Washington State’s prime growing region is on the same latitude as France. Its dry, sunny days accompanied by cool nights make it an ideal terroir for Bordeaux grapes, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
A Northwest favorite for decades, Matthews Winery produces a select variety of wines, concentrating on the best Bordeaux varietals available across the Columbia Valley. Their grapes, primarily sourced from the Horse Heaven Hills, Royal Slope, and Red Mountain AVAs, are sustainably grown and hand harvested. Matthews aims to produce the smoothest, most textured, and complexly flavored NW Bordeaux wines possible.
Matthews Winery does nothing by half-measures. When it was time to shake up their wine program, they didn’t just hire a new winemaker—they hired an entire team. After more than a decade at Quilceda Creek, Alex Stewart moved to Matthews to become head winemaker, bringing with him trusted assistant winemakers, Hal Iverson and Jesse Schmidt.
“Washington produces some of the best Bordeaux varietals in the world,” Stewart said, in an interview with Washington Wine Report. “I’m excited to try to elevate the quality level of the rest of them along with Cabernet.”
Given that Matthews’ reds are already consistently ranked 90+ points by James Suckling, we can’t wait to see what this new team dreams up.
Matthews is particularly known for their dark and brambly Left Bank-inspired Claret, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot (the proportions of which vary vintage to vintage). This versatile blend has long been a staple on Northwest wine lists.
To companion this popular red blend, Matthews created the Right Bank-inspired Cuvée, which leads with Merlot and is fermented in concrete and stainless tanks before spending 21 months in new French Oak.
In addition to these widely admired blends, we also offer Matthews’ single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, full of black fruit and fresh herbs, and the medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc, refreshing with aromas of green apple, pear, and lime leaf.