“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.