WineLovers Discussion Group

We tried this Wed night w/ the Panettone/MarzipanStollen bread pudding:
1. Bacalhoa DO: Moscatel Roxo/Setubal VinhoGeneroso (100% MoscatelRoxo; Aged: 2 small casks for 9 yrs; 18.5%)
Colheita 2000: Deep golden/burnished bronze/bit brown color; very intense nutty/Muscat/caramel/creme brulee/butterscotch pudding/toffee slight alcoholic very fragrant/perfumed complex nose; fairly sweet (8%-10%?) fairly tart/balanced very strong Muscat/flowery rather caramel/butterscotch/toffee complex lovely flavor; very long/lingering quite intense Muscat/floral/perfumed rather sweet balanced toffee/butterscotch puddin quite complex finish; a really beautiful dessert Muscat that's not as oxidized as most Moscatel de Setubal. $30.00 (CB)
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This is a wine I got from DarrellCorti, advertised in his HolidayNewsletter:
CortiHolidayNewsletter
The Newsletter identifies it as 500ml...it's actually 750 ml of very heavy glass.

MoscatelRoxo is a very rare pink/gris-skinned version of Muscat au PetitsGrain. The wine was made w/ some skin-contact that gave it a bit of a bronze/orange color.
I've had only 15-20 Moscatel de Setubals over the yrs. I seem to recall a rather common one that came in a strange pimply kind of btl. They are an interesting genre. Quite sweet, very intensely Muscatty, often rather underacid and cloying, often w/ a fair amount of oxidation. But still far better than the Muscatel drunk from a brown paper bag, down under the bridge (I've only had one of those Gallo ones...dreadful dreck...no TN, alas...but gave it an 89).
I was quite taken by this MoscatelRoxo. It had a freshness and liveliness to it that I seldom get from Moscatel. Great stuff...I'm getting more.
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2. OrangeWines: I guess this could rightfully be called an orange wine because of the skin contact. Because of this head-long rush to make skin-contact whites and amphorae aging, I'm surprised that nobody has yet tried it w/ Muuscat. Sometimes the intensity of Muscat can be overwhelming and I would think making it as a (dry) skin-contact white might have some merit...ameliorating the intensity of the Muscat. But...nawh...everybody's just interested in making anuther 100-pt NapaVlly Cabernet and not trying anything different.
Tom

You certainly could call the the fortified Moscatel wines from Portugal orange wines, as they typically see three or four months of skin contact after brandy is added to stop the fermentation. But this is quite different than your typical non-fortified orange wine.

I don't find the current style of Moscatel de Setubal very oxidized and haven't seen the 'pimply' bottle. In fact the most common version around here is Bacalhoa's regular Moscatel de Setubal (vintage dated, not extreme cask aging), which comes in a rather elegant bottle, boxed, which slightly belies its inexpensive price, about $12. Try it if you see it, it is surprisingly good value.

And it was a good one, though not inexpensive.
Charles

• NV José Maria da Fonseca Moscatel Setúbal Roxo 20 Years - Portugal, Península de Setúbal, Setúbal (10/2/2010)
  Peach Farm for Albert's exam. This was very nice indeed. Not thick and viscous. Deep rich long dried fruits, nuts, some caramel. Sweet but not unctuous, gorgeous balance and no heat. A very impressive wine.