Bodegas Cinco Léguas Madrid La Maldición Malvar 2022

La Maldición Malvar is a skin-fermented white made from Malvar, an indigenous grape of the countryside east of Madrid.

Vinos de Madrid is a small denomination in the hills around the capital, and the Arganda subzone where this wine is grown lies high enough that the nights stay cold. Marc Isart first made this wine in 2013 from a single 0.44-hectare plot of old bush vines at Valdilecha, rooted in chalky clay at around 730 metres. The farming is organic and biodynamic and the yields are meagre. The winemaking is deliberately old-fashioned: the juice ferments on skins and stalks for 50 days, the way Spanish farmers here worked before stainless steel, which suits a variety that naturally carries good acidity and a bitter-almond edge. After pressing, the wine matures in old 300-litre casks. The result is mouthcoating and saline, with deep citrus and mineral drive, and it gives a glimpse of how this part of Spain used to drink.

Textural enough to serve at the table rather than as an aperitif; try it with roast chicken, grilled octopus or a hard sheep's cheese at 11-12°C.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.