2018 Matthiasson Ribolla Gialla Napa Valley 750 ml

We love finding insider secrets from Napa and presenting them to our members—it’s what got us started and the core of our mission today. Now, usually when we’re talking about Napa, we’re using our connections to find you top-flight Cabernet or Chardonnay—but today we’ve got something a bit outside the norm—a skin-contact white from one of Italy’s noble grapes, Ribolla Gialla, made by a true legend of Napa viticulture: Matthiasson. 

Matthiasson’s Ribolla Gialla is a sommelier-favorite wine that’s destined to hit it big in the mainstream. A signature wine from one of Napa’s most acclaimed winemakers and viticulturists, this rich, textural white wine is sure to inspire lovers of California Chardonnay or white Rhônes with its bold, deep flavors and mesmerizing complexity.

When we tried the ‘18, we were blown away. The wine pours a deep, copper-inflected gold and is practically orchestral on the nose. Wave after wave of aromas rush up out of the glass, with orange blossoms, fresh hay, and walnut bread aromas that are enveloped by a beguiling array of spices and herbs. On the palate, the wine is powerful and compelling, broad and rich, with marmalade and toasted pecans, accented by sage and dry buckwheat-honey flavors. We couldn’t get enough of it.

Unfortunately, there are a mere seven rows of Ribolla Gialla planted on the Matthiasson estate vineyard in Napa, so there’s understandably not much of it to go around. We’ve been working for years to secure an allocation. Steve and Jill Matthiasson finally relented because of our participation in a Ribolla Gialla seminar this season, allowing us to offer this under-the-radar star to Wine Access members for the first time.

Now, you’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of Ribolla Gialla—or even of Steve Matthiasson. Despite because this superstar prefers to stay out of the spotlight… though it always finds him. A viticulturist for Napa legends like Stag’s Leap, Araujo Estate, Spottswoode, and Hall, and a mantle full of awards headlined by a James Beard Award and the title of “Winemaker of the Year” from the San Francisco Chronicle, Steve is a modern legend in Napa Valley.

As a result, his wines are mostly sold to a devoted mailing list and in-the-know sommeliers. They grace the wine lists of top restaurants, like The French Laundry, but rarely get talked about by those outside the wine industry—and no wine might be more representative of what makes Matthiasson special than their Ribolla Gialla.

They love Ribolla Gialla so much that it was the first grape the couple added to his estate vineyard when they purchased it, replacing the eminently marketable Merlot planted there with this labor of love—and it’s paid off. When we talked with Steve, he noted that “Ribolla represents passion, exploration, and vision, as well as tradition and timelessness… It also happens to make unique and delicious wine.”

This bottling is influenced by Josko Gravner, one of the superstars of Italian wine. His expensive, allocated wines are made by macerating the skins in with the juice (the same way you would make a red wine) and the Matthiassons do the same thing, imbuing their bottling with a deep color and a finish that lasts for minutes.

It makes the wine exceptionally food-friendly, capable of playing its role as a full-bodied white wine or pairing brilliantly with charcuterie and white meats like a lighter red would. No wonder it’s a favorite of somms—this is a pairing Swiss Army knife, and an easy one to love.

Jill Matthiasson enthused, “We love pouring the skin-contact Ribolla in our tasting room. Most of our guests are unfamiliar with Ribolla Gialla and with skin-contact whites, so it’s really fun to see their reaction. They almost always love the wine!”

This is your chance to get one of the most in-demand Napa insider wines out there—the wine equivalent of seeing a soon-to-be-huge band at a tiny club before they blow up. Brilliantly original, it’s nevertheless familiar enough to put easy smiles on all sorts of faces.