Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Malvasia di Candia Aromatica
Marino, Colli Lanuvini, and others; as well as
IGT Colline Frentane, Colline Pescaresi,
Umbria, and Terre Aquilane, among others.
Monovarietal wines are rare, but when you fi nd
a good one, it becomes apparent that Malvasia
del Lazio is a potentially great cultivar. It yields
bright, dry white wines that recall sage and
ripe yellow fruit, and have a tell-tale, creamy,
almost resiny fl eshiness that wines made with
Malvasia Bianca di Candia never have. Even
better, it takes remarkably well to noble rot:
indeed, there have been nobly rotten late har-
vest or air-dried Malvasia del Lazio wines that
rank with some of Italy's greatest wines ever.
Thick and creamy, with plenty of refreshing
acidity, redolent with ripe peach, mango,
banana, and passionfruit aromas and fl avors,
those were memorable wines: unfortunately
the state of Lazio winemaking is such that
wines such as these are few and far between.
The problem here is the producers, not the
grape. As for specifi c wines, either look for IGT
efforts from reputable producers or DOC wines
in which you know the producer uses a great
deal of Malvasia del Lazio; when you taste a
Frascati that is almost too good to be true, in
particular fl eshy and creamy-rich, and com-
plex, you can be reasonably sure it's made with
80-90 percent Malvasia del Lazio. That such a
blend is completely illegal is another matter—
this is Italy after all.
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna, Lombar-
dy, Lazio.
national registry code number:
279.
color:
white.
An aromatic variety sometimes also called
Malvasia Bianca di Candia Aromatica, this vari-
ety used to be, not surprisingly, also called Mal-
vasia di Alessandria and/or Malvasia a Sapore
di Moscato (“Malvasia that tastes like a
Moscato”). It is completely distinct from the
similarly named Malvasia Bianca di Candia, a
nonaromatic variety. The many cuttings the
Venetians picked up at the port of Monemvasia
and then propagated elsewhere were not always
necessarily of the same variety and some vines
planted on Crete were later found to give aro-
matic wine. Hence the age-old distinction
between an “aromatic” Malvasia di Candia and
a regular, nonaromatic Malvasia di Candia.
Ampelographically, the two look different: Mal-
vasia di Candia Aromatica has a long, pyrami-
dal, loosely-packed grape bunch, and both the
bunch and the berries are medium-small. Its
berries also have thick skins, while those of
Malvasia Bianca di Candia have thin skins.
There are four clones that became available
between 1988 and 2002: PC MACA 62, PC
MACA 66, PC MACA 68, and VCR 27. The
fi rst two produce wines characterized by higher
total acidity levels and are often the choice for
sparkling wine production; the VCR 27 is more
useful for still aromatic white wines. Unlike the
other three clones, VCR 27 does not suffer from
dissection of the spine, and accumulates sugar
easier. Malvasia di Candia Aromatica is typical
of the Emilia portion of Emilia-Romagna, but is
also grown in Lombardy and Lazio, for a total of
close to two thousand hectares planted.
wines to try:
Pallavicini*** (especially the
very sweet, complex Stillato; the dry Malvasia
La Giara is refreshingly simple and crisp),
Conte Zandotti*** (Rumon, but also an excel-
lent Frascati containing a high proportion of
Malvasia del Lazio), Le Quinte** (Virtù
Romane, Orchidea), and Casale Pilozzo* (Villa
Ari). I'm not so sure about other bottlings. Note
that Le Quinte's Virtù Romane and Orchidea
are blends of local Roman grapes, so they are an
exception to my stringent monovarietals-only
rule for this topic, but are so good and inexpen-
sive they deserve to be mentioned; Virtù
Romane especially is one of Italy's best-value
wines.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
DOC wines worth hunting out are the Colli Pia-
centini, Colli di Parma, and Colli di Scandiano
e Canossa of Emilia-Romagna, where Malvasia
di Candia Aromatica can be used to make 100
percent pure varietal wines. It is also used
in Oltrepò Pavese blends from Lombardy and
