Maltese wine - a detour from the Langudoc to visit Delicata Wines
It was a walking holiday on Malta and I had not really thought about Maltese wine at all, but on the first evening, we ordered a bottle of the island’s white wine, a fragrant wine with an obscure name, Girgentina. We actually spent a week walking on the smaller island of Gozo, where luxurious patches of broad beans were to be seen – an English allotment holder’s envy – but very few vineyards. Research on Google revealed that Argentina was an indigenous grape variety, not be founded anywhere else. And further research produced the names of the two principal wine producers of the island, Marsovin and Delicata. Delicata had the more welcoming website, complete with an email address if you would like to visit, so I winged an email and immediately received a response from Matthew Delicata and an appointment was made.
Matthew explained that he is the fourth generation of wine producers. His origins are Sicilian, from the village of Licata, hence Delicata. The beginnings with his great grandfather were humble; essentially, he was a home winemaker at the beginning of the 20th century, from 1907. His grandfather took over in 1937 and started a more serious commercial operation after the war. Hitherto it had been what Matthew described as 'a barrel and a donkey and a jug' business. His father joined the company in the 1970s and increased their production. During the 1970s and 1980s, it was a protected market with price controls, and imports of wine were heavily taxed by the Maltese government. With a captive market, quality was not really a consideration, and that situation lasted until the 1990s. But once Malta joined the European Union in 2004, there was no more protection and quality became a consideration.
The island has two indigenous varieties, the afore mentioned Girgentina for white wines and Gellewża for reds. Cabernet Sauvignon and other international varities arrived in the 1990s and in the early 2000s there was a big push to plant, with the help of EU subsidies. Delicata have no vineyards of their own and buy the production of about 90 hectares of vines, of which just five are on the island of Gozo, and from about 220 growers – that makes an average holding of about 60 ares. Usually each farmer has two varieties, a red and a white. It is a long harvest, beginning in early August with Chardonnay and Sauvignon and finishing at the end of September with Mourvèdre and Carignan. The soil is predominantly limestone and rainfall is an issue; they can irrigate if they have access to water. And certainly the few vineyards we saw were equipped for irrigation. There are old bush vines while newer vineyards are trained on wires. Canopy management can focus on avoiding sunburnt grapes.
A lack of grapes can be an issue. Matthew observed that the wineries can fight for grapes – diplomacy skills are essential. You need to be an UN negotiator! You have the growers who have done business with your father on just a handshake and others who will negotiate . Mr X will pay me so much; will you match their offer. Prices are based on weight, but with quality parameters. 13 years ago they were paying 70-80 cts a kilo. Today the going rate is 1.50 – 1.60€ a kilo, with prices increasing to 2 – 2.50€, to keep pace with demand.
The winemaking facilities at Delicata have been modernised ove the years, so there are the standard stainless-steel vats and oak barrels. Matthew observed that his father had had to fight to get rid of the old concrete vats and of course now he would have kept them. Matthew is the winemaker but has had no formal training and learn on the spot, after studying chemistry and computer science. He has a Croatia assistant winemaker who has also worked at Cloudy Bay in New Zealand.
Not only do they produce wine from grapes grown on Malta but they also blend and bottle wines imported from Europe, Spain, France and Italy. Maltese wine accounts for 40% of their business. Almost everything is sold on Malta, to the locals who appreciate their local wine, and also to the growing tourist trade. The important local market means they can operate a very efficient system for recycling bottles. The average bottle could be used as many as nine times. We admired a machine that removed labels and sterilised the bottles, preparing them for the next fill. There are numerous job opportunities in tourism on Malta, with the result that people are reluctant to work in agriculture, and climate is having an impact too. Maltese wine consumption is relatively stable but they also drink beer and spirits, particularly whisky, which Matthew attributed to the colonial effect, reminding me that Malta was a British crown colony from 1813. to 1964.
Malta has two appellations, DOK, or Denominazzjoni ta’ Origini Kontrollata, one for each of the islands of Malta and Gozo and an PGI, The Maltese Islands, for a blend of both.
We tasted in what had once been an old coal wharf, for the premises are conveniently situated by the port. Matthew explained that they have three quality levels: Medina DOK Malta for different varieties, vinified in stainless-steel without any oak ageing. Victoria Heights is the same quality, but from the island of Gozo. Hauteville covers wines aged in oak, Chardonnay and Viognier for whites, and several reds, in memory of the Norman knight, Roger de Hauteville, who liberated Malta from the Arabs in 1090 and their flagship is Gran Cavalier, with reference to the knights of Malta.
The retail prices are the Maltese price in a wine shop.
Gellewźa Frizzante – 7.00€ -
Carbonated, but will be changing to the Charmat method. Demi Sec with 35 gms/l residual sugar. Good mousse, which faded into a gentle prickle of bubbles. Pale orange pink in colour. Quite sweet with some raspberry fruit on the nose and palate. A pleasantly undemanding aperitif.
2024 Medina Vermentino Zibbibo – 9.50€
Vermentino accounts for 80% of the blend with 20% Zibbibo which is the Sicilian name for Muscat d’Alexandrie. Sicily is very close to Malta. Apparently on a clear day you can see Etna. Matthew observed that Chardonnay is the most popular of the international varieties, while others are gaining in popularity. Sauvignon is considered quite trendy. Light colour, some attractive bitter notes of Muscat, with some grapey fruity notes. They want to focus on the fruit and would like a little more complexity. Most of the vineyards are close to the old capital of Malta, the lovely town of Mdina.
2024 Gran Cavalier Sauvignon Blanc – 13€
From three separate vineyards. Some skin contact overnight. No oak; only stainless steel. Careful selection of the grapes. Good varietal character, but not too ripe, firm and fresh and slightly pungent.
2023 Chardonnay Reserve – 13€
Twelve months in barrels for 50% of the wine, in new oak from Seguin Moreau, and the other half in stainless steel. From four vineyards, with low yields. Lightly buttery nose, with a firm palate. Restrained oak that was nicely integrated, and some buttery fruit. Well balanced.
2022 Medina Gelleźwa – 9.50€
No oak. A modest 12 %. Light red. A fresh nose, and on the palate fresh fruit, with some acidity and a streak of tannin. Nicely refreshing.
2022 Merlot Reserve – 15.00€
Fermented in stainless steel and aged in oak for 12 months, one third new. From three vineyards near Mdina. Good colour. Quite ripe but balanced cassis fruit. On the palate ripe fruit with supple tannins. Merlot apparently does better than Cabernet, as it doesn’t over crop and it doesn’t burn, so it is much easier in the vineyards.
And then I asked Matthew about future projects. He would like to use the Charmat method for his sparkling wine. And he would like to try sun drying Gelleżwa, to make something that is not exactly Amarone, but along those lines. And he would like his own vineyard, but land is expensive, 800,000€ a hectare, which is far more expensive than the Languedoc. He is also an aspiring Master of Wine, taking the exams in June, so I wished him very good luck.
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