Matthiasson 2023 Rosé California

750ml bottle

11.5% abv

The blend is approximately 40% Grenache, 32% Barbera, 15% Mourvèdre, and 13% Counoise.

3.31 pH, 6.7 g/l TA

2,078 cases produced

Our Rosé is clean, dry, and refreshing with complex French Provençal flavors. With naturally low alcohol, it's light as a feather, almost floating across the palate.

We first started making Rosé 25 years ago in our backyard, because no one was making the style of Rosé we wanted to drink: with complex French Provençal flavors, but much lighter and crisper. Clean, dry, and refreshing. 

Today, we source the grapes from the Windmill Vineyard and the Muller Vineyard in the Dunnigan Hills AVA of Yolo County. Both vineyards are lovingly farmed organically - and in fact Steve taught one of the vineyard managers how to farm organically 14 years ago.

Our Rosé is made with intention — it’s neither a by-product nor an afterthought. That means that we keep the vines a little happier and more shaded than for red wine, growing plump, juicy, thin-skinned grapes that are vibrant and refreshing. To capture that zesty brightness, we harvest very early, barely past veraison (when the grapes turn from green to purple), similar to the level of ripeness for sparkling wine. Then we press them quickly and lightly, just like for Champagne.

We whole-cluster press the grapes, settle in a cold tank for 24 hours, then ferment and age the wine “sur lees” in stainless steel barrels. To preserve the acidity we prevent malo-lactic fermentation. We keep the barrels shut tight, no topping or stirring, and the wine is never racked, fined, or cold-stabilized, but since it is ML negative it is filtered before bottling.

Because the wine is not stabilized it might throw some harmless sediment if left in the fridge too long.

Sergio Villanueva farms the Windmill Vineyard and carefully nurtures it with tremendous pride. Situated on pinkish, gravelly, alluvial soils in the Dunnigan Hills AVA of Yolo County, it is a hot climate, and the grapes ripen fast, allowing us to harvest ripe fruit at low sugar levels with balanced acidity, keeping the alcohol moderate and the texture soft and light. Certified Organic.

Muller Vineyard - Gio Ferrendelli is part of the iconic Muller family, diversified farmers in Yolo County (they grow everything from tomatoes and peppers to melons, pumpkins, almonds and walnuts in addition to a small amount of wine grapes). As a passion project he tends the grapes that he planted to match the warm climate, the foremost being Barbera, which holds its acidity and bright fruit even with the warm nights. Farmed organically for us at our request (we gladly pay extra).

— winemaker's notes