Ca’ di Mat (literally, “House of Fools” in a Piedmontese dialect) is located in the Sierra Gredos, a mountainous region near Madrid. The vineyard is a collaboration between Curro Bareño and Jesus Olivares — the duo behind groundbreaking Galician projects Fedellos de Couto, and Ronsel de Sil — and long-time friends of theirs who own a family farm in the area. Together they work the twenty hectares of the farm, which is planted with a wide variety of trees and fruits.
Ca’ di Mat’s red wines owe their surprisingly light color to the work in their organically raised vines. Curro and Jesus prune lightly, and encourage high productivity aiming for rich vines and big grapes that are “not forced”. Winemaking is non-intrusive, with spontaneous fermentations in concrete. It is hard to believe that these pale reds undergo such long maceration periods—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.
*Natural and Organic*
Valautin Garnacha 2018
The village Garnacha comes from multiple micro-vineyards planted around the village of Valdeiglesias on top of shallow soils of decomposed granite. The wine is made from a very long and soft maceration, with whole-clusters, and aged half in concrete and half in used French barrels.
A very different light red for summer. Tastes like strawberry and plum but dry and smooth, unlike any Garnacha I have ever tasted. It is light in color, almost like a rose but the wine is full and bold on the palate. It has flavors of red berries, strawberries, and cherries but with a complimentary earthiness. A soulful wine.
$20.99
Curro Bareño and Jesus Olivares, the two "brats" (a fedello is a brat in Galician dialect)