Malaga wines
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What wines should you try when on holiday in Malaga...?

Local Malaga wines to try

Sarah Delbeke, Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, asks: I’m holidaying on the Spanish coast near Malaga this summer. I know it’s famous for its sweet fortified wine, but how about dry wines.

Researching online, it seems to be mainly dull international grapes, and Tempranillo – the only grape that sounds remotely interesting is the red Romé. What is this like?

Sarah Jane Evans MW replies: Romé is found at higher altitudes above Malaga. It’s a pale red with good cherry fruit character.

Clara Verheij and André Both are producers of the Ariyanas wines at Bodegas Bentomiz in the Axarquia region east of Malaga, and have been reviving the variety. Given its low pigmentation, their 100% Romé is a rosado. Their red is a blend of Romé with three other varieties.

Malaga is rightly famous for its sweet Moscatels, revived in recent times by Telmo Rodriguez. Do try them.

As for dry wines, look out for the aromatic dry white Moscatels. Try the Ariyanas Seco Sobre Lías Finas, and the partly barrel-fermented Botani from Jorge Ordóñez, both from the Sierras de Malaga DO.

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Sarah Jane Evans MW
Sarah Jane Evans MW
Decanter Magazine, Wine Writer, DWWA 2019 Co-Chair

Sarah Jane Evans MW is an award-winning journalist who began writing about wine (and food, restaurants, and chocolate) in the 1980s. She started drinking Spanish wine - Sherry, to be specific - as a student of classics and social and political sciences at Cambridge University. This started her lifelong love affair with the country’s wines, food and culture, leading to her appointment as a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros de Vino for services to Spanish wine. In 2006 she became a Master of Wine, writing her dissertation on Sherry and winning the Robert Mondavi Winery Award. Currently vice-chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, Evans divides her time between contributing to leading wine magazines and reference books, wine education and judging wines internationally.