🍷 Málaga

Málaga is a protected designation of origin for wines from the province of Málaga in Andalusia, made mainly from Pedro Ximénez and Muscat. It covers fortified liqueur wines, sweet wines from overripe or raisined grapes and a dry wine, and it was one of Europe's pioneering designations, protected since 1932. ¹³

From the Phoenicians to a seal of origin. Vines have been grown here since the Phoenicians settled the coast in the 9th century BC, and in Muslim times the wine was praised as «xarab al malaqui». A mutual fund for growers was founded in 1776, a treatise on Pedro Ximén wine appeared in 1792, and in 1806 a royal trading company marked its casks against forgery; phylloxera entered Spain through Málaga in 1874. ¹

From statute to EU register. Exporters issued seals of origin from 1900, the Wine Statute of 13 September 1932 protected the name, and the Regulatory Council was formed in 1933. ¹ The present rules for the Málaga, Sierras de Málaga and Pasas de Málaga designations were approved by an Andalusian order of 30 November 2011, and the EU register lists Málaga as protected since 13 June 1986. ²⁴

Grapes and land. The grapes are Pedro Ximénez (locally Pero Ximén), Muscat of Alexandria, small-berried Muscat, Lairén, Doradilla and Rome, with Pedro Ximénez and the Muscats preferred; yields are capped at 12,000 kg/ha and grapes need 12 % natural alcohol. Vineyards rise from sea level to 1,000 m: slate slopes in Axarquía and the Montes, chalky albariza soils near the Atlantic in Manilva and deep soils on the Antequera plateau in the Norte. ¹

Five families of wine. Liqueur wines are fortified with wine spirit to 15–22 % actual alcohol, at least 17.5 % total for sweet and 15 % for dry ones. Wines from overripe grapes need no added alcohol; «Naturalmente Dulce» uses only Pedro Ximénez or Muscat must above 300 g/l of sugar and reaches at least 13 % actual alcohol and 80 g/l of sugar. Raisined-grape wine keeps over 140 g/l, and the dry wine at least 15 % with under 4 g/l. ¹³

Asoleo, Maestro and Tierno. In asoleo, bunches are spread out in the sun until the berries partly dry without rotting, briefly or for a long time. Dulce Natural comes from must with at least 212 g/l of sugar that ferments to 7 % before fortification; Maestro is fortified with 8 % spirit before fermenting and stops at 15–16 % with over 100 g/l of sugar; Tierno comes from long-sunned grapes with must above 350 g/l. ¹

Arrope and colour. Arrope is must boiled down to a third over a direct flame or in a bain-marie, and pantomima is arrope reduced by half again; they give aged liqueur wines their colour. The labels follow the share of arrope: Dorado without it, Rojo dorado up to 5 %, Oscuro 5–10 %, Color 10–15 % and Negro or Dunkel 15 % or more; Pale Dry, Pale Cream, Pajarete, Cream and Sweet mark sugar and style. ¹

Ageing and special terms. Wines age in oak casks of up to 1,000 litres, by single vintages or criaderas and soleras, and liqueur wines except Pálido spend at least six months on average in wood. Noble means 2–3 years, Añejo 3–5 and Trasañejo more than 5; Lágrima is made only from free-run juice and becomes Lacrimae Christi after more than two years. ¹

On the label. Not all Málaga is fortified: Dulce Natural, Maestro and Tierno contain added spirit, while Naturalmente Dulce gets all its alcohol from the grapes, so read the type and the Regulatory Council back label. ¹ A subzone name requires all the grapes from there, an area or municipality 85 %. ¹ The WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁵