2023 Matthiasson Scheurebe Napa Valley

Winemaker Notes:  The nose explodes with passionfruit and guava, followed by a light and easy mid-palate and a mineral finish. Our friend Scott Schultz of Jolie Laide Winery called Steve with a proposition: he had discovered an old-vine Scheurebe vineyard in St. Helena (planted in the early 1970s), farmed organically, and could take half the fruit if we could take the other half. It would be the last harvest before the vineyard was removed. The answer was immediately “yes,” then Steve hung up and googled “Scheurebe” to find out what the variety was.

It turns out that the variety is a relative of Riesling, created in Germany in the early 20th century by professor Sheure, as an adaptable and highly aromatic grape. The wines are lower in acid than Riesling and earlier ripening. The aromatics are incredible, explosive, and exotic.