Lot presentation

Gualtallary Matias Riccitelli Sobre Suelos Calcareos Malbec 2020

The wine

Influenced by the breathtaking scenery of the Andes mountain range, the Malbec grapes growing on limestone soils are reputed for producing tannic red wines bursting with fruity aromas and spicy notes. The very colourful, small grapes benefit from healthy, environmentally friendly viticulture practices. This ensures that each vine can draw all the energy it needs to thrive from the soil. In the cellar, a similar mindset is adopted to let the Malbec grapes express all their aromas naturally. The grapes are vinified in small concrete vats and fermentation is carried out at temperatures ranging from 26 to 28 degrees, with the help of indigenous yeasts naturally present on the grapes. Lastly, the wine is matured in used casks for several months before bottling.
The ruby-red colour reveals a nose characterised by scents of red fruit and violets. On the palate, spicy notes blend with floral aromas, supported by fine tannins.

About the Producer Matias Riccitelli

His eponymous estate lies high up in the Luján de Cuyo appellation. Son of Jorge Riccitelli and named Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast in 2012, Matías now leads this 20-hectare estate, crafting elegant, refined wines from vines rooted between 900 and 1800 metres above sea level. While Malbec naturally features at the core of his range, Riccitelli excels just as brilliantly with Bonarda, Torrontés, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
“My generation has a real advantage: the development of high-altitude viticulture, which didn’t exist before,” he once told our importer. It is precisely this new frontier that Riccitelli and his contemporaries are mastering, taming the sharp diurnal shifts, the cooling winds, and the unique climate of the Andes to produce wines of exceptional finesse and distinction.
A bet that paid off! The estate produced balanced, fresh and harmonious wines, crafted without herbicides with responsible methods. Gravity, concrete vats, amphorae, egg-shaped vats and a judicious use of oak barriques. Matías is also something of a visionary, expanding his horizons with a new estate in Patagonia, a state-of-the-art winery, and a restaurant project. An estate to keep a close eye on, without a doubt.

Detailed characteristics