Winery: Set d'Oli
Designation of Origin: Without D.O.
Vintage: 2020
Variety: 100% Malvasía de Sitges
Alcohol content: 13.5% vol.
Tasting notes:Appearance: a golden yellow color, with a lot of intensity, very bright and clean, a swirling in the glass with glyceric hints that show us a good and beautiful tear.
Nose: offers intense aromas of ripe stone fruits (peach, apricot) and tropical notes.
Pallet: Costenc is dry and fresh with a balanced acidity on the palate. Service temperature: 10-12º CElaboration: It is a truly different and possibly unique wine, as we are talking about a wine made as a single varietal with a white grape recovered such as Malvasía de Sitges. A grape recovered by this project, Set & Ros, made outside of the DO, and aged in barrels for 6 months which gives it great complexity. A limited production of 3,400 bottles of this estate wine.
Pairing: At Made in Spain Gourmet we recommend it with fish, seafood, white meats, poultry, soups, creams, vegetables. And of course with semi-cured vegan cheeses from Veggie Karma and semi-cured sheep cheeses from Calaveruela.

Costenc, a wine for design-loving winelovers

Like something out of the sea, the 'coastal' Costenc wine conquers inside and out... It is made with grapes 'punished by the sea' of the forgotten Malvasía de Sitges variety, whose essence is reflected in the bottle itself, which seems to have half its body damaged by salt as if it were a buoy. It is a wine with character, fresh, with aromatic complexity in ripe fruits and floral notes, of which only 3,400 numbered bottles are made. The marine erosion of the vineyards marks its flavor and is reflected in a container that speaks for itself.
A masterpiece that has just received one of the most relevant awards in the sector, the Gold for packaging design at the Best of European Design & Advertising Awards. So if your partner loves design and wine, this is a sure hit.
Main characteristics of the Malvasía grape
Before describing this type of grape, you must be aware that we are talking about one of the oldest grapes in the country. There are not many regions with this grape as its production is low due to its sensitivity, it tends to be very susceptible to various diseases so they are gradually replaced by stronger varieties.
Its cluster is medium-sized and not very compact, it is extremely sensitive to rot, a fatal characteristic in wine production. The sensitivity of this grape means that not many people bet on it, therefore wines made with Malvasía are unique and very special.
It is an international variety as we can find it in Portugal as the protagonist in the production of Madeira Wine, in France, Croatia, Slovenia and even in Brazil, but it is Italy the main producer of this variety. In Spain, there is also a wide extension. The autonomous communities of Castilla y León and Valencia are the clear representatives although in Aragón, Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Cantabria, La Rioja and Murcia also bet on it.
Origins of the Malvasía grape
According to the expert you talk to, they will tell you that this variety comes from Asia or Greece. The exact place of origin is not clear nor the grape varieties that precede it, but its Greek origin is important. It is said that those responsible for introducing it to Spain, in the 14th century, were the Almogavars. These guerrilla troops, organized and dominated by the kings of the Crown of Aragon, settled on the coasts of Valencia upon returning from expeditions to Byzantium.
From this variety, several subvarieties have emerged, due to its great internationalization: Alarije, Chasselas, aromatic Malvasía, Castilian Malvasía, pink Malvasía, volcanic Malvasía or black Malvasía. Depending on the production area in which it is made, you can find one variety or another.
Characteristics of wines made with Malvasía grape
Within this group, we can find everything from the youngest wines made