Matthiasson White Blend Napa Valley 2019

Country: USA

Region: Napa Velley

Type: White Wine

Grape: Sauvignon Blanc/Ribolla Gialla/Semillon/Tocai Friulano

The fruit was very lightly whole-cluster-pressed. All four varieties were blended immediately upon dryness, racked and returned onto the lees for aging until bottling. We used 15% new Boutes barrels, with no stirring. To preserve all of the acidity the wine was prevented from going through malo-lactic fermentation. After ten months of barrel aging, the wine was filtered to prevent malolactic fermentation in bottle, and then bottled.

The Sauvignon blanc brings a clean fresh citrusy acidity and some tropical character, while The Ribolla Gialla brings seashell minerality, nuttiness, and structure to the blend. Semillon's viscosity and waxiness that adds gravity and weight, and the Tocai Friulano adds spicy aromatic notes. The acidity and fruit is balanced by a rich lees character and a faint backdrop of creamy oak. There is interplay in the wine between lightness and richness, with notes of white peach, kafir lime, lychee, beeswax, ripe fig, and pineapple, with prominent wet stones, flint, oyster shells, and freshly baled straw.