Why would I buy Pepe Mendoza’s Pureza Moscatel (Wine Society, £15.50), a wine that I’d never tasted before from a producer that I wasn’t familiar with and made in an area famous for wines of dubious quality?
The answer: a review in Decanter magazine. I’m usually not a big follower of wine scores but Decanter awarding 94 points (out of 100) for a wine costing under £20 is rare. So, I read on. And things got more interesting. Here was a dry wine made from the Moscatel variety (also known as Muscat or Moscato). Muscat is grown widely across southern Europe and the Mediterranean, but almost always for sweet wines – think Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, for example. How would it work fermented dry? Then, it came from Alicante in south-east Spain. This is an area better known for cheap and cheerful plonk aimed at the local tourists but I know there are some interesting wines made close by in the DOs of Jumilla and Yecla. Could this be another one? And, finally, it was described as fermented and aged in clay amphorae. I was convinced and included a bottle in my Wine Society order.
When I opened it, I could taste why the Decanter reviewers had been impressed. It’s not flashy in any way, just fresh and quite delicate with the Moscatel grape bringing a floral character to the wine alongside some lovely plum and mandarin flavours. The impact of the amphora? Not obvious – which is exactly how it should be! Although amphorae have been used in many different ways for thousands of years, modern winemakers are taking to them increasingly because they are slightly porous and admit tiny amounts of air which develops the wine and adds some nutty complexity. This is the same idea as using oak barrels except that amphorae are made of clay or concrete and so don’t introduce their own flavours, as oak would.
Decanter thought it would pair well with paella, a typical Spanish chicken and rice dish; we varied this a bit by including some delicate Asian flavours and that, too, worked perfectly.
Wine talks and tastings 