MATTHIASSON: Unexpected Style of Classic Varieties + Unexpected Varieties
Hi! Jill (and Steve) Matthiasson here. We’re NEWBIE’s to Berserker Day but we’ve been part of the Berserker community for over 10 years. I got connected to Berserksers when we started participating in Frank Murray’s Falltacular Fundraiser for Laura’s House, and I’ve met some of you all at those events.
Winemaking, for us, is a natural extension of farming. We have both worked for many years in the sustainable agriculture and local food movement, and in 2003 we started Matthiasson Wines based on those values — purity, sense of place, respect, responsibility, deliciousness. Our wines are classical expressions of different grape varieties, some well-known like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and some rare like Ribolla Gialla and Refosco. The deeply flavorful wines are refreshing, complement food, and are moderate in alcohol. Our small family winery is fiercely independent, no partners or investors, just the vision of Jill and Steve and a hard-working and passionate team. Our independence allows us to farm organically, with no compromises in the vineyard or the winery, creating the beautiful wines for which we are known.
In fact, in 2023 we were featured in a New York Times article titled “How the Most Delicious Wines Stay True to Themselves,” in which wine critic Eric Asimov included us in a list of wineries “who make glorious wines by following their own muse.”
All offers available on the same page: BerserkerDay15
OFFER 1: 2022 Rosé
As we get ready to bottle the 2023 vintage, we are offering the “last call” on our 2022 Rosé, a fan favorite. A blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Counoise from Windmill Vineyard, and Barbera from Muller Vineyard in Dunnigan Hills, it is delicately light, gracefully dancing on the palate, and culminating in a clean finish. Infused with subtle fruits, salty minerality, and refreshing acidity, it boasts citrusy aromas.
Crafted from grapes grown exclusively for rosé, and harvested early for vibrant juiciness, it is fermented and aged “sur lees” in stainless steel barrels. This Rosé captures the zesty brightness of early harvest, ensuring a crisp and refreshing experience.
6-pack - $140 including shipping (plus tax)
12 pack - $250 including shipping (plus tax)
OFFER 2: Matthiasson Intro Pack
2022 Rosé
2022 Napa Valley Chardonnay, Linda Vista Vineyard
2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
$135 including shipping (plus tax)
OFFER 3: Matthiasson Single Vineyard Cabs
2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Dead Fred Vineyard
2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Circa Vineyard
2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Phoenix Vineyard
$285 including shipping (plus tax)
OFFER 4: Matthiasson Geeky Four Pack (limit 48)
2021 Napa Valley Semillon, Yount Mill Vineyard
2021 Napa Valley Ribolla Gialla, Matthiasson Vineyard
2021 Napa Valley Refosco, Matthiasson Vineyard
2022 Napa Valley Pinot Meunier, Yount Mill Vineyard
$195 including shipping (plus tax)
We ship to all states EXCEPT UT, MS, and KY
AK and HI Berserkers: please message me about quotes for shipping.
All Offers Available on the Same Page: BerserkerDay15
THE WINES
2022 Rosé Dunningan Hills 12.0% abv: A blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Counoise from the Windmill Vineyard, and Barbera from the Muller Vineyard. We whole-cluster press the grapes, settle in a cold tank for 24 hours, then ferment and age the wine “sur lees” in stainless steel barrels. To preserve the acidity we prevent malolactic fermentation. We keep the barrels shut tight, no topping or stirring, and the wine is never racked, fined, or cold-stabilized, but since it is ML negative it is filtered before bottling.
2022 Napa Valley Chardonnay, Linda Vista Vineyard 12.5% abv: For complexity, completeness, and balance, we achieve a diversity of ripeness by using the traditional method of harvesting the fruit several different times during the ripening period. The earlier harvests contribute acidity and minerality, and the later harvests contribute flesh and richness. We ferment and age the wine sur lees in old French oak barrels with only native yeast. Two-fifths of the barrels to go through malo-lactic fermentation.
2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% abv: The blend is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. For complexity and balance our Cab is composed of grapes from six vineyards throughout the Napa Valley. The three AVAs are Coombsville for structure and black fruit, Rutherford for savory Cabernet characters and bright fruit, and Oak Knoll for soft fruit. It is a Napa Cab of the old school, age-worthy, complex, and begging for a steak off the grill. Harvested before the 2020 Napa fires.
2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Dead Fred Vineyard, 13.0% abv: The Dead Fred Vineyard in Coombsville sits on a rocky volcanic knoll top, with soil derived from volcanic ash with lots of rocks made from rylolite (compressed volcanic ash). Its south-western exposure causes the soil to pick up heat during the day, but the proximity to the mouth of the Napa Valley with its morning fog and afternoon sea breezes keeps the air cool. This combination of warm volcanic soil and cool marine air creates fruit that is uncommonly structured and ripe, yet fresh and minerally.
2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Circa Vineyard, 12.5% abv: The Circa Vineyard in Rutherford sits on river wash soil in the middle of the Napa Valley. It is a warm location, adjacent to the famous George III Vineyard, on soil that gives lots of ripeness from the gravel content. The layers of water-holding silty loam give the wine the characteristic “Rutherford Dust,” the complex and earthy herbal quality that balances the ripeness in the wine.
2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Phoenix Vineyard. 12.0% abv: The soils are some of the most unique in the entire Napa Valley. The east-facing steep hillside of the Phoenix Vineyard, in Oak Knoll, sits on an undisturbed ridge of ancient marine shale soils. The rock content and sea minerals of these soils create unique and haunting wines with high-toned red fruits, perfumed and exotic, and a lightness in the mid-palate that is contrasted by a long, firm, and structured finish. Wine singular enough, and complete enough, to be worthy of a single vineyard designation.
2021 Napa Valley Semillon, Yount Mill Vineyard, 10.5% abv: This wine is an homage to the long-aging Semillons of yester-year — low alcohol, mineral, with a lovely beeswax texture and a flinty nose with a hint of dried fig.
2021 Napa Valley Ribolla Gialla, Matthiasson Vineyard, 12.0% abv: Ribolla Gialla originates in the Friuli region of Italy and across the border in Slovenia. An ancient grape variety, its earliest known mention was by the Pope in 1296. The wine was fermented whole cluster with native yeast in an open-top tank using punchdowns. After two weeks the must was pressed, and the wine was aged for 18 months in neutral barrels. The wine aged sur lees and it was never racked. No SO2 was used until a tiny amount at bottling. The Ribolla gialla tastes like hazelnuts, baking spices, meyer lemon curd, Bartlett pear, but most of all it has a stony minerality that is incredibly distinctive.
2021 Napa Valley Refosco, Matthiasson Vineyard, 12.0% abv: Refosco originates in the Friuli region of Italy and Slovenia. An ancient grape, Refosco was first mentioned in print in 1409 at a banquet for Pope Gregory XII. It is distantly related to Syrah and Pinot noir. Our Refosco is always defined by its balance between fruitiness and earthiness, and it is full soft tannins. A happy wine, it is one of our favorites to drink at home.
2022 Napa Valley Pinot Meunier, Yount Mill Vineyard, 12.0% abv: The Pinot Meunier is truly earthy and mineral, a prized characteristic here in sunny Napa, where the wines normally run fruitier, but it has tantalizing blue fruits as well, and a refreshing, bright backbone of acidity and lively structure. The wine was fermented with 50% whole clusters in a small open top tank, with two manual punch downs per day. We pressed after 14 days and aged the wine in neutral puncheons for eight months before bottling unfined and unfiltered.