Matthiasson Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 2% Malbec, and 1 % Petit Verdot. Matthiasson is run by two farmers, husband and wife, Steve and Jill Matthiasson. Steve is the viticulturist and winemaker and Jill runs the business side of the operations while also farming a number of fruit trees which she sells at select farmers’ markets in Napa. Both Steve and Jill have long been interested in farming – Steve was drawn to gardening while in college and Jill studied botany and later worked for a family farming non-profit. Both met in Davis while Steve was studying agriculture at UC Davis. Matthiasson’s varietal choices and wine-making philosophy are uniquely refreshing in Napa’s current more linear dominated wine-making focused environment. These two grow and produce wines from unique Napa Valley varieties while the finished wine is balanced and food-friendly – well layered and complex but not to the point of losing these more subtle nuances in favor of ripeness and higher alcohol. This Napa Cab is blended 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. Fermented wild and then aged for 20 months in oak with less than 20% being new. This wine has lots of bright cherry along with blackberry, cranberry, and mulberry, and is framed with hints of mineral/herbal characters such as graphite, cedar, and pencil shavings. The palate is vibrant and fresh, with medium tannin and beautiful acidity. Taste the wonder that is a Matthiasson wine.