Aging of Malaga wines
Everyone knows the prestige and universality of traditional Malaga wines. But far from its prestige and universality, the way of calling the different types of aging or aging of these traditional Malaga wines gives rise to confusion or, even more, is unknown to the majority of consumers of our magnificent Malaga oenological jewels.
More accustomed to the use that has been applied when determining the different types of aging of reds and whites in Spain, in Malaga, and according to winery tradition, a different name is given to each wine depending on the aging time that have.
It is something so characteristic, unique and ours, the way of naming the wines covered by the Malaga Denomination of Origin, which implies part of the richness and variety of our wines.
To do this, you must know that in Málaga there are two designations of origin that regulate the different preparations that are produced in our province: Málaga and Sierras de Málaga.
Malaga Denomination of Origin
The Málaga Denomination of Origin covers liqueur wines, or wines in which wine alcohol has been added at some point during their production, or still sweet wines (without the addition of wine alcohol).
For these wines, and depending on the aging or aging time of the wine, we can call them:
Pale Wine: it would be a wine aged for less than 6 months. Examples of these wines are, our Quitapenas Dorado or our Quitapenas Plata. Two Muscat wines, young, not aged and of exceptional quality.
Malaga Wine: the aging of these wines should be between 6 to 24 months. The most recognized of our wines, the Penalties Malaga. A Pedro Ximénez wine with 12 months of oxidative aging in American oak barrels.
Noble Wine: between 2 to 3 years to be able to call a wine noble within the DO Málaga. An example of this type of breeding is our delicious PX Noble, aged for 2 years in American oak barrels.
Aged Wine: 3 to 5 years of aging, such as, for example, our Pajarete Take off. It is more than 3 years old in American oak wood. In short, an exceptional wine.
Trasañejo Wine: must be aged for more than 5 years. Our Oro Viejo, aged for more than 5 years, is the example of this type of aging in Málaga wines.
Designation of Origin Sierras de Málaga
The Sierras de Málaga Denomination of Origin protects still wines, or more specifically, red, white and rosé wines.
These wines, and very similar to the way of defining their aging in other denominations of origin in Spain, can be:
Aging: It must have a minimum of 2 years of total aging, in which at least 6 months of them must be in oak barrels.
Reserva: Between 3 to 5 years in which at least 12 months of them have to be in oak barrels
Gran Reserva: for red, white or rosé wines with more than 5 years of aging in which at least 24 months of them are in contact with an oak barrel and 36 months in the bottle.
Red Oak: Finca Ernite
In recent years, it is also being considered to call Roble wine, although there is currently no regulation in the specifications of the DO Sierras de Málaga, for wines that, with less than 24 months of aging and that could be considered young wines, It has contact with oak barrels, but it does not have the time requirement of an aging wine. This is the case for example of our red Ernite Estate.
Finca Ernite, a red wine made with Tempranillo grapes from Ronda. It is aged for 5 months and 17 days in French and American oak barrels. In addition, it has spent another 7 months in the bottle refining, to achieve that optimal balance before going on the market as a high-quality red wine.
That is why we invite you to enjoy a little more with a tasting in our winery. You will be able to enjoy everything related to everything related to a good wine and a good time Quitapenas. Health!
