2021 Ca di Mat Valautin Garnacha

Its Origins

Curro Bareño and Jesus Olivares are the duo behind a number of ground-breaking Spanish projects. They are now bringing their vision and expertise to San Martin de Valdeiglesias in the Sierra de Gredos mountains of central Spain, where they started their careers. Ca’ di Mat (literally, “House of Fools” or “Mad house” in Piedmontese) is their new project, a collaboration between them and long-time friends (An Italian winemaker and his wife who is from the area). The climate here is totally continental, with healthy rainfall and cold winds. Their old vine Garnacha (Grenache) is bush grown on granite soils, and sits at around 800–850 meters high. The ruggedness of the terrain, the austerity of the climate and the age of the vines mean it is extremely hard to cultivate the grapes and make wine. There are no large scale operations here. But this combination also allows the “fools” of Ca’ di Mat to realize their ideal wine: fluid, delicate, and open. Their reds owe their surprisingly light color to the work in their organically raised vines. Curro and Jesus prune lightly, and encourage high productivity, nothing here is forced. Winemaking is non-intrusive, with spontaneous natural fermentations in concrete. It is hard to believe that these pale reds undergo such long maceration periods—up to ninety days sometimes—but their work is so delicate, the grapes are foot-trodden softly and the must separated by hand from the skins and stems, that the heat and power of Garnacha give way to a subtly aromatic and fruity juice. Élèvage is as neutral as possible, whole bunches in concrete tanks, and mostly-used French oak. All the wines are also Vegan certified. As Jancis Robinson puts it, “old vines, minuscule yields and local slate and schist are resulting in particularly fine, transparent, delicate wines that are almost Burgundian.”