Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Riccitelli Wines Blanco de la Casa is a pale yellow color with greenish hints. On the nose presents scents of boj, rue, green apples, hay and remarkable minerality. A wine with fluency, energy and complexity. Ideal to go with white meats.
Blend: 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, 20% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Powerful and creamy but not loud. With lots of citrus-peel freshness and a huge saline finish. This is a unique Argentine dry white. A blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon, and chardonnay fermented in concrete eggs.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The unoaked 2017 Blanco de la Casa is a blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc from Gualtallary, 40% Sémillon from La Consulta and 20% Chardonnay from Las Carreras, different zones within the Valle de Uco, that fermented separately with indigenous yeasts and matured in eggs for eight months. It has a moderate 12.5% alcohol and notable acidity. 2017 was more of a "normal" year, but they are getting to know the vineyards better and are adapting the work for each vineyard. The wine has great freshness and precision, harvested early but not green, with good flavors and all from high-altitude vineyards that tend to keep very good acidity. In this slightly warmer year, it feels super balanced, with grapes from places that ripen slowly, which is their ideal. Natural acidity and great balance between ripeness and acidity.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.