Malvasia

A fragrant charmer with depth: Valmasìa is made from Malvasia Istriana, which thrives on the characteristic Ponca soils of the Colli Orientali. The terroir lends the wine an invigorating freshness and delicate minerality. In the glass, it is a pale straw yellow with a greenish sheen. On the nose, floral notes of orange blossom, ripe pear and nutmeg, accompanied by a hint of herbal tea. On the palate, it is fragrant and lively, with a smooth texture, delicate spice and an elegant, dry finish. A versatile, characterful white wine with a Mediterranean soul – ideal with antipasti, fish or herb-infused risotto. SUPERIORE.DE

The Tenuta Capofaro of Tasca is located on the Aeolian Islands off the north-eastern tip of Sicily. The name of this fresh and aromatic Malvasia is dedicated to the former owner Paola Lantieri, who cultivated the 4.5-hectare vineyard with great dedication. The vines grow on mineral soils of ash, fine brown sand, pumice and silicate.

Malvasia Istriana is not Malvasia. At least not what most people know by that name. While other varieties of this ancient Greek grape family are often lush and sweetly aromatic, the Istrian variety shows a completely different face: richer, more complex, more mineral and capable of true greatness in Collio Goriziano – and capable of its true greatness in the Collio Goriziano. Schiopetto has been vinifying it as a single variety since 1974: hand-picked at the beginning of September, fermented in steel at 16 degrees for ten to twelve days, matured on the fine lees for nine months. The result needs no explanation, just a large glass.

The name Iskra comes from the Slavic language and means "spark". The name emphasises the uniqueness of a pair of wines that are able to seduce from the very first glass. Both Iskra wines have one characteristic in common: they have a great personality and their grapes each come from a single vineyard. With grapes typical of central Italy - Malvasia and Montepulciano from two of Abruzzo's favourite terroirs, Colline Teramane and Colline Pescaresi - both wines stand for their clear identity and origin.

Castellares dessert wine matures for five long years in chestnut wood caratelli, with just 3,500 bottles going on sale each year. Deep honey yellow in colour. The bouquet is reminiscent of wild porcini mushrooms, candied fruit with honey and caramel. Seductive and soft on the palate, the well-developed acidity not only ensures a wonderfully fresh drinking flow, but also gives this fine wine a great future. SUPERIORE.DE

Malvasia Istriana is the most fragrant variety in Friuli – and the least known outside its borders. Gianfranco Gallo cultivated it when hardly anyone believed in it, on one and a half hectares in Mariano del Friuli, which give it everything it needs in terms of yield and ripeness. Dis Cumieris – named after a local topographical term – is Gallo's homage to the variety in its purest form. 100% Malvasia Istriana, on glacial gravel with sand, eight months on the lees, no malolactic. The result is a fragrance that is almost unrivalled in intensity by any other grape variety.

Ricasoli's Vin Santo is the sublime interpretation of one of the historic grape varieties of Chianti Classico, the Malvasia del Chianti, and at the same time a masterpiece of centuries-old Tuscan craftsmanship. Here, the 880-year-old winemaking tradition of the Ricasoli family merges with the mystical art of passito making to create a wine of rare nobility. The grapes come from vines over forty years old on well-drained alluvial soils at an altitude of 200 metres with southern exposure. At the beginning of October, at the end of the harvest, the Malvasia grapes are hand-picked together with small quantities of Trebbiano and Sangiovese grapes with an optimum sugar content and perfect flavour concentration. Only the best, loose-berried grapes with sparse berries are transported in 18-kilogramme crates to specially ventilated chambers at Castello di Brolio. This is where the magic of time begins: the grapes hang to dry for three months while the water content slowly dwindles and the flavours concentrate. The must from the gentle pressing then ferments for months - a process that takes years and requires the utmost patience. The young wine then matures for nine years in oak caratelli of various sizes, where it develops its characteristic amber colour and complex aromas.

Light, pale golden yellow colour. Sexy aromas of tangerine, honeysuckle, crystallised ginger, minerals, apple pie and puff pastry. Big, rich and deep with impeccable balance and a very precise, multi-layered quality. The finish is long and luscious. Zitelle Durì (only 1,000 bottles) is a very special expression of a single vineyard. It achieves an impressive balance between aromatic intensity and texture. SUPERIORE.DE

Whilst Barchetta and Casa Rossa in the Zitelle vineyard epitomise international Sauvignon excellence, the Duri plot tells a very different story – that of the indigenous Friulian Malvasia. ‘Duri’ is the third single-vineyard plot within the legendary Zitelle terroir, which Paolo Meroi acquired in 2007 and which once belonged to the ancient Order of the Unmarried Sisters. However, in contrast to the Ponca-rich plots with their sandstone-flysch soil, Duri exhibits a fundamentally different soil character: here, clay and loam dominate, enriched with iron, magnesium and sodium – —minerals that lend the Malvasia a distinctive aromatic depth and opulent richness.

Giovanni Manetti's Vin Santo del Chianti Classico consists of 50% Malvasia and 50% Sangiovese and was aged for 84 months in small oak barrels. The wine is absolutely stunning - from start to finish - and there are just 1,000 bottles of it.

There are wines that are counted – by points, by vintage and also occasionally by price. And then there is VinSanGiusto. This is counted and rated according to rare experiences. 90% Malvasia, 10% Trebbiano, harvested by hand when the ripeness is right. Then comes the most unusual part: the grapes are dried on racks in well-ventilated rooms. Quite a few weeks – around 140 days. They lose water for almost five months, concentrating their sugars, acids and flavours. Then they are pressed. What follows is true anachronism in the best sense of the word. The must is placed in small chestnut barrels – 40 to 180 Liters – and is stored in attics, where it is exposed to seasonal temperature fluctuations. Summer and winter, heat and cold, year after year. Six years. During this time, it ferments and develops slowly, without intervention. 40% of the liquid evaporates, which also explains the extraordinary concentration. No rush, no control, no shortcuts. Then the filtration: drop by drop through Dutch cloth. Then 18 months in the bottle. And not a single gram of added sulphur.

Borgo del Tiglio's Malvasia Italo & Bruno (of which only 1,200 bottles were produced) is a delicate wine with pretty scents reminiscent of white flowers, gardenias and honeydew melon. There is also a distinct mineral note, but here it is more dusty or ashy than salty. This is an exceptional expression of Malvasia, a versatile grape with particularly floral flavours when in the right hands. SUPERIORE.DE

In 2001, Luca Sanjust unceremoniously renamed his Vinsanto del Chianti "San Petrolo Passito Bianco", as he was no longer willing to put up with the uncompromising and incomprehensible views of the consortium on the specification of a Vin Santo del Chianti Classico. For some of the analytical values (sugar, acidity, alcohol content) of his exceptional dessert wine did not correspond to the rigid specifications of the regulations, which, however, did not detract from the quality of his wine. There are just 600 bottles of each vintage, but they are quite something.