The very serious, austere and somewhat traditional 2019 Riccitelli & Father is a collaboration between Matías Riccitelli and his father, Jorge, who for many years was the winemaker at Norton (among other things). It's aromatic and floral, with very integrated oak, lower alcohol than in the past (now 14%) and very good acidity. There's ripeness and freshness and also complexity and depth. It's a blend of 70% Malbec with 30% Cabernet Franc that matured in 2,000-liter oak foudres for 16 months. 5,000 bottles were filled in November 2020.
96 points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (Nov 2022)
Deep and complex, yet nuanced, offering fragrant black cherries, sour plums and dark chocolate, which follow through to violet extract, dried herbs and hints of graphite and stones. Really juicy, full-bodied and powerful, but seamless and charged with natural concentration. Long, extremely intense and poised. Decant it to discover the dried-herb and black-pepper nuances. So delicious now, but will hold.
96 points, James Suckling (Nov 2022)
The 2019 Malbec - Cabernet Franc Riccitelli And Father is an 80/20 blend of the aforementioned varieties from Las Compuertas, Luján de Cuyo and Los Chacayes, Uco Valley, respectively. Purple in hue. The attractive, unusually reductive nose presents notes of violets, fresh plum, blackberry and hints of bell and black pepper. Free-flowing in the mouth with refined, reactive tannins, the palate is expansive, full bodied and taut but stays light on its feet. The 2019 is an interesting, classical take on a modern blend with good depth and well-defined flavor.
94 points, Joaquín Hidalgo, Vinous (Nov 2022)