Donor: Jill Mathiasson
Value: $335
MinBidIncr: $10
Auction Closes: 8pm PT
Magnum of 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Phoenix Vineyard (99 pts Decanter Magazine).
From Jill:
This wine is reserved for our wine club members, and we are offering a rare Magnum for the BerserkerDay17.
· Steep hillside of ancient shale soil, very rare in the Napa Valley.
· Old vines, selection massale planted back in 1982.
· Dry-farmed. CCOF Certified organic. Native yeast
· Aged in large foudre to maintain aromatics and elegance.
· 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc
· The pinnacle of Matthiasson wines.
The pinnacle of Matthiasson wines, this distinctive, high-toned and perfumed Cabernet hails from our old-vine, hand-farmed, organic estate vineyard overlooking the Napa Valley. The addition of small amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc add to the wine’s hallmark complexity. It will reward long aging or can be enjoyed young with a meal after a little decanting.
99 points - Decanter magazine
What does AI say?
The Matthiasson Phoenix Vineyard 2021 is an elegant, lower-alcohol Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from a certified organic, dry-farmed site on Mt. Veeder, known for intense fruit (black cherry, cassis) with savory notes (graphite, herbs, tobacco) and fine tannins, aged in large formats like foudres and demi-muids for freshness, offering complexity and aging potential. It blends in some Merlot and Cabernet Franc for lushness and herbal lift, resulting in a pure, linear, and balanced expression of terroir, quite different from typical Napa Cabs.
A little history for you.
In 2017, we had an opportunity of a lifetime. After 22 years of making wine wherever we could find space, we had the chance to buy our own winery. The elderly owners of the vineyard and winery could no longer manage the upkeep and needed help. We started farming their grapes for them as a favor, and later that same year purchased the property, granting them a lifetime estate. We gained our dream of a winery, and they secured their home for the rest of their lives.
The Phoenix Vineyard was planted in 1982 by that same family on the steep hillside above the winery. They used old heritage field selections of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. When we took over, we converted to organic farming, planted new vines where some of the old vines had given up, and focused on rejuvenating the old vines with compost and pruning.
The steep hillside and narrow rows require that most work be done by hand, making it a challenging vineyard to farm but so worth it.
