.
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Matthews Syrah - 2003
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