2017 Bodegas Victoria Ordonez Monticara Mountain Wines

The Malaga Muscat (Moscatel Malaga) grape is one of the indigenous varieties from the malaga region and its origins date back to the arrival of the Phoenicians to the coast
from Malaga in the 7th century. Up to the 21st century, mainly sweet wines were made from this, but in the last decades they are also used to make very refined dry white wines. The Monticara is the first white dry wine raised on oak and is unique and so amazing.

Victoria Ordoñez born and raised in Malaga is no stranger to the wine world and she went looking in the mountains of Malaga for lost and authentic vineyards (from both the Moscatel and the Ximenez vineyards) and started in 2015 to enjoy this authentic grapes to make (fantastic) wines again and these are wines that need to be monitored. They are currently in many a Michelin restaurant. The only problem is that only a very limited number of bottles are made because the vineyards are very small. The Monticara is made from grapes that come from 2 plots of 0.64 and 1.04 HA located on a slope of 68%. It is located in Los Romanes in the Alta Axarquía at an altitude of more than 800 m. The vines were planted in 1932 and from the 2015 vintage less than two thousand bottles were made of which the majority went to a number of top restaurants so supply is very very minimal.

The Axarquia region lies east of Malaga and borders the mountains of Malaga dating from the Paleozoic. In Axarquía, slate and sand are dominated by white quartz. The mild Mediterranean climate of the Axarquía is determined by the influence of the Mediterranean Sea in the south and the mountainous barrier in the northern part. The Tejeda and Almijara Sierra protect the vineyards against the cold north wind. Two geographical dominate the region: La Maroma peak (2065 m), is the highest in Malaga and the Boquete de Zafarraya (as seen in the picture on the Monticara label), a mountain pass of glacial origin that connects with Granada Malaga.

The grapes for MONTICARA were harvested on 5 and 11 August. The manually harvested grapes go in 9 kg crates with only the help of mules and are collected at the foot of the vineyard where they are immediately cooled. Harvesting is done at the end of the night and early in the morning. In the cellars, the grapes are again selected on the selection tables and the grapes are stolen manually and very carefully. The maceration in the press is performed at a low temperature. The MONTICARA is obtained from the free-run juice. It is fermented at a controlled temperature in 600 liters of French oak barrels. It ripens on yeast, with frequent removal of leez / droessem. The wine was bottled in June 2016. The total upbringing therefore takes 13 months. Of these, 9 months in the barrel and 5 months in the bottle.

In the glass, the wine is dusty and unique in its kind with a light color with a hint of gold. The wine is round, full and medium to full bodied. In the nose we smell white fruit, pear, and the wine is very complex with various layers. You can smell sweet without the wine being sweet, which is a very special experience. The aftertaste is great and the taste stays nice in your mouth. The Monticara is a beautiful full-bodied wine and highly recommended with spicy dishes as the wine very nicely neutralizes the sharp tones. Keep an eye on the wines of Victoria - this is guaranteed to win big prizes and then the wine connoisseur knows what will happen with the prizes. Best to carve to give air. Serve fresh in a large Burgundy glass.