Matthiasson Michael Mara Vineyard Chardonnay 2020

Accolades:
96/100 – Decanter
94/100 – James Suckling

“There is an undeniable intensity from this Sonoma Coast site in the hands of the winemaking team at Matthiasson. A smoky saline aromatic nudges against toasted almonds and ripe Bartlett pears with hints of freshly chipped flint. The Michael Mara Vineyard is west of the town of Sonoma, at the base of the Sonoma Mountain range, and has the rockiest soils that Steve Matthiasson has seen in all his viticultural experience. The intensity of the fruit is captivating. Savoury cured Moroccan lemons, briny sea spray, bruised Golden apples and a tang of saline minerality carry through to a toasted nuttiness in the finish. A remarkable Chardonnay.” – Decanter

“Super rocky soil with rounded river stones that go deep produce a muscular, medium-bodied wine with intense concentration and length. Barrel-fermented in a small percentage of new oak, and it stayed on the lees for 18 months before bottling. Packed with tight lemon, apple skin, brioche and mineral flavors. Great linearity. Best from 2026.” – James Suckling

Tasting Note: The wine is 100 percent Chardonnay, the Olmo clone, also called clone 4 in California or 108 in Oregon (the clone highest in natural acidity that we are aware of). It has the white peach, toasted almond or marshmallow, and ripe pear nose that is expected with Chardonnay, as well as plenty of weight, length, and richness. It is not manufactured to be showy, however — its opulence is natural, endemic to the fruit, not created in the cellar. It has a distinct mineral core of rock dust, which is the distinguishing characteristic of the vineyard. This is a wine borne from blood, sweat, and tears. The dream of planting our own vineyard from scratch verged on nightmare as we struggled with the rockiest soil we’ve experienced in 20 years of working in vineyards. It almost put us out of business. The rocks were finally surmounted and the vineyard produced a crop, one that we ended up having to mostly sell to other wineries to cover the unanticipated expense of planting. We were able to hold a small amount of fruit back for ourselves. The effort of planting was consummated by making the wine. It was clearly worth it.

Vineyard Notes: The Michael Mara Vineyard is west of the town of Sonoma, at the base of the Sonoma Mountain range. The property is owned by Richard and Susan Idell, our partners in the operation of the vineyard, who also produce delicious wine from the vineyard under their own Idell Family Vineyards label. The soil is the result of a cataclysmic landslide that cascaded rocks and volcanic soil down onto one spot of the valley below. Surrounded by normal valley floor loam, the Michael Mara Vineyard is situated on a unique lobe of rocks and red soil. Besides the fruit that we and the Idells each keep for ourselves, we also sell fruit from the vineyard to Cruse Wine Company, Maître de Chai, Broc Cellars, and Iconic. Though completely different winemaking styles, the wines all taste of the same unmistakable rock dust.

Winemaking Notes: The grapes are harvested very early, to capture the high natural acidity and maintain wine balance and a moderate alcohol level, there is no worry that we will miss out on the richness and power of the vineyard site, so we can prioritize freshness and ageability. The fruit is lightly whole-cluster-pressed, settled for 24 hours, then barrel fermented. The wine goes through 100% malolactic fermentation in older neutral barrels and a few new French oak barrels. It is given 18 months of barrel aging, with no sulfur at all added until bottling. There is also no battonage — the wine rests on the lees to age undisturbed. The pH is 3.38, the acidity is 6.8 g/l, and the alcohol is 13.0%. Only 48 cases produced.

Certification: Organic

Alcohol: 13.0%

Varietal: Chardonnay

Region: Sonoma Coast, California