Napa Valley winery soon to open a Rutherford tasting room produces classy, sophisticated wines.
In 2023, Mathew Bruno Wines will open a tasting room in the Napa Valley town of Rutherford. For its new space, the winery, whose debut vintage appeared in 2009, chose an 1894 Queen Anne Victorian on Rutherford Road, just east of St. Helena Highway. The adjoining half-acre property will have landscaped gardens, indoor and outdoor private areas, and views of neighboring vines. Reviews of two wines released while renovations were still in process follow below.
2019 Mathew Bruno Carneros Chardonnay
The first impression of this sophisticated wine was that it was lightly floral on the nose, clean and crisp, more stone than stone fruit, a little low-key but nonetheless elegant. Hints of fresh, not quite ripe guava or something in that category revealed themselves later on. The more we sipped, the more we admired this refined evocation of both Chardonnay and the Carneros. Especially good with food, it performed as expected with lightly peppered halibut but also elevated a Chinese dish, tofu and ground pork with moderately spicy black-bean chili sauce.
2016 Mathew Bruno Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
A classy wine from Rutherford appellation grapes, this 100% Cabernet stands out for its balance, bright acidity, dark-red fruit, and hints of herbs de Provence. With smooth, graceful tannins, it’s well-suited to drink on its own, though it was also excellent with 20-month-aged Beemster gouda and a New York steak.
Lead September 2021 photo of construction site courtesy of Mathew Bruno Wines.