2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina
93 Points, Tim Atkin 92 Points, Vinous
Tasting Notes
An innovative style of Malbec from up and coming producer Matias Riccitelli. In his micro winery, Matias experiments with an array of techniques for coaxing the best expression from Malbec grapes. This opulent red has a lively floral character and great purity to the raspberry and plum fruit; this is a wine of great elegance.
Style: Plush, bright & fruity
Taste: Cherry, plum, & liquorice
Food: Roasted red meats
With this fluid and vibrant malbec we show another face of this grape.
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.
Specs
Varietal: 100% Malbec
Appellation: Uco Valley, Argentina
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
Alcohol: 13.5%
RS: 1.8 g/l
pH: 3.6
Production: 5000 cases
Winemaker: Matias Riccitelli
What’s Included
6-bottles:
6x 2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina
Case:
12x 2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina
“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. 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 in 2009, and it is here that he now focuses all his creative energies, producing wines of freshness, nuance, and vibrancy.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Malbec - $40 = 22.22%
Labratting for 2022 Riccitelli Uco Valley Malbec. Bottom line: good, standard strong Malbec.
Background of tasters: I’ve never loved a straight up Malbec; they’ve been okay. So I’m maybe an unfortunate choice to sell you on this wine; take what I say with this in mind. My wife has liked good Malbecs more than I, though not as much as her favorite varietals (Syrah, Grenache, GSMs, Pinot Noir). We both appreciate what Malbec adds to a good blend. (We feel the same way about Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, others) We don’t like ‘Bordeaux’ blends, but we kind of liked one from Washington state, surprisingly, and when I looked at the label, it was half Malbec.
Out of the bottle, a nice nose. Taste was strong, Cherry, nothing off-putting except I got a little medicinal. Beautiful color, as often the case for Malbec. Tannins quite noticeable.
After a few hours in the decanter, more subtle nose. Also, less punch on the palette, smoother. But still not smooth enough for me. As I expected, my wife liked it more. So we like it about as much as we’ve previously liked good Malbecs, which is not-particularly for me, a bit more for my wife. This seemed to me more Bordeaux-like than other Malbecs I’ve had.
With food, for me, this was much better. Good with cheese, as predicted based on the tannins. Nuts, dried fruit, this held up to anything.
The next day, after sitting on the counter at room temperature, probably a little better. For me, the non Malbec guy, food was required. The wine was great with any traditional red pairing (Spanish meatballs in red sauce, hard meats, cheese).
I believe you’ll like/love this wine as you like Malbec. If you don’t particularly like Malbec, you’ll still enjoy this with strong foods. And from the quality the next day, it’s not going bad any time soon.
LabRat here! Sorry for the delay! I opened this on Friday and it lasted very well over a few days. I love Malbecs so was very excited to try this one. This was definitely a stronger, full-bodied Malbec, which I enjoyed, but someone who is new to Malbecs might find this overpowering on its own. I have had a lot more California Malbec’s recently than Argentine ones. This was much more full-bodied than a California Malbec (or at least the ones I buy). In addition, there was a lot of fruit/jammy flavor in this Malbec.
For me, this was very nice to drink on its own but where it really shone was when it was paired with a nice steak. I’m trying to eat less red meat but it was the weekend and it was a good reason to do so when you have a nice Malbec!
Not a fan of the wax top…it was Just. A. Mess! …trying to open it up it became an ordeal! (little pieces of wax,all over my kitchen floor)…why can’t we have just a simple foil covering?
Plus, I would think having a wax top prevents the wine from aging on a normal schedule…(no O2 gets in or out, that on a normal cork, exchanges gases on a microscopic level…)
2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina
93 Points, Tim Atkin
92 Points, Vinous
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$251.80/Case for 12x 2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina at Matias Riccitelli
About The Winery
Matias Riccitelli
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Apr 17 - Tuesday, Apr 18
2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Argentinian Malbec
6 bottles for $89.99 $15/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $139.99 $11.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2020 Matias Riccitelli “The Party” Malbec - $40 = 22.22%
Labratting for 2022 Riccitelli Uco Valley Malbec. Bottom line: good, standard strong Malbec.
Background of tasters: I’ve never loved a straight up Malbec; they’ve been okay. So I’m maybe an unfortunate choice to sell you on this wine; take what I say with this in mind. My wife has liked good Malbecs more than I, though not as much as her favorite varietals (Syrah, Grenache, GSMs, Pinot Noir). We both appreciate what Malbec adds to a good blend. (We feel the same way about Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, others) We don’t like ‘Bordeaux’ blends, but we kind of liked one from Washington state, surprisingly, and when I looked at the label, it was half Malbec.
Out of the bottle, a nice nose. Taste was strong, Cherry, nothing off-putting except I got a little medicinal. Beautiful color, as often the case for Malbec. Tannins quite noticeable.
After a few hours in the decanter, more subtle nose. Also, less punch on the palette, smoother. But still not smooth enough for me. As I expected, my wife liked it more. So we like it about as much as we’ve previously liked good Malbecs, which is not-particularly for me, a bit more for my wife. This seemed to me more Bordeaux-like than other Malbecs I’ve had.
With food, for me, this was much better. Good with cheese, as predicted based on the tannins. Nuts, dried fruit, this held up to anything.
The next day, after sitting on the counter at room temperature, probably a little better. For me, the non Malbec guy, food was required. The wine was great with any traditional red pairing (Spanish meatballs in red sauce, hard meats, cheese).
I believe you’ll like/love this wine as you like Malbec. If you don’t particularly like Malbec, you’ll still enjoy this with strong foods. And from the quality the next day, it’s not going bad any time soon.
@wardad palate, not palette.
@ddeuddeg @wardad @rjquillin here we go again
@rjquillin @ttboy23 @wardad I probably won’t give up until everyone gets it. IMHO, it’s not that difficult.
Kinda wild that I was literally at this winery in Luján de Cuyo two weeks ago. In for a case.
/giphy gruesome-flexible-experience
Now tell me, who needs tasting notes when you can have a pro label review??
https://winelabelreviews.com/the-party-malbec/
fwiw… nothing!
“Whole bunch fermentation in open tanks, crushed by feet twice a day”
They still do this? Wow.
@dkralston how do you think they get toe jam anyway? from grapes!
@dkralston @klezman wasn’t it Larry at Tercero that sent us pics of his hard workout during a crush a while ago?
@dkralston @ttboy23 yeah, Larry foot stomps all his wines.
LabRat here! Sorry for the delay! I opened this on Friday and it lasted very well over a few days. I love Malbecs so was very excited to try this one. This was definitely a stronger, full-bodied Malbec, which I enjoyed, but someone who is new to Malbecs might find this overpowering on its own. I have had a lot more California Malbec’s recently than Argentine ones. This was much more full-bodied than a California Malbec (or at least the ones I buy). In addition, there was a lot of fruit/jammy flavor in this Malbec.
For me, this was very nice to drink on its own but where it really shone was when it was paired with a nice steak. I’m trying to eat less red meat but it was the weekend and it was a good reason to do so when you have a nice Malbec!
/giphy crickets
Not a fan of the wax top…it was Just. A. Mess! …trying to open it up it became an ordeal! (little pieces of wax,all over my kitchen floor)…why can’t we have just a simple foil covering?
Plus, I would think having a wax top prevents the wine from aging on a normal schedule…(no O2 gets in or out, that on a normal cork, exchanges gases on a microscopic level…)
Wax top sucks!
@dkralston The “trick” is to just pull thru them, don’t try to remove it first.
@rjquillin Hahah! Now you tell me! I’ll try that tomorrow night…the wine itself, when I finally got to it was tasty! Thanks!