Quitapenas Malaga Dulce Sweet

MALAGA – A Spanish Dancer.

Malaga is the name of a town, a Mediterranean Sea Port and a famous drink, that very few people have heard of today. The history of Malaga dates back 600 B.C. when vineyards were planted by the Greeks, buts it’s popularity did not emerge until the 17th and 18th Century, and peaked in the mid 19th Century, when vineyard acreage reached an astonishing 247,000 acres. Great Britain and North America were the key markets, and hardly surprising given the rich sweet flavours. The demise of Malaga coincided with two viticultural disasters – the occurrence of Phyloxera and Powdery Mildew. The catastrophe reduced the number of wineries from 100 to 3, and today it is only the serious wine buff whose heard of the variety. The two wines reviewed include a Malaga, produced from Moscato, whilst the second wine is produced from Pedro Ximinez. Traditionally, the wines were made by drying the grapes, thus concentrating the sugar and in order to achieve this the grapes were left out on mats for 7 to 20 days. Today some of the Malaga is still made this way, but the most common method is by incorporating reduced grape must. The sweet grape must is reduced to a third of its volume by heating, producing a rich luscious deep brown liquid.

The wines from Malaga are used as desert wines, with soft cheeses, hazelnut, figs, dates, rich chocolate cakes and orange cakes. The flavours of Malaga dance on your tongue and integrate beautifully with the right food.

Made from Pedro Ximinez, very deep caramel colour, with edges of onion brown and green olive. Superb nose of caramel and toffee followed by hints of honey and raisins. Mouthfilling palate with flavours of toffee, caramel and honey. Luscious rich and creamy texture, followed by long aftertaste of honey and raisins. Enjoy.

RATING: 94/100

VALUE: XXXXX/5