Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

2017
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Sweetly smoked muddled strawberry and raspberry with vanilla bean and sandalwood while wafting notes of black tea, crème de cassis and blackberry puree prevail. Swirling brings up rich black fruits, dark spices and crème brulee. The palate is rich and dense showing the flare of the vintage with silky tannins and nothing out of place. More of a blockbuster style than previous years with the same precision and purity expected from a Matthews wine.

Vintages

Varietal(s)

95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot

Vinification

Fermented in 57% stainless steel and 43% concrete tanks. Aged for 22 months in 94% new French oak barrels.

Alcohol

14.4%

Cases Produced

387

Vintage Notes

The 2017 Matthews Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was crafted from several vineyards across three separate AVAs in Washington State: Columbia Valley, Red Mountain, and the Walla Walla Valley. Farmed using sustainable practices, the vines were limited to one or two clusters per shoot for maximum concentration. They were then hand-harvested in the early morning starting in early October, with the final pick coming on November 2nd, 2017.

Expert Reviews & Scores

Jeb Dunnuckjebdunnuck.com

94 / 100

Tobacco, blackcurrants, spring flowers, and smoked herb notes all emerge from the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. It's a wonderfully pure, medium to full-bodied 2017 with silky tannins, great intensity, and a balanced, layered style that's going to evolve for 15-20 years.

Anthony Mueller, The Wine Advocate

92 / 100

A gorgeous wine, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Columbia Valley wafts out of the glass with aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, baking spices, blackberry purée, cherry reduction and spiced plum with chocolate-covered raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, the expression fills out with a balanced structure, lifting tannins and a juicy and ripe core of fruit, showing no hard edges. The finish lingers on and leaves me craving chocolate-covered blueberries. The wine was aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, 94% brand new. Almost 4,700 bottles were produced.

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous

92 / 100

Deep red-ruby. Brooding, medicinal aromas of blackcurrant, menthol, licorice and bitter chocolate are lifted by violet and graphite. Fatter and thicker on entry than the Reserve Cabernet Franc but quite dry and classic in the middle palate, with black fruit and licorice flavors lifted by floral and mineral elements. Juicy and tight yet already sexy and expressive. Finishes with broad, refined tannins and subtly building juicy length. Built to age, but this wine is more generous at this early stage than the 2016 edition. (aged in 94% new French oak for 22 months)

Trade Materials