Quinta da Muradella Matador Arroyo 2016
74.20₣ (Inc. VAT bot. 75 cl.) / Spain
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Matador Arroyo is a special bottling from José Luis Mateo for the Matador magazine and is dressed with a painting from Eduardo Arroyo. It's a blend of many old white varieties, including Dona Blanca, Bastardo Rubio, Torrontés, Godello Antigüo and Verdello Louro. It's one of those wines he calls Fisterra, trying to reproduce the old wines, which were all field blends. Here he uses some of the oldest mountain vineyards from Galicia on slate soils bordering Portugal. It fermented in 500- and 600-liter oak foudres, where it matured for ten months. It's full of character but in an austere style, one of those whites that feels like it was made with rocks rather than grapes. It's reticent and reductive, with notes of wet stones and almonds, and it has a tasty, saline palate, very dry, with a chalky texture—a rare white that brings to mind a Sancerre from Vatan or a Bairrada from Quinta das Bageiras. It's floral (it has a touch of younger-vine Treixadura) but smells of the countryside, of wet soil, herbs, plants and spices, and it's textured, fresh and tasty with an almost salty, umami-like finish. It's a very particular style of white; liquid rocks. Let me change that, let's make it liquid granite. This is a true vin de garde that is going to require time in bottle. I'm going to bury a case in a corner of my cellar and try to not touch it for a decade. It should last forever. 2,024 bottles and 103 magnums produced. It was bottled in November 2018.
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Style
Occasions
Winery
Size
Appellation
Alcohol
13.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 10ºC and 12ºC
Winemaking
Alcoholic fermentation and ageing for 10 months in 500 and 600 litre oak casks.
Description
There are wines that tell a story. Not just on the label, but in every sip. Quinta da Muradella Matador Arroyo is one of those wines that make you stop, take a deep breath and immerse yourself in its world. It was born at Quinta da Muradella, the project of José Luis Mateo, a wine enthusiast who has rescued forgotten vineyards in Monterrei, Galicia, and turned them into a pure expression of the terroir.
Quinta da Muradella Matador Arroyo is a blend of indigenous varieties that are rarely seen together nowadays: Doña Blanca, Bastardo Rubio, Torrontés, Godello Antiguo and Verdello Louro. These are grapes that, on their own, already have personality. But here, they coexist as they did in the old vineyards, in an almost magical natural balance. The vineyards, some of the oldest in Galicia, grow on slate soils right on the border with Portugal. And that shows in every sip.
Winemaking
The winemaking process at Quinta da Muradella Matador Arroyo follows the path of patience and respect. It ferments in 500 and 600 litre oak foudres and then rests for ten months, refining its nuances without haste. No rush. Just time and know-how.
Taste
When you serve Quinta da Muradella Matador Arroyo, at first it seems a serious, austere wine. But give it a moment. It immediately unfolds and envelops you with its marked minerality, as if you were biting into a wet rock. Don't expect an explosion of fruit, here the sensation of almonds, fresh herbs and a spicy background that reminds you of the countryside after a summer rain.
The palate is surprising: saline, dry and with an almost chalky texture. Quinta da Muradella Matador Arroyo is one of those whites that you could compare with a great Sancerre or even with a Portuguese Bairrada. A wine to keep, discover and rediscover. If you have patience, keep it for a few years. I promise you that in every future glass you will find something new.
Shipping to Peninsular Spain
FREE shipping on orders over 189.05₣ or for 18 bottles or more in 6-bottle multiples (24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54 and 60 bottles)Estimated transit time: 2-3 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Over 189.05₣ |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | 6.52₣ | 0.00₣ (-6.52₣) |
| 7-12 | 6.52₣ | 0.00₣ (-6.52₣) |
| 13-17 | 12.19₣ | 0.00₣ (-12.19₣) |
| 18 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| 19-23 | 15.03₣ | 0.00₣ (-15.03₣) |
| 24 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| 25-29 | 18.72₣ | 0.00₣ (-18.72₣) |
| 30 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| 31-35 | 21.65₣ | 0.00₣ (-21.65₣) |
| 36 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| 37-41 | 25.43₣ | 0.00₣ (-25.43₣) |
| 42 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| 43-47 | 27.32₣ | 0.00₣ (-27.32₣) |
| 48 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| 49-53 | 32.04₣ | 0.00₣ (-32.04₣) |
| 54 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| 55-59 | 33.93₣ | 0.00₣ (-33.93₣) |
| 60 | Free | 0.00₣ (Free) |
| VAT included | ||
