Moscatel de Setúbal is a Portuguese

muscatel Muscatel ( ) may refer to any type of wine made from muscat grapes. In the United States, however, “muscatel” normally refers only to fortified wine made from these grapes. Fortified muscatel became popular in the United States at the end of ...

produced around the

Setúbal Municipality Setúbal ( , , ; ), officially the City of Setúbal (), is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the entire municipality in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies withi ...

on the

Península de Setúbal The Península de Setúbal (; ) is a NUTS II subdivision of Portugal. Comprising several municipalities and urban centres, the subregion's capital is Setúbal, and includes several other cities including Almada. History The region of Setúbal was ...

. The region is known primarily for its

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

wines known as Moscatel de Setúbal. The style was believed to have been invented by José Maria da Fonseca, the founder of José Maria da Fonseca, the oldest industrial-scale table wine producer in Portugal dating back to 1834. J.M. Fonseca company still holds a quasi-monopoly control over the production of Moscatel de Setúbal today.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 333 Dorling Kindersley 2005

Wine styles

Similar to

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

, Moscatel de Setúbal wines are wood aged until they are bottled. They can be made from grapes of a single

vintage In winemaking, vintage is the process of picking grapes to create wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine ...

or in a "non-vintage" style as a blend of several vintages. The wines tend to be at their freshest and more fruity styles at up to around 5–6 years of age, where they have pronounced

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

notes. As they age, the wines get darker with more

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

caramel Caramel ( or ) is a range of food ingredients made by heating sugars to high temperatures. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons or candy bars, as a topping for ice cream and custard, and as a colorant ...

and nutty aromas and flavors.

Grapes

The DOC regulations for Moscatel de Setúbal specify that the wines are to be composed primarily of

Muscat of Alexandria Muscat of Alexandria is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of ''Vitis vinifera''. It is considered an "ancient vine", and wine experts believe it is one of the oldest genetically unmodified vines still in existence.J. Robi ...

or Moscatel Roxo. The blend can include up to 30% of

Arinto Arinto or Arinto de Bucelas is a white Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Bucelas, Tejo and Vinho Verde regions. It can produce high acid wines with lemon notes. Synonyms Arinto is also known by the synonyms Arintho, Arintho du Dao ...

, Boais, Diagalves, Fernao Pires,

Malvasia Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...

, Olho de Lebre,

Rabo de Ovelha Rabo de Ovelha (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "Sheep's tail") is white Portuguese wine grape variety that is grown all over Portugal. It should not be confused with the red Rabo de Anho grape variety that is found in the Vinho Verde region. R ...

Roupeiro Roupeiro is a white Portuguese wine grape planted primarily in the Alentejo and Douro regions. In Alentejo, the grape is known as Alva. In the Douro, it is known as Codega. J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 121 Abbevil ...

, Talia,

Tamarez Tamarez is a grape variety that is the basis for a white Portuguese wine. It is associated with the Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its nam ...

and Vital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Setubal DOC Wine regions of Portugal Portuguese products with protected designation of origin

Wine styles

Grapes

See also

References