This prestigious and rare wine speaks of the history of the island of Sardinia. It must be made from at least 95% Malvasia Sarda, a grape believed to have been imported from Greece during the period of the Byzantine empire; and it is usually aged in an ‘oxidative’ style, using Jerez’s Solera system: the island was under Iberian rule from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries.
So Malvasia di Bosa wines often remind us of Sherry. They can be vinified secco, amabile or dolce, which is to say, dry, off-dry or sweet. Riserva versions must age for at least two years, of which one in wood. Dry, sparkling bottlings are permitted. But the rarest and most important – the ones which fetch the highest prices – are the sweet dessert Passito versions.
Named sub-zones include Suni, Modolo, Tinnura, Flussio, Magomadas, Tresnuraghes and Bosa.
MTW customers visit the pretty town of Bosa (pictured) and Bosa wineries as part of our Northern Sardinia trip.