Matthiasson Ribolla Gialla 2022

Grape: Ribolla Gialla
Vintage: 2022
Type: White

Grown on seven rows of their organic home estate in the Western Oak Knoll area of Napa Valley, this bottle is a masterfully restrained take on domestic skin-contact wine. Steve and Jill Matthiasson grafted these ancient Friulian vines onto fifteen-year-old Merlot rootstocks, where the clay loam soils yield small berries with incredibly thick skins. The hand-harvested grapes undergo a traditional two-week maceration on their skins during fermentation, absorbing color and structural complexity without tipping into over-extracted bitterness. Following eighteen months of quiet maturation sur lees in old neutral French oak barrels, the result is a beautifully focused orange wine that favors texture and site transparency over high-alcohol weight.

In the glass, it radiates a deep, hazy amber-gold hue with copper reflections. The aromatics are strikingly unique, jumping out with notes of roasted hazelnut, Meyer lemon curd, Bartlett pear, and a subtle dust storm of warm baking spices. On the palate, the brief skin-contact provides a supple, "crystalline" tannic grip that masterfully anchors the wine’s moderate, 11.5% alcohol frame. A driving, rock-solid core of stony minerality cuts straight through the mid-palate, completely balancing the waxy, rich weight of the fruit. The finish is bone-dry, persistent, and savory, leaving a mouthwatering impression of yellow orchard fruits, dried herbs, and cold wet stone.