Moscatel Dorado (César Florido)

The sandy area around Chipiona is the cradle of Moscatel grapes in the sherry region. Within this small coastal village, just west of Sanlúcar, the leading producer is César Florido. It is family run since 1887 (now 5th generation) and they still own 21 ha of vineyards around Chipiona and in the pago Miraflores and Balbaína of Sanlúcar, keeping control of the entire winemaking process.

The company has been working as an almacenista for most of its existence, but started releasing own bottlings in 1988. As they are outside of the traditional sherry ageing triangle, the wines bear the Zona de Producción back label.

Moscatel Dorado is a golden coloured wine made of overripe Moscatel de Alejandría grapes (which only make up 1-2% of all plantings in the sherry region). Fermentation is halted early to retain the natural sugars (around 175 grams of sugar in the bottled wine). In this case it is aged in a solera system (chestnut barrels) for merely one year – the youngest wine from the bodega, in the tradition of Mistela wines. Domestic bottlings tend to have less alcohol by the way.

The bodega also offers a full-bodied Moscatel Especial (produced by adding a little arrope – cooked down must) and an even darker Moscatel de Pasas (made with grapes that are sun-dried for up to three weeks).

Moscatel Dorado (17,5%, César Florido)

Nose: very floral, almost ethereal. Orange blossom water, jasmin and bergamot notes (Earl Grey). Some lime peel. Juicy apricots and grape juice. Plenty of floral honey. Just a pinch of white pepper and toasted nuts in the background. Very attractive.

Mouth: very sweet but not cloying. There’s enough acidity, and the blossomy side helps to keep things in check. Juicy apricots again, honey and truckloads of Moscatel grapes. Long finish, in which the peppery bite returns.

Availability: around € 8-10 for a full bottle in Spain. For international shipping, check The Whisky Exchange

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Summary: This Moscatel Dorado is basically a reference wine for the category of lightly aged Muscat in the sherry region (similar to what they make in the region of Valencia). Highly aromatic, honeyed and juicy - very easy to like.

4

Very good

Tags: 17.5%, César Florido, chipiona, dorado, Moscatel

About the Author

Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be