February 2022 | Red Club
Welcome to the February Red Club from MYSA Natural Wine!
A note from our founder:
Happy February Friends! This month we have some classics as well as new kids on the block that should give you a great selection to pick from all month long. Starting with Petit Ours, Barret is a legend in the space and this one is probably my favorite style of Syrah (plus how cutie is the bottle!). I'm also stoked to have a new producer on our roster with Cascina Val Liberata giving us Burgundy vibes in Northern Italy. We were also lucky to get a few cases of Tutto Anfora from La Ginestra, who I have a personal connection to as one of the first natural wine producers I tried at VinItaly years ago and each vintage is better than the last so get pumped! Finally, we haven't had much South American wine to source from lately so when Matías Riccitelli popped up I knew immediately I wanted it in this club! His Malbec is the epitome of what I want coming from Argentina.
I hope you love them!
-Holly Berrigan - Founder, MYSA Natural Wine
P.S. Sorry about these going out later this month than usual. With difficult weather across the US the timing got tricky for getting them out. We'll make it up to you next month with additional discounts on your adds ons :)
- Cenerina - Cascina Val Liberata
- The Apple Doesn't Fall Far - Matías Riccitelli
- Tutto Anphora Rosso - La Ginestra
- Petit Ours - Matthieu Barret
- Wine Evaluation Sheet
Cenerina - Cascina Val Liberata
Piedmont - Italy
Ruby red in color with light floral notes, hints of red fruit, and black pepper. Medium-bodied with a great acidic backbone. A perfect wine to pair alongside a charcuterie board! Lively and dry on the palate.
Pairings: Blue Cheese, Cured Meat, Pasta Bolognese
Serving Temperature: 50°- 55°
About Cascina Val Liberata 
"We are an organic/ biodynamic farm based in Piedmont, producing Slarina, Nebbiolo and Grignolino. We discovered this part of Monferrato in 2005 by chance when we were at the time living in Dublin doing different jobs. We fell in love with the wild landscape which had been pretty much abandoned since after the Second World War. Over the space of eight years we repaired the old farmhouse and in 2013 made the move and a start at reclaiming the land. The white clay fields were crying out for vines again! We quickly embarked on the journey of becoming farmers with the clear idea that we wanted to work organically. The following year we planted our first vineyard of Slarina and Nebbiolo. Soon after there was the natural progression for us to become biodynamic farmers. This has lead us to a deeper understanding of how to really practice agriculture, how to work with nature not against it, how We are at the heart of the process. It teaches us that it is down to our quality of observation and ability to act that make the farm successful and keep it sustainable. Our mission is to produce fruit that is Vital, that expresses the true essence of the land and in so doing will leave the land behind both healthy and alive.
Our love affair with Slarina began when we tasted a microvinification carried out by researchers in the University of Turin. We were immediately struck by its elegant aromas and tannic base, not to mention the story behind this indigenous grape from Monferrato that almost disappeared in the early 1900s in favour of higher yielding varietals like Barbera. It is proving to be an exciting journey bringing back this almost extinct variety and having it take its place as a new entry in the Piemonte repertoire. We currently have 1.5 hectares of Slarina. The name Cenerina comes from the word ‘cenere’ or ‘ash’ which refers to the characteristic abundance of bloom on the ripe grape giving the appearance of a veil of ash coating the bunches.
We also planted Nebbiolo believing strongly in it's potential to express itself in the Monferrato terroir, given its presence historically in the region. We now also have 1.5 hectares of Nebbiolo composed of a range of different clonal types. to promote biodiversity in the vineyard and an alternative organoleptic profile. It took seven years to create our first vintage of Nebbiolo. Over this time we learned what a demanding plant it is but at the same time we also developed a sense of awe towards it, how its branches elegantly reach for the skies and how its big dark green leaves shade the most beautiful of bunches. On the whole Nebbiolo has become a sort of fascinating muse for us to both grow and vinify, hence naming ours ‘La Musa’ needed no prompting.
The labels are adapted from a series of works by the artist Louise O’Brien. - Hootananny Wines"
The Apple Doesn't Fall Far - Matías Riccitelli
Mendoza - Argentina
Description:
A one-of-a-kind wine from one of Mendoza's most impressive winemaking families, Matías Riccitelli. Before bottling, it was aged in French oak for 12 months. Aromas of black countryside fruits, vanilla, and cocoa. Smooth, juicy tannins and a long finish on the palate. Ripe plum and cherry.
Pairings: Soft Cheese, Grilled Meat, BBQ
Serving Instructions: 50°- 55°
About Matías Riccitelli
"Matias Riccitelli was born in Cafayate, Salta, a little village in the north of Argentina, a place where you can actually breathe wine. He moved to mendoza with his family, where he studied winemaking, few years later Matias became as a winemaker for one of the most prestigious wineries in Argentina. A traveler and a tireless dreamer, after taking part of countless harvests all over the wine world, where he gathered lots of anecdotes, he eventually decided to join these experiences with Jorge Riccitelli’s teachings (his father and mentor) and he established Riccitelli Wines in 2009.
The winery is located in Las Compuertas (1100 meters above sea level). It is the highest area of Lujan de Cuyo, where we have 20 hectares of ungrafted old vineyards. We also work with minor growers that own their lands at the bottom of the Andes halfway between 1000 and 1700 masl such as Gualtallary, Chacayes, Altamira and La Carrera. In 2015 we started a new project. We revalued old vineyards Semillon, Merlot and Malbec from the argentinian Patagonia. They come from vineyards that were planted by the end of the sixties and that are located in Rio Negro high valley.
Our harvests are handmade, in this way we keep the integrity of each cluster of grapes. After this they are dropped into little concrete vats. What we want from our vineyards is to secure the best expression of our terroir keeping the highest purity and delicacy in winemaking and also in aging, taking care about their singularity in order to obtain vibrant wines. These great diversity of soils highly influenced by height, shows Argentinian great potential in winemaking and that is what we want to express with our wines. - Matías Riccitelli"
Tutto Anphora Rosso - La Ginestra
Tuscany - Italy
Description:
A one-of-a-kind Sangiovese crafted from vines aged 17-20 years in Tuscany and aged in amphora. Cherry cola aromas with sprinkles of cinnamon! On the palate, there's even more cherry cola, along with strawberries and high tannin. Fresh, fruity, and a bit peppery.
Pairings: Charcuterie, Pasta, Pizza
Serving Instructions: 48°- 52°
About La Ginestra
"The farm started back in 1978 when a group of people rescued abandoned land from expropriation. With the help of goats, they began by clearing all the bushes and weeds from the fields. Slowly, year after year, they began to plant seeds. First focusing on cereals and legumes, and then eventually moving into beekeeping and vines.
Since 1989, they have been organic in all their farming and started working naturally since 2012. They work as a true farm – utilizing crop and grazing rotation with cows (they also have pigs) over their 50 hectares of land. They are producing a wide range of wines that both honor and obtain their Chianti and Riserva DOCG and push into newer expressions with pét-nats, macerated whites, amphora, and fresher, lighter reds. Beyond the farming and winemaking, they also have a restaurant and agroturismo on the property.
La Ginestra continues to push into newer directions as it is now mostly composed of a younger generation who live on and work the land together. - Zev Rovine Selections"
Petit Ours - Matthieu Barret
Click here to purchase bottles!
Northern Rhône - France
Description:To gain a bright expression of fruit flavors, grapes from younger vines were chosen. 15 days spent on its skins in a concrete tank followed by 9 months of aging. Medium-high tannin with a smooth finish. Red berries with plum, blackberry, cherry, and earth.
Pairings: Grilled Meat, Aged Cheese, Lamb
Serving Temperature: 50°- 55°
About Matthieu Barret
"In Beaune, Matthieu Barret discovered immediately his proclivity with organic viticulture and with living ecosystems. Beginning with the first vintage in 2000, Matthieu worked principally in the vineyard, applying his hand with organic viticulture. Not content with his end result, in 2006 he decided to radically change his vinification process by using less barrels and replacing them with concrete eggs. His ongoing evolution and pursuit of purity and expression continue to dominate his chais.
In 2012, he stopped using machines in Cornas and replaced them with mules, horses, and manual labor. He also started to create ‘green spaces’ around the farm, digging watering holes to nourish an ecosystem with a diversity of species. ie: vines and the forest, meadows and woodlands.
According to Matthieu, the plant is happier in a wild environment rather than in a desert comprised of only vines. This diversity brings a distinct identity to his grapes; when the vineyard biome is treated with respect, he says, this balance is easier to maintain.
Matthieu owns 11 ha in Cornas with of the total 150 ha in the AOP, including his monopole ‘Vallée du Coulet’ in the northern most part of Cornas, most famous for its impossible steep grade and its exposure to Le Mistral. Le Mistral is a famous current of wind that blows from Lyon and ends in Provence. It’s a maddening wind, that keeps this vineyard spectacularly dry even in times of rain. - T Edwards"
Wine Evaluation Sheet
Want to have some fun evaluating and taking note on your wine? Check out our natural wine tasting sheets we made special for the club!
