Jorge Ordonez & Co Esencia Nº4 2013

Jorge Ordóñez makes this Esencia Nº4 in D.O. Málaga-Sierras de Málaga in Andalusia, a region with a long history of sweet Moscatel. It is produced from Moscatel de Alejandría, an aromatic grape grown on the steep slate and schist slopes near the Mediterranean coast, where intense sun concentrates sugar in the fruit. The wine is a naturally sweet style: the grapes are left to shrivel and raisin, concentrating their sugars so far that fermentation barely proceeds, leaving a very low 4 per cent alcohol and an enormous weight of residual sugar. It is then aged for eighty-four months in wood, a long, slow maturation that gently oxidises the wine and develops layers of caramel, toffee and dried fruit over the primary Moscatel perfume. The colour is deep amber. The nose is rich and concentrated, with raisin, orange marmalade, honey and dried apricot over a caramelised, nutty note from the wood. The palate is intensely sweet, thick and unctuous, with date and toffee balanced by a thread of acidity that keeps the finish long rather than cloying. Serve chilled at 8 to 10 degrees in a small glass, in modest measures.