Reserve Sauvignon Blanc

2017
Reserve Sauvignon Blanc

Intense notes of lemon and lime rind, grapefruit, lychee and under-ripe pineapple. Swirling adds green guava, fresh jalapeno and herbs. The palate is vibrant, structured and angular. Delivering citrus, wet stone minerality and a lemon lifted finish. This is built for aging, so let it breathe early on.

Vintages

Varietal(s)

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Vinification

Fermented in 68% concrete eggs and 32% 600L French oak puncheons. Aged for 8 months in concrete eggs and French oak puncheons.

Alcohol

13.6%

Cases Produced

211

Vintage Notes

The 2017 Matthews Reserve Sauvignon Blanc was crafted exclusively from one vineyard site in Washington State, Boushey Vineyard located in the Yakima Valley. Farmed using sustainable practices. The vines were then hand-harvested in the early mornings of late summer. This wine was made from one whole cluster pressed portion and another part that was de-stemmed and macerated for 24 hours. Upon arriving at the winery, each cluster was hand-sorted, whole cluster pressed, and left to settle for 24-48 hours. It was then fermented for 8 months in concrete eggs (68%) and 600L French oak punchons (32%). The wine was rolled weekly in the puncheons while the eggs were stirred monthly weekly before being settled in bottle in June. Following over 40 individual evaluations by our winemaking team, the resulting 211 cases were bottled, producing only 211 cases.

Expert Reviews & Scores

Sean Sullivan, Wine Enthusiast

90 / 100

Hailing from Boushey Vineyard, this wine was aged in a combination of large format oak and concrete. Aromas of gooseberry, kiwi, pink grapefruit, lemon rind, tropical fruit and herb lead to creamy-feeling fruit flavors supported by well-balanced acidity. A lingering finish caps it off. It's a richer styled interpretation of the variety.

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous

92 / 100

Pale, bright green-yellow. Sexy scents of lemon drop, fresh herbs and mint oil convey a positive phenolic character. Dense, suave and quite harmonious, conveying a subtle sweetness and strong tactile minerality to its flavors of lemon rind, grapefruit and fresh herbs. Finishes with noteworthy building length. Made from a relatively low yield by Boushey standards. Finishes musky, minerally, smooth and very long. This dry but fully ripe wine shows terrific drive and may be the most serious Sauvignon Blanc I tasted in Washington this summer. Morell stirs the eggs and rolls the 600-liter barrel to move the lees. This wine reminded me a bit of a cucumber margarita I had had with oysters the previous evening.

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