'This is not another lovely Malbec' Uco Valley Matias Riccitelli 2023

Description

Matias Riccitelli is the son of renowned winemaker Jorge Riccitelli. Having worked at some of the most prestigious wineries in Argentina and several vintages around the world, Matias used his experience, knowledge and passion and set up his own winery in 2009. His vineyards cover 50 hectares located in three selected sites within the premium growing region of Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza. This is a young and dynamic project in which Matias is seeking to express the full potential of Argentine terroir.

The grapes are grown at an altitude of 1,100 to 1,400 metres above sea-level in the Uco Valley. At this elevation, the days are warm, but the nights are cold. This daily diurnal temperature range is excellent for the production of quality grapes; the nightly coolingoff extends the ripening period, allowing the grapes to develop rich varietal characteristics while retaining balancing acidity. The vines have an average age of 15 years and are trained according to the Vertical Shoot Position method (VSP). They are grown in rocky and limestone soils. Matias Riccitelli is moving towards organic management in the vineyard and the grapes are hand-harvested when they have reached optimal maturity.

The grapes were carefully selected. 50% of the fruit was vinified as whole bunches and 50% of the grapes were destemmed. Fermentation took place with natural yeasts at controlled temperatures of 25 to 28°C. During fermentation twice daily pigeage or cap punch downs took place to extract flavour, colour and structure. The wine was matured in small concrete vats to retain the purity of fruit and was bottled without fining or filtration.

Pure fruit-driven notes of wild raspberry and ripe plum are layered with delicate floral notes. Smooth and silky with fine tannins, this is full flavoured Malbec of great elegance.