Home   >   Latest wine reviews   >   Matthews 2011 Reserve, Columbia Valley, $70

Matthews 2011 Reserve, Columbia Valley, $70

By on July 8, 2015

Matthews 2011 Reserve Red WineWalla Walla winemaker Aryn Morell takes this Meritage-style wine down a dark and brooding path, starting with a 21-month program of 100 percent new French oak. It serves this opulent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (75%), Merlot (13%), Cabernet Franc (6%) and Malbec from two Red Mountain sites — the Hedges family’s Bell’Villa and Corliss Estates’ Red Mountain Vineyard — along with Stillwater Creek. Complex aromas of chalkboard dust, plum, black currant and vanilla also include hints of candela leaf tobacco, menthol and toast. Intense and bold fruit awaits on the palate, featuring Bing cherry, Marionberry and plum. There’s plenty of structure and a long life ahead.

Rating: Excellent

Production: 200 cases

Alcohol: 13.5%

Winery website

About Great Northwest Wine

Articles authored by Great Northwest Wine are co-authored by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *