Synopsis, Our Opinion: A strikingly delicious white wine that was filled with character.
Producer/Winery: Matthiasson Family Vineyards; Napa, California.
Grape Variety: Ribolla Gialla.
Geographic Appellation,, Region, Country: Napa Valley, California.
Vintage: 2017
Price: $46.80 (with a 10% mixed case discount)
Purchased From: The Caviste Wine Shop; Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Paired With: Charcuterie tray – Goat Lady Dairy Lindale, Chapel Hill Creamery Calvander, house made rosemary-cranberry goat cheese log with Goat Lady Dairy Chevre and Smoking Goose Salame, flat bread, steeped fruit, candied walnuts with house made ciabatta and Butter.
Petite Undercurrent crab cakes, grilled artichoke remoulade and pickled vegetables.
Baby spinach salad with honey-thyme vinaigrette, bacon, goat cheese and candied walnuts
Tasting:
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Prologue: This year for our Christmas Eve dinner we had an Undercurrent Restaurant “Pick-up and Heat” holiday dinner for two that included appetizers, bread, salad, main entrée, several sides and dessert. The dinner did not include wine so we asked Russ Anderson, owner of The Caviste wine shop to select two bottles for us to pair with the Undercurrent dinner. This is the review of the Ribolla Gialla Russ selected and we paired with the Charcuterie tray, crab cake appetizer and spinach salad (see also our review of the second wine paired with the entrée). It should be noted we tasted and reviewed this wine in 2019 (see: Matthiasson Napa Valley Ribolla Gialla 2015, but because we thought the 2018 vintage was so much better we’re doing a second tasting post.
Chilled before drinking. Cloudy, orange/oat straw color (substantially lighter in color than the 2015). Apple, yeast and peach aromas with a conspicuous rose bouquet in the background. Bold, dry, vibrant and tart mouthfeel, light to medium body and an 80-grit texture. The flavors were not dominated by the overripe apple like the 2015, but were exuberant and included fresh peach and garden herbs. The bright acidity was especially good with the cheese, Goose salame and crab cakes. We both commented that it was so much fresher and more flavorful than the 2015 we needed a second tasting review. In the end we called it a strikingly delicious white wine that was filled with character.
Photo from Matthiasson Family Vineyards.
See our reviews of other Matthiasson wines.
Alcohol Content: 13%
Closure: Aluminum covered 45mm Natural cork.
UPC Code: Not available.
Imported by: Not applicable.