Passito Malvasia MalvaMunt

100% Malvasia di Candia from dried grapes in crates, aged 6 months in barrique, 15% vol. – Independent Winemakers, Santa Brigida Hill

Intense gold in the glass, apricot, peach, and honey on the nose, sweet but never cloying: the mountain passito that accompanies aged cheeses and closes important dinners.

MalvaMunt, Passito of Malvasia di Dellerba

There are wines that are made in one season and wines that span two. MalvaMunt, Alex and Andrea Dellerba's passito, is one of the latter. The Malvasia di Candia grapes are hand-picked in the first half of September in the Santa Brigida vineyard, at 540 meters above sea level, facing southwest on sandy, mineral soils. Then, instead of being pressed, they are laid out in special crates and left to dry naturally for at least six months, while winter sets in outside. During this slow drying process, the water evaporates, leaving behind concentrated sugars, aromas, and acidity. Only in January or February are the grapes, now almost raisins, crushed, destemmed, and pressed; the dense must ferments in steel tanks, and the wine ages another six months in oak barrels before bottling. The name combines Malvasia and currency, meaning "mountain" in Piedmontese: it's a high-altitude passito, a deep golden color with aromas of apricot, ripe peach, and honey. It's sweet on the palate, yet supported by a balanced acidity and a very long finish. A meditation wine and a wine for aged cheeses, produced in small quantities by independent winemakers and capable of aging in bottle for five years.
 
 
 

The roots of this Passito lie in Crete and in the cellars of Venice

"Candia" is the name the Venetians gave to Crete, the island they ruled for over four centuries and from which barrels of the most famous wine of the Renaissance were shipped throughout Europe: Malvasia di Candia, sweet and golden, made from grapes left to dry in the Mediterranean sun. It was the wine of kings and banquets, so famous it entered literature: Shakespeare has the Duke of Clarence drowned in a barrel of it. Malmsey, the Malvasia of the English, and in the Italian courts, a glass of Candia concluded every important dinner. By the time the island fell, the vines had already traveled: the aromatic Malvasia di Candia found a home in Italy, especially in the Emilian hills, and the drying technique adapted to the northern climates, where the sun gave way to racks and crates in ventilated attics, as in the tradition of Alpine passito wines in Piedmont. MalvaMunt brings together the two sides of this story: a grape native to the Greek Mediterranean and a winter drying method in the mountains, at an altitude of 540 meters facing Monviso. The wine of the Doges, remade by two brothers from Pinerolo.
 
 
 

Choosing Dellerba's MalvaMunt means taking care of the land

A passito is the most demanding wine a small winery can produce: a kilo of grapes yields a fraction of the wine it would produce fresh, and each bunch must be perfect to withstand six months of drying without rotting. This is why MalvaMunt better than any other wine illustrates the Dellerba family's working methods: CCPB-certified organic vineyards, fertilized only with manure from the company's Piedmontese cows, soils never worked deeply to allow them to breathe, and strictly manual harvesting to select only the healthy, sparse bunches suitable for drying.natural drying in boxes It does not consume energy, it relies on the dry air of the mountain winter; the cellar works with solar panels and the passage in barrique It lasts the time necessary, six months, to round off without covering the fruit. The brand of the Independent Winemakers It guarantees that everything happens on a single hill. A wine like this is best enjoyed in small sips, in small glasses, and in good company: moderation is part of the pleasure.
 
 
 

Technical Data

• Name: white wine from dried grapes
• Type: sweet passito
• Grape variety: 100% Malvasia di Candia
• Training system: Guyot
• Exposure: South-West
• Altitude: 540 m asl
• Soil: sandy, highly mineral
• Harvest: manual, first half of September
• Drying: natural, in special boxes, for at least 6 months
• Vinification: in January/February crushing, destemming, pressing and alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks
• Aging: 6 months in oak barrels before bottling
• Alcohol: 15% vol.
• Serving temperature: 8-10 ° C
• Aging potential: 5 years in bottle
• Certification: Independent Winemakers
• It contains SULPHITES

Organoleptic Examination

Visual examination. In the glass, MalvaMunt is a deep, luminous golden yellow, with amber highlights that intensify with age. Its consistency is dense, almost oily, and the tears fall slowly and thickly onto the glass, as befits a wine made from dried grapes rich in sugars and extract. This color alone signals the concentration of the sip.

Olfactory examination. The nose is intense and warm, dominated by ripe fruit: apricot e fishery in jam, then dried and candied fruit, fig and orange peel, and an enveloping nuance of honey of flowers. The drying process offers notes of raisins and saffron, the barrique a hint of vanilla and toasted hazelnut, and underneath it all, the aromatics of Malvasia linger, with their hints of yellow flowers and aromatic herbs.

Taste test. The entrance is sweet, full and velvety, but not cloying: the good acidity The mountain grapes keep the wine upright and smooth, while the structure and warmth of 15 degrees give it body and depth. Apricot, honey, and dried fruit return in the mouthfeel and stretch out into a very long persistence, with a clean, slightly savory finish that invites a second, small sip. A balanced, pleasant, and serious passito.
 
 
 

Gastronomic pairings

The MalvaMunt thrives on contrasts and affinities. The contrast is with the aged cheeses, blue cheeses and long-ripened sheep and goat cheeses: the savoury and spicy flavours of the cheese meet the sweetness of the wine and balance each other, with the acidity cleansing the palate. The affinity is with dessertDry and soaked desserts, fruit tarts, hazelnut and almond cakes, zabaglione, panettone, and nougat for the holidays, and pastries made with ripe fruit and honey, which echo its aromas. Also excellent on its own, as a meditation wine at the end of the evening, or with foie gras or pâtés at the start of a grand meal. Serve chilled, at 8-10°C, in small dessert glasses.
 
 
 

How to Best Use: Passito Malvasia MalvaMunt

• THE BOARD OF MATURE GOAT CHEESES – The great classic of passito. Arrange the Seasoned Goat's Cacioricotta Orazio, intense and savoury, and the Goat's Caciotta, softer, with the Extra Fig Jam, some Burè pears in syrup, which takes up the fruit of the wine, and the Organic Raw Hazelnuts in Shell To be crushed at the table. Fresh MalvaMunt, poured into small glasses, bridges the gap between savory and sweet.
• HOT MALVAMUNT ZABAIONE WITH PEARS AND PALMINA BISCUITS – The Piedmontese dessert made with the wine you drink. Whisk three egg yolks in a bain-marie with three tablespoons of sugar and half a glass of MalvaMunt until the cream is frothy and warm; serve in glasses with Organic Kaiser Pears cooked in wedges in the same passito, Organic Mugello Biscuit to dip. A small square of 71% Organic Dark Chocolate next to the cup, and the MalvaMunt in the glass, close the circle.
• THE HOLIDAY PASSITO – At Christmas, MalvaMunt replaces sweet sparkling wine with much more personality. Serve it with Panettone with DOP Saffron, Whiskey, and Chamomile, whose spicy notes interact with the drying, or with the more essential Panettone with Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The Producer: Dellerba

Alex and Andrea Dellerba have been cultivating the Santa Brigida hill in Pinerolo since 2012: organic vineyards of Freisa, Barbera, Favorita, and Malvasia, orchards, pastures for Piedmontese cattle, and a farm with an educational farm, complete with a cellar built into the rock that exudes spring water. MalvaMunt is their most patient wine: two seasons of work for a bottle that will live through another five.
 
 
 

Ingredients

Dried Malvasia di Candia grapes. Contains SULPHITES.
 
 
 

Nutritional Values ​​(average values ​​per 100ml of product)

• Energy: 347,06 kJ / 82,95 kcal
• Alcohol: 15% vol.

Storage and Disposal

Suitable for aging: store the bottles lying down in a cool, dark place, without temperature fluctuations, where it can mature for five years, enriching itself with notes of dried fruit and honey. Serve at 8-10°C in small glasses. Thanks to the concentration of sugars and alcohol, an opened bottle keeps well in the refrigerator, tightly closed, for one to two weeks. Disposal: bottle in the glass recycling bin, cork in the organic waste bin or designated collection points, and cap according to your local council's instructions.
 
 
 

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