I am completely allergic to hype. The more popular something new is, the more assuredly I avoid it. To this day I have not seen ‘Titanic’, solely based on how much praise was lavished upon it at release, how many awards it won, and how many people loved it. And when it comes to wine or tacos: you tell me something’s good and I will run the opposite direction SO FAST. Way too many years of disappointments on both fronts. So it is understandable how I have drug my feet so long getting around to trying this cab. This wine absolutely lives up to every SPECK of the hype.
Cheery ruby in the glass with definite purple tones throughout–most noticeably at the rim. Dank, dreary reservations of soil and compost scratch at an oozing wound of savory berry. Mushroom and watermelon rind and walks through shady hardwood forests bring sour dusty elevation to the cherry: SO deftly soft but unmistakably ripe. A bit of barnyard solidifies its authenticity, and everywhere the magic of CLASSIC, AGEABLE RESTRAINT typically spoke about in a short cluster of names: Togni, Ridge, Forman, Kennedy, Corison, Dunn.
I must warn #winebro at this juncture YOU WILL HATE THIS WINE. This is not for you. No ridiculous jam; no beautiful oak; no *Christmas spices buried in leather and tobacco*. It is pure, refreshing wine with a FEEL for the vineyard. A reflection of sun and soil and greenery and diesel and sweat. Raspy and *light* on the tongue, it dances with elegance and not extravaganza. Dark, blithering fruit hides its concentration with acidic elegance and a myriad of herbaceous and vegetal nuances. The thin black cherry is just GLUED to your mouth, never rising or falling–steady and calm, focused on injecting bits of briar and rubbish and wood and peat in with the firm plum and raspberry as it tip-toes a racy line of grapefruit and rosemary. Everywhere is brilliance. A Cabernet approaching perfection in ways hard to put into words. Buy as much of this as you can afford. Just a stupidly gorgeous fucking wine.
2017 MATTHIASSON Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 13.0
Stephen McConnell 