Moscatel Sherry

The Moscatel variety originated in Africa, is now grown in many wine regions around the world, and was already referred to by Columela, writing in early Christian times. Other names for the grape include Moscatel de Alejandría, Moscatel gordo and Moscatel de España, and Moscatel wine from the region generally goes under the name 'de Chipiona'. Winegrowing in the region is far older than the style: the Greek geographer Strabo, writing in the 1st century BC, recorded that the Phoenicians brought the first vines to the Jerez region in 1100 BC. Phylloxera arrived in the Sherry region in 1894, and the first Spanish Wine Law, published in 1933, referred to the Denomination of Origin Jerez and its Consejo Regulador, the first to be legally constituted in Spain.

• The Moscatel variety originated in Africa and was mentioned by Columela in early Christian times
• Strabo (1st century BC) recorded Phoenician vines reaching the Jerez region in 1100 BC
• Phylloxera arrived in the Sherry region in 1894
• The 1933 Spanish Wine Law referred to the DO Jerez and its Consejo Regulador, the first legally constituted in Spain

Ten towns have vineyards in the Denomination of Origin: Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Chiclana de la Frontera, Chipiona, Puerto Real, Rota, Trebujena, San José del Valle and Lebrija, the last in the province of Seville. On 1 August 2025 the Consejo Regulador's registers held 6,866.74 hectares of vineyard, 77.25 hectares of them in Chipiona. The region's defining soil is albariza, a limestone soil of chalk and clay; barros (clays) and arenas (sands) also occur, and sands are more commonly found in coastal areas. Moscatel belongs to that coast. Its vineyards are close to the beach in sandy soils with considerable maritime influence, and the variety is best suited to vineyards close to the sea. It is very common in coastal zones with sandy soils, especially in Chipiona, home to one of the region's most symbolic grape varieties, Moscatel. The climate brings more than 300 days of sun a year on average, average rainfall above 600 litres per square metre a year, and two prevailing winds, the warm levante and the mild, humid poniente.

• Ten towns have vineyards in the DO; Lebrija lies in the province of Seville
• 6,866.74 ha of registered vineyard on 1 August 2025, 77.25 ha of it in Chipiona
• Moscatel vineyards sit close to the beach in sandy soils with considerable maritime influence
• More than 300 days of sun a year and over 600 litres of rain per square metre on average

The vinos dulces naturales are wines obtained by fortifying overripe or raisined grape musts with alcohol, followed by oxidative ageing of at least two years. Moscatel is the type made from at least 85% musts of Moscatel grapes, with or without raisining, and Moscatel de Alejandría is the Moscatel on the DOP's list of authorised varieties. The Consejo Regulador's vinification page goes further: Moscatel wines are made exclusively from Moscatel de Alejandría grapes harvested when very ripe. The grapes can also be sunned. Asoleo exposes the bunches to the sun to partially dehydrate the berries and concentrate their sugars and acids. Sunning Moscatel works in much the same way as for Pedro Ximénez, but because Moscatel de Alejandría grapes are bigger, sunning dries them out less, and because most Moscatel vines are in sandy soil near the sea, the sunning often takes place on paseras of sand. In sweet vinification, the musts or fermenting musts, from fresh or sunned grapes, are fortified with alcohol of wine origin to prevent or stop fermentation. Ageing takes place in botas, the local name for oak casks of no more than 1,000 litres. Moscatel ageing is carried out exclusively with air contact, bringing progressive aromatic concentration and increasing complexity without losing the freshness and fruity character of the grape.

• Vinos dulces naturales: fortified overripe or raisined musts plus at least two years of oxidative ageing
• Moscatel type: at least 85% Moscatel musts, with or without raisining
• Asoleo partially dehydrates the berries and concentrates sugars and acids; Moscatel's bigger berries dry out less than Pedro Ximénez in the sun
• Fortification with alcohol of wine origin prevents or stops fermentation
• 'de Pasas' may complete the type name for wines from raisined grapes with more than 212 g/L of sugar

Under the pliego, Moscatel carries 15 to 22% vol alcohol and 160 g/L or more of sugar, expressed as glucose and fructose. The Consejo Regulador's Moscatel page gives the same alcohol range but sugar of more than 160 g per litre, and adds total acidity of 3 to 5 g per litre (tartaric) and volatile acidity below 0.8 g per litre (acetic). The two descriptions of the wine differ too. The pliego's runs from pale gold to intense mahogany in colour, with white flower and/or citrus aromas and a sweet but balanced palate; the Consejo's tasting notes run from chestnut to intense mahogany, with jasmine, orange blossom and honeysuckle, citrus notes of lime and grapefruit, a restrainedly sweet palate and a slightly dry, bitter finish. Serve Moscatel slightly chilled, between 12 and 14 °C, in a white wine glass; its structure allows an opened bottle to be kept for a few months. For the 2025 harvest, 690 of the 47,694 botas of qualified must were Moscatel, a bota being 500 litres.

• 15 to 22% vol alcohol; 160 g/L or more of sugar
• Total acidity 3 to 5 g/L (tartaric); volatile acidity below 0.8 g/L (acetic)
• Colour from pale gold to intense mahogany, white flower and/or citrus aromas
• Serve slightly chilled at 12 to 14 °C

Lustau's Moscatel Emilín is 100% Moscatel from Lustau's vineyard Las Cruces in Chipiona, aged for 8 years in Jerez de la Frontera, at 17% alcohol. Valdespino's Toneles, sold on the Grupo Estévez shop, is 100% Moscatel de Alejandría with oxidative ageing, an age of around 100 years, 430 g/L of residual sugar and a very limited annual bottling of 250 half bottles.

• Lustau Moscatel Emilín: 100% Moscatel from Las Cruces, Chipiona, aged 8 years in Jerez de la Frontera
• Valdespino Toneles: 100% Moscatel de Alejandría, oxidative ageing, around 100 years of age

Primary sources (Consejo Regulador Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and its pliego de condiciones, and producers' own sites): https://www.sherry.wine/documents/597/21052026_Pliego_Jerez_1wBQg8y.pdf, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/naturally-sweet-sherry-wine/moscatel, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/naturally-sweet-sherry-wine, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/vinification, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/viticulture, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-region/history-of-sherry, https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-region/sherry-wine-region, https://www.sherry.wine/documents/593/Memoria_2025_compressed_1.pdf, https://lustau.es/en/shop/sherry-wines/solera-familiar-en/lustau-moscatel-emilin/, https://www.grupoestevez.com/tienda/toneles/. Last verified 2026-10-05