El Matt by Daniele Ricci: A Playful Ode to Croatina
Croatina is a Piedmontese-Lombard grape variety that can form the foundation for excellent red wines and is highly recommended to every wine enthusiast. The challenge, however, lies in determining whether a wine labeled as Croatina genuinely contains the grape. (For Daniele Ricci’s El Matt, spoiler alert: while it doesn’t say Croatina on the label, it is, in fact, made from Croatina.)
The nomenclature surrounding Croatina is a bewildering tangle of synonyms, homonyms, and heteronyms. Ian D’Agata’s Wine Grapes of Italy, a must-read for fans of Italian wines, provides insight:
“Croatina is the name of a grape and also a wine. Croatina is the main variety used to make a DOC wine called Bonarda in Oltrepò Pavese of Lombardy but there is a Bonarda grape variety too (different than Croatina…) which is used to make a wine also called bonarda (but note the lower-case ‘b’)… and then there is the matter of a particularly high-quality biotype of Croatina, charmingly called Bonarda di Rovescala and also known as Bonarda Pignola. And let’s not forget two other synonyms for Croatina, Nebbiolo di Gattinara and Spanna di Ghemme; you won’t be surprised to know that the real-world famous Nebbiolo does grow in both the areas of Gattinara and Ghemme, where it is usually called Spanna, and that it has nothing to do with Croatina…”
Clear as day? Perhaps Daniele Ricci named his Croatina El Matt—meaning “the madman”—as a nod to these terminological absurdities. The wine is spontaneously fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, then bottled unfiltered.
Style
El Matt is the kind of wine you could drink by the liter, carefree and with delight. It features a significant amount of tannin, tamed by ripe fruit, along with a vibrant and dynamic structure and a juicy, compact texture. It’s equally enjoyable on its own or as a versatile companion to a wide range of dishes.
Technical Sheet
- Grape Variety: 100% Croatina
- Vineyard: San Leto
- Harvest: By hand
- Fermentation: Spontaneous, with wild yeasts in stainless steel tanks
- Aging: Stainless steel tanks
- Filtration: None
- SO₂: <50 mg/l
- Alcohol Content: 14.5% vol
- Closure: Natural cork
- Serving Temperature: 15–17 °C (59–63 °F)
- Optimal Drinking Window: Now–2028
- Content and Price per Liter: 0.75 l (€17.37/l)
All winemakers listed with Vinonudo use compost, organic fertilizers, and natural preparations in their vineyards, entirely avoiding the use of herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers.
