Riccitelli 2021 “The Party” Malbec

PRODUCER INFO

• Matías Riccitelli started his boutique winery in 2009, located in Las Compuertas at 1100 meters above sea level. It is the highest area of Lujan de Cuyo, and here he tends 20 hectares of ungrafted old vineyards. Matías also works with small, independent growers that own their lands at the bottom of the Andes halfway between 1000 and 1700 meters above sea level – in Gualtallary, Chacayes, Altamira and La Carrera.
• All harvests are conducted by hand and fermentation takes place in small concrete vats and concrete eggs. Purity and delicacy in winemaking are prized by Matías and great care is taken in preserving the fruit’s singularity in order to obtain vibrant wines.
• In 2015 a new project was begun: old vineyards of Semillon, Merlot and Malbec were discovered and reclaimed in Argentinian Patagonia. The vineyards are located in the Rio Negro high valley and were planted in the late 1960’s. The resulting wines are fresh, intensely aromatic and highly balanced.

ABOUT THE WINE

• Harvested manually in small cases around 20 kg to ensure the integrity of each bunch
• A choice bunch of grapes are selected before the fermentation process
• Whole bunch fermentation in open tanks, crushed by feet twice a day
• Aged in concrete vats for 8 months

Vintage: 2021 | Wine Type: Malbec
Varietal: 100% Malbec
Origin: Argentina | Appellation: Uco Valley
Elaboration: The grapes come from the Uco Valley.  Using gravity, we fill the open top tanks with a majority of whole bunches, delivering powerful floral character and berries. This Malbec is fresh and intense, where the typicity created in the vineyard becomes elegance in the wine.
Winemaker: Matias Riccitelli

TASTING NOTES

Fresh and intense wine with floral and berry notes

TECHNICAL DATA

Production:  5000 cases | Alcohol: 13.5% | TA:  g/l | RS:  1.8 g/l | pH: 3.6/5.8

PRESS & POINTS

2021 – 93 Points, Vinous
2020 – 93 Points, Tim Atkin
2020 – 92 Points, Vinous
2019 – 91 Points, Wine Advocate
2019 – 90 Points, Decanter World Wine Awards

“The most impressive progression in the last few years could be that of Matías Riccitelli. It’s always interesting and fun tasting with Riccitelli, who this year showed me some new bottlings and the consolidation of some labels that were new the previous time. His business has grown to 400,000 bottles per vintage, and the quality keeps going up. When you can grow quality and quantity at the same time, it means you must be doing something right. Riccitelli is one of the names to really follow in Argentina, one of the greatest progressions in the last few years and one of the more exciting portfolios I tasted in Argentina in this round”. – Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate #237