“La Riva” Matalián 2021 (M. Ant. De La Riva)

Unfortified white wine from the highly regarded Collantes vineyard

M. Ant. De La Riva presented a series of new wines this years, from plots that they hadn’t worked with before. In this case the grapes come from the Finca Matalián (19,5 ha), located in Chiclana (pago El Inglés) and owned by the Collantes family. Check out the wines Tivo or Socaire for more information on this vineyard. Once this area was home to some famous vineyards and plantations, but only a few have survived, with only two vinegrowers left in Chiclana.

The plots have different soils depending on their location in the Matalián vineyard: compact albariza tajón (80% limestone) in the middle, albariza parda in the south and tosca cerrada in the east (see my overview of albariza types). For this wine they used the southern and eastern end. The concentration of the wines is tempered by the rather cool and windy climate. Grape bunches for this wine are not destemmed. Fermented at room temperature (without temperature control) and aged for 12 months in an old sherry cask, under a thin layer of flor. La Riva Matalián is an unfortified white wine in the old style of Vino de Pasto.

“La Riva” Matalián 2021 (12,5%, Bodegas M. Ant. De La Riva 2022, 600 btl.)

Nose: clean and very fresh, with an uplifting floral note right from the start. Fresh floral notes but also dried wildflowers. A lot of lemony notes, some referring to fresh juice, others to lemon candy. Some yellow apple. As it gets warmer, there are raw clams on sandy beach sand. Very inviting and round, a little less mineral and sharp than similar Vino de Pasto from within the sherry triangle.

Mouth: utter freshness and a lot of sapidity again, with plenty of apples (now rather Granny Smith), lemons and green melon. Very bright and vibrant, silky but also showing an accentuated acidity. Coastal notes with a light chalkiness come out, as well as a refreshing saline touch. It gets drier and even more chalky / mineral towards the finish.

Availability: sold out in most places. A few bottles left at Xpertvinum (who sadly downsized their shop and their sherry imports a while ago).

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Summary: This is a super tasty version of Matalián, one of the best Vinos de Pasto from La Riva so far. It is full of vibrance and a very precise showcase of the sapidity that is possible in the Marco de Jerez. All those people who are excited about good albariño should easily be converted to to sherry region after having this.

4.5

Excellent

Tags: 12.5%, 2021, Chiclana, M. Ant. De La Riva, Matalián, Vino de Pasto

About the Author

Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be