La Marchigiana Criolla Chica

La Marchigiana Criolla Chica

Wine Description

La Marchigiana honors the natural and sulfite-free homemade wine legacy with this very limitied production.   In 1898, Nicola Catena arrived in Argentina from Le Marche, Italy, bringing with him the family tradition of creating natural wines, preserved only by their own tannins. It is a "naked wine", in which only the grapes and terroir speak.

Once settled in Argentina, Nicola embraced the practice of fermenting wine in Clay pots. Widely spread in the Cuyo region, this practice dates back to Colonial times where wine was made from Criolla grapes in amphoras and "botijas

Remington-Mendoza
Laura Catena sits at a table with a glass of wine
Malbec Grapes
Alejandro Vigil (Chief Winemaker) and Laura Catena Tasting
Malbec Clone in La Piramide Vineyard
Nicolás Catena
Bodega Catena Zapata
Bodega Catena Zapata
accordion plus icons
Acclaim
“Eastern Mendoza has a rich heritage of old criolla chica (listán prieto) vines, the first of the red varieties to arrive in the New World with the Spanish Conquistadors. This one comes from Rivadavia, about 635 meters high, in one of the lowest and warmest areas of Mendoza. However, winemaker Alejandro Vigil is in charge of instilling freshness in this wine, which offers the variety's characteristic vibrant red fruits and earthy notes. A deliciously rustic wine to drink with deli meats.”
— Descorchados, Aug 2021
“This is so fun and delicious with bright, crunchy acidity (some volatility) and lemon-rind and strawberry-skin flavor. It’s very light-bodied, resembling a dark-colored rosé. Made in amphora, from one of the Spanish missionary grapes, using no sulfur. Love to drink this slightly chilled.”
— James Suckling, Apr 2020
View more acclaim Arrow Right
accordion plus icons
Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Finca Los Paraisos, El Mirador, Rivadavia
Soil composition
Loamy sandy
accordion plus icons
Winemaking & Aging
Prefermentation Technique:
Cold maceration
Time on its skins:
256 Days
Varietal composition:
100% Criolla Chica
Fermentation container:
Clay Pots
Length of alcoholic fermentation:
21 days
Fermentation temperature:
68-72 °F
Malolactic fermentation:
Partial
Fining agent:
None
Type of aging container:
Clay Pots
Length of aging before bottling:
256 days
accordion plus icons
Analytical Data
pH level:
3.2
Alcohol:
12.5 %
Residual sugar:
<1.8 g/L
accordion plus icons
Wine Production

Extremely Limited Production-US Allocation

accordion plus icons
About the Vineyard

La Marchigiana was Nicola Catena’s label, used in the oak barrels containing bulk winethat were sent to Buenos Aires to be sold in the finest restaurants of that time. This label has been hanging at the winery and at Nicolás Catena Zapata’s office since Laura and Adrianna Catena were children.

La Marchigiana stands for the women from Le Marche and that iswhy there is a woman harvesting and handing grapes to a man with a basket on the label.

The style is early 20th century and the label says Bodega y Viñedos Nicolás Catena, because Nicola Catena was made to change his name to Nicolás when he became an Argentine citizen.

Laura observes that it was a smart idea to celebrate women harvesting since hergreat-grandfather’s wife, Ana Mosceta de Catena was also from Le Marche and loved her vines.  Because of this, Laura’s great- grandfather use to call her his “vine whisperer”.