Matallana Ribera del Duero 2020
Ribera del Duero
SKU: GV-TelmoMattallana
Matallana Ribera del Duero 2020
Ribera del Duero
SKU: GV-TelmoMattallana
Regular price
$7999
$79.99
Sale price
$5899
$58.99
Save $21
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Matallana Ribera del Duero 2020
Ribera del Duero, Spain
$58.99 each
Since 1998, Telmo Rodriguez and Pablo Eguzkiza have come to appreciate the wine region of the Ribera del Duero in a different way. It is their belief that the roots of authentic Ribera del Duero’s hark back to the past, and for that reason they are fully committed to the recuperation of villages with great viticultural traditions by planting on their best parcels of land.
From the northern area of Sotillo de la Ribera with its calcareous slopes to the reddish mountains of Pardilla in the south, they chose five villages with different soils and landscapes. They believe that by combining their best elements they can create a unique Ribera del Duero wine. Their vineyards are a true reflection of the forgotten traditions of the Ribera del Duero. They have introduced the age-old way of planting densities; grafted all the rare varieties from their old vineyards and farmed the vines as bush vines as was always done in the past. The result is a diverse collection of smallholdings which offer the opportunity to create a Ribera del Duero wine of distinction with all its authentic characteristics. Today, Matallana has eleven vineyards totaling 21.5 ha distributed across five villages (Sotillo de la Ribera, Roa, Fuentecén, Fuentemolinos and Pardilla).
96 pts Wine Advocate/Luis Guitierrez
There is a change in the 2020 Matallana, as they have included Jean-Guillaume Prats (ex-Cos d'Estournel, ex-Lafite...) in the Ribera del Duero project, and the wine is going to be sold for the first time with this vintage through the négociant system of La Place de Bordeaux. The grapes from the five villages (mentioned but then crossed out on the label) were picked between the sixth and 18th of October and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and oak vats. The wine matured in French oak barrels for 14 months. This is a little riper than the 2019 I tasted next to it, despite both being 14.5% alcohol (at least on the label). It follows the path of seriousness and austerity of the last few vintages and has a very calcareous mouthfeel with chalky tannins that lift up the finish.
96 pts Decanter / Jane Anson
First time on the Place, from Vinedos de Matallana, care of the iconic winemaking partnership between Telmo Rodriguez and Pablo Eguzkiza, produced with fruit from plots across Burgos. The pair's signature mix of intensity and concentration playing against delicacy and reserved power is fully on dispay, a combination that should be imposible to achieve in the heat of Ribera del Duero. It's earthy, in the sense that it feels hewn from rocks that give a feeling of slate, granite, steely tannic hold, fine but intense, all of which melts into fragrant gunsmoke, oyster shell, lemon rind, raspberry, pomegranate and red cherry fruits. The flavours are toasted and yet cooling, a wine of contasts and texture, and utterly compelling. Powerful yet the barest lightness of being. Begs you to find out more. Lucky us that these wines are going through the Place, bringing them to wider attention.
95 pts Decanter/Georgina Hindle
A brand new wine to the Place de Bordeaux this year and the first wine from Ribera del Duero via a collaboration between Telmo Rodriguez and Pablo Eguzkia (also of Yjar on the Place). A field blend of massal-selection grapes - Tinto Fino, Navarro, Valenciano, Albillo 'and others' are chosen from 11 vineyards across five villages with different soils and landscapes totalling 21.5 hectares. This is softly floral on the nose with bright red berry notes. Taught and direct, this doesn't deviate too much from the centre of the palate - the spiced, tobacco-laced black fruit and clear mineral wet stone, graphite and pencil lead all in one line from start to finish, tangy and a little constricted. Feels well worked no doubt, smooth and defined, just not so expansive and wide at this point. Coiled and knitted with tons of liquorice and savouriness on the finish. A real balancing act of complexity and flavour layering with underlying power and promise of great things to come. Ageing 14 months in French oak barrels. Interestingly, the label features a series of redacted, blacked-out lines covering vineyard names as regulations prevent the naming of such. Drinking Window: 2025-2040. (Jul 2023)"
94 pts The Wine Independent/Lisa Perrotti-Brown
"The 2020 Matallana is blended from Tinto Fino, Navarro, Valenciano, and Albillo, among other varieties. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out of the glass with exuberant scents of baked black plums, black cherry compote, and dried mulberries with hints of dried Provence herbs, unsmoked cigars, and crushed rocks. The full-bodied palate is packed with savory-laced black fruits supported by chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and earthy. Alcohol 14.5%. Drink: 2023-2034. (8/21/23)"
