argentina

BREAKOUT EFFORTS FROM ARGENTINE STAR RICCITELLI

“Winemaking,” says Matías Riccitelli, “is not for cowards.” A breakout star from a young age, Riccitelli was brought up in a family and region steeped in winemaking. He was born in Cafayate, Salta, a small village in northern Argentina where winemaking is everything… an omnipresent trade and way of life in arguably the highest vineyards in the world. He grew up between Cafayate and Mendoza, studying and working with his father and mentor, legendary winemaker Jorge Riccitelli. From there, he went on to travel much of the wine world, learning along the way, and returned to Mendoza to serve as chief winemaker for two of Argentina’s top wineries, Fabre Montmayou and Bodega Norton.

His boutique property was founded in Las Compuertas ((3600 feet above sea level…the highest area of Lujan de Cuyo) in 2009. There they have 20 hectares of ungrafted old vineyards that were planted at the beginning of the XX Century (between 1927 and 1930). Everything is harvested by hand, and most wines see concrete vessels for fermentation and or aging. There is a good amount of whole cluster fermentation being used now as well.

We had the good fortune of running into Matias’ wines very early on. A very small (one man show actually) importer from whom we purchased many vintages of Fabre Montmayou, wines with uncanny class and presence for their modest fares, one day presented us with a wine curiously named ‘The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree’ Malbec, among Riccitelli’s first efforts under his own label. The reference was to him vis-à-vis his winemaking father and it was clear from that moment on that ‘Mad Matias’ (see picture) had mad skills.

We’ve been following him since that time and have seen him grow and define his style, all the while looking like he was having too much fun. We can’t say that even having a pretty good reference point for his wines prepared us for the pair of wines we tasted recently. The Ricitelli Cabernet Franc 2018 and Malbec Pie Franco 2018 bowled us over with their broad, supple, mouth-filling fruit and unexpected sense of refinement. These are substantial, absolutely packed wines with a gushing fruit component, palate authority, yet at the same time nimble. They were both impressive and delivered the kind of richness one expects from a sizable Argentine red, but with plenty of nuance and dimension.

The Riccitelli Cabernet Franc Vinedos de Montagna 2018 was an experience unto itself, and one of the most engaging examples of the varietal we had tasted in a long time, perhaps even historically relevant in that we couldn’t remember anything quite like it. Yes it was varietal, but in all the best possible ways. It filled the sense with abundant hedonistic fruit if you didn’t want to pay close attention, but there was a lot else going on as well. A singular effort in its stylistic bent.

Luis Gutierrez said this of Matias, “Matías Riccitelli keeps turning out some of the most exciting wines from Argentina…”

Of this particular bottling Luis wrote, “The intensely spicy and peppery 2018 Viñedos de Montaña Cabernet Franc is an aromatic expression of the grape, where I also found floral nuances and some herbs. The flavors were pungent and penetrating, with good depth and small-grained tannins. It was produced with grapes from two different vineyards, one in Los Arbolitos in Chacayes at 1,150 meters above sea level and the other one in Campo de los Andes at some 1,300 meters in altitude. I loved the nose, and the palate was nothing short of phenomenal also, nicely textured and with serious tannins, spicy and herbal, and with a dry, austere finish…94 points.”

The Riccitelli Malbec Vinas Viejas Pie Franco 2018 is clearly no ordinary Malbec in the glass. It has all the size one need, but also a tenderness on the palate, great purity, and well woven in complexity. This is Malbec at another level that comes from ungrafted old vines. There is simply more depth and nuance anyway, and Matias got it all in the bottle.

Luis’ notes tell the story, “The traditional and juicy 2018 Viñas Viejas En Pie Franco Malbec was produced with grapes from old, ungrafted Malbec vines from different places within Mendoza and therefore planted on different soils, clay, rocks and limestone. This felt quite traditional, with good ripeness but keeping its poise and balance, with oak that is present but not invasive. The palate is medium to full-bodied and portrayed the varietal tannins that tend to be quite soft and fine grained…93 points.”

The scores are great, but these are more than ‘numbers’. We see them as special works of distinctive vinous art authored by a budding, if a bit unbridled superstar. They are reference point efforts. Sorry we couldn’t get more.

VALUE CABERNET FROM AN OLD AMIGO

One might question devoting time to a lengthy piece about a wine in this price range. But some of the story is very important by way of differentiation. There are a lot of wines in this kind of price range that are trying to get your attention, but many are concocted labels that, bluntly, aren’t very good. It matters that we have sold Benegas wines in the past, dating back 10-15 years, and we have a history with them.

They have a history as well. Tiburcio Benegas founded Trapiche winery in Mendoza in 1883 and it was sold to the Pulenta family in 1971. Frederico Benegas Lynch lived at the Trapiche winery until it was sold, then in 1999 bought the Fincas Libertad winery which was one of the family’s former properties and Benegas winery was founded.

The key point is that this is a producer with a long history, not some made up ‘brand’, and they make surprisingly soulful wines at a number of price levels. That’s what we recalled about them from our previous experiences at the old location, and that is still true today. Simply, we can’t do this in California for this kind of price because we don’t have the terroir, mature vineyards or appropriate economics to do so. We’ve made that point before so we’ll leave it at that. You can get surprising good Cab outside the U.S. for not a lot of coin if you take the time to look and are willing to ‘kiss a lot of frogs’. We do that for you.

The Benegas Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza Luna 2019 is 100% Cabernet from Finca Libertad situated at 2800 feet elevation and harvested at lass than four tones an acre, less than a lot of Napa producers who sell their wines for a lot more. This Cab sees four months in barrels to round it out. A great option for under $15, we’re glad to have Benegas back around as we hadn’t seen them in some time. Black fruit, round tannins, surprising substance and a unique chocolate/earth that is particular to a number if the Benegas reds, what’s not to like? There’s surprising character here for a mere $12.

It got nice notes from James Suckling as well, “Pretty, vivid Cabernet Sauvignon with dark currant, fresh tobacco and hints of cedar on both the nose and palate. Medium body, lightly fine tannins and a delicious finish. ..92 points.”

UNIQUE ‘HOUSE WHITE’ STEAL FROM ARGENTINA

We surely understand the passion some people have in wine that makes them want to do it for a living. We had and still have the same fire. But the reason they call it the wine ‘business’ is because it is just that. We have seen a number of people get in only to find out that, for any number of reasons, they have to get out.

The nice lady importer that sold us this wine was one of those stories. But the uncertainly of the last year (tariffs, pandemics, and politics, oh my) will ultimately claim a lot of casualties. But kudos to her that she hooked up with a couple of pretty sensational labels while she was at it. Onofri was one of those ‘winners’. But even under perfect market scenarios selling a blended white from Argentina with a long name wasn’t going to be any picnic. But this was a true diamond in the rough that just needed a little understanding.

We were not familiar with the winery or the wine when it was presented to us, but we became fans immediately. The term ‘white filed blend from Argentina’ had no meaning to us. It isn’t a particularly common practice. But we were intrigued with the juice. The nose showed tropical fruits, green banana, floral notes, and that whiff of lemon drop and peach that called to mind something from the Loire Valley.

In the mouth there was ample fruit and texture, but also great lift and just the right nip of acidity to the finish, surprising complexity of flavors and a compelling delicacy and presence. This is somewhere between a Vouvray and a ‘big kid’s’ Vinho Verde, yet it shares none of the grape varieties with either of those. Delicious and dangerously quaffable, as we did our research, it turned out that the actual composition of the wine was a complete surprise.

The grapes come from Los Chacayes near Tunuyán in the central Uco Valley at about 3000 ft. elevation. The blend is pretty unique for this part of the world, 50% Chardonnay, 25% Marsanne, and 25% Rousanne (we haven’t seen a lot of white Rhone varietals from there, period). This tasty little gem spent 12 months in French oak, 20% new, the rest 3^rd and 4^th pass, though we found the oak almost imperceptible (that’s good).

There’s the usual script about how Mariana Onofri “has worked with some of the top winemakers in Argentina”, and she spent a decade “making wine for various private vineyard ownership projects.” That doesn’t tell us a lot but what’s in the bottle sure does. There wasn’t a lot of information out there (the first name that appeared on our Google search for the wine was…ours) but somehow this small production project cast a wide net getting reviews from both James Suckling and Decanter Magazine.

From Decanter, “Creamy, silky texture and rich finish. Appealing stone fruit character with hints of dried apricot. Finish is persistent and delicious…91 points.”

From James Suckling, “This has a very attractive array of fresh white peaches with almonds and a mealy note. Smooth, lemon and peach-flavored finish. Drink now…93 points.”

‘Persistent and delicious’, si! For our part we are able to offer the delightful Onofri Alma Gemela White Field Blend Valle de Uco 2017, perfectly worth its $22 list tab, for the silly price of $9.98. A perfectly intriguing ‘house white’ candidate, while it lasts.

LEGGO MY EGGO?

Every once in a while we have to smile when some seriously committed winery bottles something special and gives it a names that sounds like the ‘cease and desist’ order is just a matter of time. It’s likely that very few in the great big world have experienced the sensational talents of the Michelini brothers through their various wine projects. Zorzal wines have proven to be a revelation both in demonstrating the exciting ‘next wave’ of South American wines and providing surprising value.

We have had great response to their almost laughably inexpensive Pinot Noir and Pinot Noir Rosé, and what the brothers can do when they pull out all of the stops as they have with their Superuco Malbecs. Here they are doing serious work with what may ultimately prove to be the real ‘great grape’ of Argentina…Cabernet Franc. With all due respect to Malbec, we have had some surprising experiences with Argentine Francs, though admittedly there haven’t been a ton of examples. The best Francs have the richness to play with the big kids, but often achieve a certain elegance that Malbec rarely does.

We’d love to talk about how the brothers discovered some ancient and forgotten cache of Cabernet Franc vines but, in fact, this vineyard in Gualtallary, a subregion of the Uco Vally (at over 4200 feet elevation) was only planted in 2007. The secret, if there is one other than the usual low-yields/hand harvesting mantra you here with so many great producers, is the vessel.

The current weapon of choice for this project, as well as a growing number of winemakers all over the world, is the concrete egg. The grapes are harvested and fermented with their gross lees, which they stay in contact with for 3-5 months, in the concrete egg. We aren’t going to get into the biodynamics or voodoo as to why the ‘egg’ works. But it does seem to. Concrete somehow causes the reds to be plusher and more integrated, to the point where, in this case, there is no oak used at all.

The 2015 Zorzal Wines Eggo Franco is remarkably complex and layered. Harmonious texture, lots of stuff going on (earth, fresh tobacco, spice, mineral, and meat) in this mouthful of dark red and black fruits. Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez gives this one a 93 and suggests ‘Eggo’ shows very much the wild character of Gualtallary. It’s a lot of wine for the money and it both engages and challenges.

We hope the ‘powers that be’ leave the lads to their ‘eggo’ fun. This is another creative, dynamic effort from the Michelinis and ‘new’ Argentina and no one is going to confuse this with a breakfast choice anyway.