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Matthiasson, “Michael Mara” Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

California, United States 2016 (750mL)
$55.00
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Matthiasson, “Michael Mara” Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

Normally when I taste a wine that sends me to another level, I excitedly share it amongst the wine team, but Matthiasson’s 2016 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay compelled me to go a few steps further: I rang up owners Jill and Steve and personally told them how moved I was. If the Matthiassons were a generation older, there’s no doubt in my mind today’s wine would be a top candidate for the Judgment of Paris, subsequently placing them shoulder to shoulder with the legendary likes of Roulot, Leflaive, Ramonet, and Drouhin. 
Their remarkable ability to extract balance, texture, and mineral power that was long thought to be confined to the hallowed grounds of France is perhaps clearest in today’s “Michael Mara” Chardonnay. Why? This cool-climate Sonoma Coast site is their passion project! The Matthiassons planted it themselves and the first several harvests helped them stay financially afloat—without it, they wouldn’t be here today. Second, the soils here are unforgivingly rocky, but the backbreaking work it took paid off handsomely: The sheer amount of pulverized minerality in each sip is like no other. Now, combine all that with natural farming and a San Francisco Chronicle “Winemaker of the Year” winner in Steve, and you’ve got the makings of a world-class bottle of Chardonnay—albeit one that’s produced in very small quantities. Take your allocation and run!
Having moved to Napa and toyed with a small parcel of vines in their backyard in 2002, how is it that Steve and his wife, Jill Klein Matthiasson, stand out among the hundreds of producers in the Napa Valley today? Well, their wines pack an astonishing amount of flavor into every ounce, at modest alcohol levels, and Steve’s deep knowledge in viticulture allows him to harness the power of the soil and vine. As stated on their website, the Matthiassons—who met at UC Davis and emphasize that their production is a family affair—believe that winemaking “...is a natural extension of farming.” It’s because of this philosophy that they’ve built a deep list of clients whom they assist with organic and sustainable farming (e.g. Araujo Estate, Spottswoode, Chappellet, and Dalla Valle). 

The Michael Mara vineyard lies to the west of Sonoma proper and six acres of Chardonnay were planted in 2006 by Jill, Steve, and the Idell family. Here’s what the Matthiassons have to say about this “torturous” site: “This is a wine borne from blood, sweat, and tears. The dream of planting our own vineyard from scratch verged on a nightmare as we struggled with the rockiest soil we’ve experienced in 20 years of working in vineyards.”

The sustainably farmed grapes were picked at two intervals: 80% early on and the remaining 20% several days later for a perfect balance between acidity and phenolic ripeness. In the cellar, their grapes were lightly pressed with clusters intact, and the juice was sent into mostly neutral French barrels after a day of cold settling. It then spends 18 months in these barrels where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations take place, as well aging on its raw lees without any stirring. No sulfur is used until bottling. This batch also comes directly from them to you, only stopping at SommSelect to be stickered and shipped out of our temperature-controlled warehouse.

If I ever had to speak about the impact of minerality in a wine, I’d have this bottle in hand while preaching in front of the dais. This 2016 is a terroir-loaded powerhouse that will shock your palate and linger for at least 60 seconds on the finish. Because of its nervy energy, I recommend a minimum 30-minute decant before serving in your largest Burgundy stems. It carries itself with taut piano-wire tension and a bed of bracing minerality layered with green and yellow apples, Meyer lemon blossoms, fresh cream, fleshy white peach, apricot, honeysuckle, churned butter, white rock dust, and a subtle touch of exotic baking spice. The palate? Utterly delicious with a vibrating pulse. It’s alive and electric with rich textures that would have you going back and forth between top-shelf French and California Chardonnay in a blind tasting. And, again, the savory, mineral-flecked finish comes in long, persistent waves which speaks to the cellar potential of this wine. The wine world would have a major void if Matthiasson’s passion project hadn’t seen the light of day, so enjoy the hard-earned fruits of their labor!

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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesSonoma Coast
Soil
Rocky Alluvial
Farming
Practicing Organic
Blend
Chardonnay 100%
Alcohol
13.3
OAK
Mostly Neutral French
TEMP.
65
Glassware
Burgundy Stem
Drinking
Now-2025+
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Chicken Piccata

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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