Malvasia Moscata: a Spumante wine higher esteemed by wine lovers compared to Champagne

Today,  09 07 2020, ten wine professionals sit together in front of me Karina Imschoot, tasting Malvasia Moscata,  2013, 48 months sur lié. Their judgement:  this is fare more delicious compared to equal priced champagnes

More details from Ian d'Agata: 

Malvasia Moscata is the newest and the rarest  of all the white-berried Malvasias in Italy,  but its’s apparently the most abundant one in California,  where it was planted by Piemontese immigrants and it is simply,  but erroneously, called Malvasia Bianca. The latter is the name of another Malvasia variety, typical of Puglia and listed in the National Register at numer 129. Only recently rediscovered, Malvasia Moscata’s presence was cited in Piedmont already in the early seventeenth century,  as Malvasia Nostrale,  by Croce (1606). An aromatic variety, Malvasia Moscata is ((erroneously) called Malvasia Bianca in the province of Torino, where it is most common in the countryside around Albugnanoand of the Pinerolese:  it is also know as Malvasia Greca in the Alessandria, as Moscato Greco in the Astigiano and in the Monferrato Casalese,  and as Greco or Gre in the Roero (not to be confused with the Greco of the Novara regio which is actually Erbaluce.  Just about everywhere in t he Piedmont regio it is also known as Moscatella,  an obvious reference to its musky aroma and taste.  The Italian Ministry of Agriculture does not allow place names by which to identify grape varieties,  when this variety was finally officially listed in the National Registry on March 23,  2012,  the name Malvasia Moscata was chosen. 

In the late 1800s,cultivation of this variety was completely devastated by oidium,and farmers replanted with the more resistant Moscato Bianco instead.  Though Malvasia Moscata is characterized by an obvious musky smell and taste, it’s easy to distinguish from the much more common Moscato Bianco thanks to its leaf (with a rare seven lobels and fare deeper indentations than those of Moscato Bianco) and especially its bunch,  which haqs much bigger,  round,  thick-skinned berries.  Malvasia Moscata is also generally more vigorous and productive than Moscato Bianco  and less sensitive to Botrytis.

Malvasia Moscata vines are found only sporadically in old Piedmontese vineyards,  so learning about the taste of a monovarietal wine made from it is not easy. Ian d’Agata considers this Moscata Malvasia a high-quality grape variety.  Aromas and flavors of lemon, apricot,pear, tropical fruit, aromatic herbs are very commun.

We present today the one and only master in making great wines from Moscata Malvasia, Casalone, and the top of his masterwork is definitely the 48 months sur lié version of Spumante on the basis of this unique grape Malvasia Moscata