Molino real 2021

Molino Real is the wine that brought winemaker Telmo Rodríguez to La Axarquía, the mountainous corner of Málaga in Andalusia that has a long history of sweet Moscatel. The vineyards sit on steep slate slopes facing the Mediterranean, where the warm southern sun and the dry mountain air are used to dry the grapes after picking. This passerillage concentrates the sugar and flavour in shrivelled berries before they are pressed. The slate soils drain freely and reflect heat, stressing the old Moscatel vines and lowering yields, which adds to the concentration. After a slow fermentation that leaves heavy residual sugar, the wine spends around twenty months in oak, a period of slow oxidative ageing that deepens the colour and develops the raisined, caramelised tones that mark the style. The colour is deep amber gold. The nose is raisin, dried apricot and orange marmalade over honey and caramel, with date behind. The palate is rich and unctuous but lifted by acidity and a saline mineral edge from the slate, leaving a long sweet finish. Serve lightly chilled, around 10 to 12 degrees, in a small glass.