Matthews Cellars Wine Event

Matthews Cellars Wine Event

Last night we had the privilege to attend a private event at Matthews Cellars, located in Woodinville, Washington. Our good friends, Jim and Taffina, were invited by one of the wineries owners, Jim Rubstello, to join in a celebration of the wineries past and future. Matthews Cellars was established in 1993 and is located in Woodinville, the epicenter for wine production in the Puget Sound area.

Matthews is presently owned by Jim Rubstello and Cliff Otis and their winery has established a great reputation of producing well crafted and age-worthy red wines that are impressive and memorable.

It was a beautiful day in Seattle with clear blue skies and temperatures rising into the 90s. Amongst the towering stainless steel fermentation tanks of the dim and chilly winery, a lively gathering of wine enthusiasts tasted some of Matthews great wines along with some scrumptious appetizers crafted by Seastar Restaurant. This was a high-energy party with good looking people, excellent food and great wines.

We tasted two different Sauvignon Blancs; the Stillwater Creek and the Columbia Valley, both from the 2007 vintage. These are both delightfully refreshing and easy drinking wines that were a total delight on the warm sunny day. We especially favored the 2007 Stillwater Creek Sauvignon Blanc with a delicious smooth and refreshing mouth feel, luscious citrus and tropical fruit flavors and an impressive off-dry finish.

We tasted six beautiful red wines throughout the evening. The 2005 Red Mountain Syrah is a big fruit forward wine with mouth filling tannins and a cloak of toasty vanilla. The 2004 Columbia Valley Claret is an elegant Bordeaux blend with black cherries, cassis along with smooth well integrated tannins and a lingering, harmonious finish. Our favorite wines of the evening were their estate Red Wines. We tasted the Matthews Columbia Valley Red 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003. These Estate wines are all blends with a predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon. These are all very big, concentrated wines that really bring the thunder. Although they were all delicious and exciting to drink, we agreed that our favorite was the Matthews Columbia Valley Red 2002. This wine has a dark, nearly opaque black/red color with a delightful nose packed with black fruit, chocolate and cassis. This is a full bodied wine with chewy concentrated fruit, espresso, spice, licorice and mocha commingling to create a luscious and balanced wine. The tannins and underlying acidity coat your mouth and linger on the smooth, long toasty finish. This wine deserves a grilled prime steak or some well aged cheese. This wine is ready to drink now, but should continue to evolve over the next 5-10 years.

Matthews wines should always be considered whenever someone is looking for well crafted Washington State wines that are sure to deliver. These wines range from $20 to $80 and are available at the winery and many wine shops around the Seattle area.