Máté

When Ferenc Máté fled Hungary as a young man during the 1956 Revolution, settling first in Vancouver, he probably didn't imagine he'd end up making world-class wine on a Tuscan hillside. But that's exactly what happened when he and his wife Candace, a painter, fell hard for a piece of land in Montalcino in the early 1990s. Today, their small estate produces some seriously impressive wines.

History
The Máté story starts with buying an abandoned 13th-century convent at Santa Restituta in Montalcino. They spent their first years doing a big restoration of the ancient building. Only after that did they turn their attention to the land itself, planting their first vines in 1996.

Ferenc and Candace brought in Fabrizio Moltard, the agronomist who works with legendary producer Angelo Gaja, to design their vineyards. They also hired Pierre Guillaume from France to select the best grape varieties and clones for their specific terroir. The Mátés chose a high-density planting of 6,200 vines per hectare, making them the first in Montalcino to do it like that. It was a bold move that showed they were serious about quality from day one.

The Vineyards
The estate covers 27 hectares of Mediterranean scrub and wild plants, with 6.5 hectares dedicated to vines. The vineyards sit between 300 and 400 meters above sea level on what were actually Roman vineyard terraces from 2,000 years ago. After centuries of neglect, the Mátés reclaimed this ancient agricultural land and brought it back to life.

The location at Santa Restituta is special. It's temperate and exposed to winds from the sea, which helps keep the grapes healthy. The varied elevation and exposure across their land means they can plant different grape varieties in the spots that suit them best.

The Terroir
The soil at Máté is very diverse and is what makes their wines interesting. The estate has multiple soil types ranging across the property. There's galestro (a schist-like rock), fossil debris, tuff, and clay soils. Each grape variety gets planted where it'll grow best.

The Sangiovese grows on both galestro and on fossil debris and tuff. Merlot gets the clay soil, as does Cabernet Sauvignon. The Syrah is planted on terraces that are rich in minerals. 

Way of Winemaking
Everything at Máté is done by hand. The harvest is manual, and all the cellar work. They ferment in small steel tanks at controlled temperatures or in wooden vats, depending on the wine. Aging happens in a mix of vessels: French oak barriques from Allier, tonneaux, and large 40-hectoliter oak barrels.

The approach is pretty straightforward, let the grapes and the terroir speak. There's no over-manipulation. The winemaking respects what nature gave them, which is something you can taste in the finished wines.