The Wines of
The
Maltese archipelago (consisting of
But by
the 19th and 20th
centuries most of the wine consumed on
the islands was imported, and it was only in the 1970s that winemaking
began
again in earnest. There
are now a few
hundred farmers, usually with very small vineyards (the average size of
a
vineyard on
The
biggest change in recent years came with
The other
major change brought about by joining the EU was the need to introduce
a
quality designation system: the Maltese D.O.K. system (Denominazzjoni
ta'
Origini Kontrollatta) draws heavily on the Italian DOC and DOCG system,
apparently
with all its flaws. (For
more on this,
see http://winecampus.blogspot.com/2007/12/super-maltese-in-spe-anyone.html). There are two DOK regions:
DOK Malta and DOK
Gozo. DOK wines can
be chaptalised to
increase alcohol by up to 1% by volume, whereas the category of DOK
Superiore
can be used on wines that have not been chaptalised and have a minimum
alcohol
of 12% for whites and rosés and 12.5% for reds.
In addition there are, as in
The following wines were tasted in May 2008.
Camilleri
Wines
Camilleri
Wines was established in 2000/2001 when it took over the business of
the former
Master wine Ltd, which had been founded in 1947 by Joseph Camilleri,
who
continues today as chairman of the company.
Grapes are bought in from 250 farmers all over Malta,
growing
chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, vermentino, viognier, moscato Alexandria,
cabernet
sauvignon, carignan, Grenache, merlot, syrah and tempranillo, normally
hand
harvested. Camilleri
produce wines in
seven different ranges: Laurenti (their premium range), Palatino, La
Croce, Blush,
Dolce Vita, Pianoforte and GWL. Gwl
was
the Phoenician word for a ship and hence also the name for the
2007 Palatino
Vermentino, DOK
Malta Superiore, Camilleri Wines, 14%
A very nice nose – buttery, creamy and a bit nutty-almondy. Very nice palate. Very attractive. Clean, with a nice
richness and depth. Good
finish with fairly powerful length.
91/100
2007
Sauvignon Blanc Palatino, DOK
This has a very ripe feeling nose without any great sauvignon blanc
characteristics. It’s
similar on the
palate, lacking much varietal character.
I wouldn’t have expected sauvignon blanc to work
well in such a hot
climate, and I think I was largely right.
It’s a decent enough wine, but lacks any real
character. 84/100
2006
Vermentino Viognier fermented
in oak, Laurenti, Camilleri Wines
A rather extracted, oaky nose that feels a bit wacky.
Interesting palate: the oak knits it together
well and doesn’t dominate.
Good
character. A nice
wine. 87/100
2005 Merlot
Cabernet Sauvignon
Laurenti, Camilleri Wines
The grapes for this come from vineyards along the Laurenti Ridge in
Siggiewi
and the resulting wine is aged in French oak barriques for at least 12
months. This has a
sawdusty black fruits
nose. Nice open
palate with good
character. This
definitely has an
attraction. Softish
tannins round the
wine out on the finish. 87/100
2006 Blush
Merlot-Syrah Rosé,
Camilleri wines
A rich strawberry and cherry fruit nose.
Very nice, clean, fresh nose with a nice depth of fruit. Very Good Indeed. 89/100
2007 GWL Gozo
grown Chardonnay,
Camilleri Wines,
12.5%
From vines grown on clay soils apparently.
This has a fresh melony chardonnay nose.
It’s rather ordinary on the palate, though,
finishing with a curious
spirity note. There’s
a rather
unbalanced feel to this. 82/100
2006 GWL Gozo
Grown Syrah,
Camilleri Wines,
12.5%
A warm, ripe syrah nose with a touch of brett.
This is a very good, approachable, young, vibrant syrah. Nice and easy drinking,
though I don’t know
that you could tell this was Maltese rather than from somewhere else. 89/100
2007 Dolce
Vita Late Harvest,
Camilleri Wines,
11.5%
This is a
blend of sauvignon blanc and viognier, harvested 4-6 weeks later than
the
normal harvest. It
has a fresh,
interesting nose with lots of character.
Fragrant and fairly delicate on the palate, this is not at
all
oversweet. Really
very pleasant. 89/100
2006
Tempranillo Palatino, DOK
Malta Superiore, Camilleri Wines
Quite a slight nose – unusually for tempranillo, it feels a
bit weedy, but
apparently it’s harvested very early.
My
first impression is that it’s tempranillo made in an old
Emmanuel
Emmanuel
Delicata Winemaker Ltd were founded in 1907 by Eduardo Delicata and the
company
is still in the hands of the fourth generation of the same family
today, with
its base in Paola. Delicata
draw on
grapes grown in more than 380 family run vineyards across
2007 Medina
Girgentina &
Chardonnay, IGT Maltese Islands, Delicata, 12%
This is 75% girgentina, a native Maltese variety and 25% chardonnay. The nose has peach, melon,
white chocolate
and a hint of biscuits. Fresh,
clean
palate, with interesting, powerful flavours, which make this quite
distinctive. An
interesting wine, if a
touch strange and challenging. 84/100
2007
This is made from grenache noir, but vinified as a white wine. It has a fairly slight
nose, but is quite
interesting on the palate, with some unusual, very winey flavours. Quite minerally. Interesting.
87?/100
2007
Nice, fresh peach and melon fruit on the nose.
Good palate: this is a good, though not a complex
chardonnay. Works well
enough. 84/100
2007 Victoria
Heights Shiraz Rosé,
DOK Gozo, Delicata,
12.5%
A reddish pale salmon colour. The
nose
has soft red fruits and is a good sort of mid range rosé
nose. Nice depth of
flavour on the palate and a
tingle of spice on the finish. 85/100
2007
A delicate raspberry and Vimto jelly nose.
Very interesting character on the palate.
It feels just a tiny bit off dry.
88/100
2007 Maltese
Falcon Gellewza Rosé,
IGT Maltese Islands, Delicata, 12%
Gellewza is one of the indigenous Maltese grapes, and makes only quite
light
reds.
This has soft red fruits on the nose.
Very soft, easy palate.
A touch
towards the sweet side (intentionally so, apparently).
Very Good.
87-88/100
2007 Medina
Sangiovese, IGT
Maltese Islands, Delicata, 12.5%
2007 was the first vintage of this wine, of which 300 cases were made. It has ripe, red cherry
fruit on the
nose. Very soft,
light palate, with some
black pepper spice and rich fruit.
88/100
2006 Maltese
Falcon Full Bodied
Red, IGT Maltese Islands, Delicata, 12.5%
This is a blend of 60% merlot, 20% syrah and 20% cabernet sauvignon. The cabernet has been
oaked. A good nose:
not over-distinguished, but it
has a good black fruit character.
This
is a nice blend that works well, though overall the wine is hardly
over-complex. But
it’s nice easy
drinking. 87/100
2006 Gran
Cavalier Syrah Barrel
Matured, DOK Malta, Delicata, 13%
This is aged for about twelve months in French oak.
It has a really rather funky nose, with
barnyardy black fruit. Initially
there
is some delicate fresh fruit on the paate, with some spicy tannins on
the
finish, though there’s not really much of a tannic structure
before that. Overall,
it feels very Rhôney and
animalistic. Apparently
2006 was a light
year for Syrah on
Originally founded as A&G Cassar in 1919, but renamed Marsovin
in 1956,
this is a family run company and one of the majory players on
2005 Cassar
de Malta, Méthode
Traditionelle Brut, Wardija Valley Estate, 12.5%
This matures on its lees for at least 12 months before its first
degorgement. It has
a young, crip
nose. Light and
crisp on the palate, and
very clean. Very
prickly in the
mouth. There’s
nothing wrong with this. A
bit simple, maybe, but very good.
86/100
2007 Chenin
Blanc Caravaggio, DOK
The nose has rich, slightly concentrated pear fruit and lanolin. Quite a precise, clean
palate, though it
falls apart a little on the finish.
Great length after. 86/100
2007 Chenin
Blanc-Chardonnay
Ulysses, DOK Gozo, Marsovin, 13%
A crisp, clean nose, though a bit dumb, with some fresh wool and honey
scents. On the
palate, this represents
very nice, easy drinking: it’s a very good blend and working
well. Great balance. 89/100
2006
Chardonnay-Girgentina 1919,
Marsovin
The chardonnay grapes are mainly bought in and see a touch of oak. The first bottle of this
wine that I tried
had a startling mid-yellow colour, looking almost a bit oxidised. It was also slightly
corked, so on to a
second bottle. This
had a slightly paler
colour. The nose is
very minerally, with
a touch of distilled peaches and pears.
On the palate, it’s quite rich and has a
slightly honeyed feel. It
definitely feels a bit of a chardonnay in
disguise. 85/100
2007 Barrel
fermented Chardonnay,
Antonin, Ramla Valley Estate, DOK Gozo
This is a blend of 95% chardonnay and 5% pinot blanc, half fermented in
oak,
half in stainless steel.
This is more creamy than buttery on the nose, with some gently spirity
stone
fruit. Nicely
integrated and balanced on
the palate. 88+/100
2007 Moscato
Caravaggio, DOK
Malta, Marsovin,
12%
According to the Marsovin representative who took me through their
wines, this
is
2007 Odyssey
Grenache Rosé, DOK
Gozo, Marsovin,
13%
This has a gentle, sweet red fruit nose.
But it’s a bit unbalanced on the palate, with
the acidity feeling a bit
separate. Not
working for me. 82/100
2006 1919
(Cabernet Sauvignon,
This blends 55% cabernet sauvignon and 35%
2006 Cheval
Franc Private Estate
Selection, Marsovin,
13.5%
This is made from cabernet franc, and possibly also (depending who from
Marsovin you’re talking to) some
2006 Antonin
Noir, Marnisi Estate,
Marsaxlokk, Private Estate Selection, Marsovin, 13.5%
This is a merlot dominated Bordeaux blend from the 8.5 ha vineyard
(their
biggest), planted in 1994, on the Marnisi Estate in Marsaxlokk. The wine is aged in a mix
of old and new
oak. Looking at it
in the glass, I
thought it could have been 3-4 years older, and was told that wines
from the
Marnisi vineyard seem to age early.
There are
herbaceous black fruits on the nose, with an umami edge. Quite concentrated and
deep in the mouth with
a nice chocolatey richness. Very
Good
Indeed. 91/100
2006 Marnisi
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot, Cabernet France, Petit Verdot, Marsovin, 13%
This has a very nice floral character on the nose: clean scents, with a
bit of
tobacco? Rich and
deep on the palate –
feeling riper on the palate than the Antonin Noir. 89/100
2005 Grand
Maitre, Marsovin, 13%
This is a blend of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, aged in new
oak for a
minimum of 12 months. The
nose has rich,
chocolatey blackberry and blackcurrant fruit.
There’s ripe, velvety fruit on the palate. The oak is not
over-evident, but very
definitely there. It
just feels a touch
overblown, but it is in a style that will appeal to many. 90/100
2006 Passito
Shiraz Guze, Marsovin, 14%
This has remarkably restrained black fruits on the nose. The first thing that
strikes you in the mouth
is the acidity. Then
you notice the
tannins, then the sweetish black fruit.
Then they all combine in the mouth.
A very nicely balanced wine, and very interesting too. 91/100
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Last updated: 27 April 2009