What was the best tasting of 2024? It seems unfair to me to reduce the experiences of an entire year to a single moment, but there is certainly one that aroused my curiosity the most. It was on 26 January, in spring-like weather, in a restaurant by the sea in Malaga, facing a flight of old wines from the region made by the long-gone Larios winery.
The bottles came from a collection in northern Spain which also included old Rioja and Sherry from the first quarter of the 20th century. They were probably bought in the 1940s and it is likely that some of them were among the first bottlings after the Spanish Civil War or even earlier, some 80 or 90 years ago.
As fascinating as the wines were the contributions of my fellow tasters, starting with Helios Bueno, who discovered the bottles, and the Canadian-based Mexican collector and importer Alex Klip, who acquired the collection. They decided to hold the tasting in Málaga and invited a group of wine enthusiasts to join in. Victoria Ordóñez, a leading wine producer committed to recovering the wine-growing heritage of the Montes de Málaga, organised the gathering and was kind enough to tell me about it. Also present were the lawyer Javier Krauel, a descendant of a well-known German family who settled in Malaga at the end of the 18th century to produce, age and export wine; and the secretary of the DO Málaga Regulatory Board, José Manuel Moreno Ferreiro, an expert in the history and styles of Malaga wines.
Sommelier Michele Caimotto took care of the tricky service of the wines and shared his interesting tasting notes with the rest of the attendees a few days later. It was also a pleasure to talk to Thomas Götz, a wine journalist based in Spain, and with the Italian-Swiss physician and wine collector Stefan Persili, who has deep ties with the region (his wife is from Malaga) and its wines, especially since he bought at an auction a Málaga wine that had been bottled in his country, in Lenzburg to be precise, at the beginning of the 20th century. That bottle led him to discover the story of Alfred Zweifel, a businessman who aged Malaga wines in his own winery in Switzerland. The documentary Villa Málaga. El tiempo de un vino, directed by Eterio Ortega, tells the story of Persili's journey from the heart of Europe to the place where the wine originated.
The splendour of Málaga wines was forged in a very different historical period. Their reputation was hard-won through demanding quality practices in the vineyard, including different picking stages, proper sun-drying exposure for each type of wine and a selection of grape varieties among which Pedro Ximénez was the most appreciated and widely grown. The main production area was the one closest to the city, Montes de Málaga. Nowadays, these vineyards have almost disappeared, but in those days the hills were full of lagares, where the grapes were pressed and fermented. The wines were then aged in the port of Malaga to ease exports.
Fraud and compromising quality to meet high demand were constant risks. At the end of the 18th century, the purity of the wine was championed against the addition of alcohol, however, fortification eventually became a common practice to facilitate shipping.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Malaga wines is the complexity of the winemaking process, considering the many different base wines used as well as the addition of ingredients like arrope, a boiled grape must that adds a caramel-like flavour and affects the colour of the final wine. This article published in 2021 after another tasting, albeit with bottlings from the 1990s, provides more context on the historical evolution, the styles and the complex typology of the wines. The tasting included two examples from Larios: Benefique Oloroso and Moscatel Dehesa.
The history of Bodegas Larios is linked to the greatest setback suffered by the local wine industry: the arrival of phylloxera in the Iberian Peninsula via Malaga in 1878. The devastating insect, that attacked the roots and killed the vines, completely changed the wine-growing landscape of Montes de Málaga and drastically reduced the commercial capacity of its wineries.
The Larios were one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Malaga, with a leading role in both industry and local commerce. Active in politics, they were loved and hated in equal measure for their ability to combine wealth with the caciquism of the time. The family had its roots in Laguna de los Cameros, a village in what is now La Rioja, although when Pablo Larios Hereas, a cattle breeder and merchant, emigrated to Andalusia at the beginning of the 19th century, it was part of Soria. His son Martín, the first Marquis of Larios, laid the foundations of the family business by founding Industria Malagueña in 1846, which became the second largest textile company in Spain. He also exploited the potential of sugar cane, a market which he eventually came to dominate.
Wine came later, thanks to the financial support of the third Marquis of Larios, José Aurelio Larios y Larios, to the Lamothe winery. Prosper Lamothe, a native of Aquitaine in the Lower Pyrenees, was another immigrant who started in the wine business with Monsieur Mongrand, a partner and agent of his father in France. In 1852, Lamothe inherited the winery, named it after himself and began an expansion that led him to own numerous vineyards and wine presses on the outskirts of the city and as far as Vélez-Málaga. The lagar Benefique in the Montes de Málaga, which, as was customary at the time, was both a country house and a winemaking facility, was considered one of the most splendid of its kind.
His sons Carlos and Prosper had to face the phylloxera outbreak. They relied on the Banco de Málaga, the financial arm of the Larios business empire. This led to a gradual takeover of shares by the powerful family, first with the financial support of Fernando Jiménez, of Sociedad Azucarera Larios, which led the company to be renamed Jiménez y Lamothe and, finally, with the full takeover by Larios in 1918.
The company enjoyed a sweet moment with the opening of ‘la Aurora’, a modern distillery with a winery in Manzanares (Ciudad Real) that produced the base wines for distillation, all under the supervision of Monsieur Maresté, a French engineer and distiller from Cognac. Recognitions included a gold medal at the 1893 Chicago's Universal Exhibition and the title of "Purveyor to the Royal Household". The story can be read with more detail in Bodegas Universales de Málaga. Personajes, historia y etiquetado, written by Manuel Martínez Molina and published by CEDMA (Centro de Ediciones de la Diputación de Málaga) in 2021.
Focusing on liqueurs and spirits made perfect sense amid the wine crisis. José Manuel Moreno Ferreiro points out that at the beginning of the 20th century the Montes de Málaga were in a state of total abandonment. The efforts of the producers to preserve the vineyards and safeguard the quality of the wines were once again undermined by fraud and imitation. For this reason, in 1924, 100 years ago, the Trade Association of Winemakers and Exporters, founded at the end of the 19th century, registered the Malaga brand with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. This was the prelude to the creation of the DO in 1932. At the time there were fewer than 24,000 hectares of vineyards in the province, compared with 120,000 before phylloxera.
Although Larios continued to make wines like the ones in this tasting over the following decades, its focus was on spirits, particularly its best-selling gin, which led Pernod Ricard to buy the company's assets for 35 billion pesetas (over €210m) in 1997.
The tasting included 10 wines, nine old bottles from the aforementioned collection plus one Benefique Seco Trasañejo bottled in the 1990s (according to Moreno Ferreiro, the last bottling of this brand was in 2003). In total, there were six sweet wines and four dry wines, even though dry liqueur wines from Málaga (and all the samples were fortified wines) must have less than 45 g/l of sugar (see the table below, with the DO specifications).
In some cases, damaged or missing neck labels that provide specific information about the type and style of wine, prevented the most knowledgeable tasters from correctly identifying the name of the wine.
Only two wines mentioned grape varieties: a Moscatel, probably Dorado nº 81, and Pedro Ximénez Tres Cruces. Both brands date back to the time of the Lamothe family. Whilst José Manuel Moreno Ferreiro pointed out that the dry were made from Pedro Ximénez, Victoria Ordóñez recalled that in the past, Moscatel was cofermented with Pedro Ximénez -current regulations require 100% single-varietal wines to carry the mention. In the case of sweet liqueur wines, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel can be used separately or blended together.
The bottles were stored for two months in Vicotria Ordoñez’s cellar in Malaga. The old bottles were opened a week beforehand to allow the wines to re-compose. Most of the bottles were disgorged with hot tongs; when the cork could be removed the bottles were decanted (see image above) to avoid any residues in the glass. The Benefique was uncorked just before the tasting.
The idea of a comeback was always present in the background. Wines that had travelled around the world deserve to be enjoyed in their place of origin.
Apart from the good condition of the bottles, what surprised me most was the diversity of styles. In the sweet wines, the contribution of the arrope and the way it was integrated into the wine made quite a difference. Different terms are used according to the higher or lower percentage of arrope in the blend. In our tasting we had Dorado (the Moscatel), Oscuro and Color.
What did I learn? The common pattern was moderation, both in the perception of alcohol and sweetness. These were not sharp, painful wines, as it can be the case with old Sherry (even if bottle ageing tends to soften such sensations), nor were they over-concentrated. Each wine seemed to have found balance and harmony in its own way, often with a notable freshness to which the volatile acidity obviously contributes. The wines took up a space of their own, quite distinct from Jerez and even Montilla-Moriles, a reference for Pedro Ximénez with its own ability to age.
The flight included Benefique Seco Trasañejo, Larios Málaga Seco, Larios Málaga Seco Superior nº 54 and Larios Pedro Ximénez Tres Cruces. Benefique, the only wine outside the historical series, was bottled in the 1990s. With its share of complexity (salted almonds, dried herbs) and a hint of oxidation, I found a slightly warm character and the most obvious alcohol. The label stated that it was a limited production Solera from 1866. ¿Could it have been originally pressed in the famous Benefique lagar? Romantic expectations don't necessarily correspond to reality.
From the historic series, the Larios Málaga Seco had all the ingredients one would expect from a beautiful old wine; concentration, complexity, silkiness from bottle ageing and a dry mineral background that I found very appealing. My favourite, however, was the Larios Málaga Seco Superior nº 54 because these sensations were magnified by the extra acidity that added definition and amazing length. With distinct salinity, it showed the finesse of a great amontillado. Michele Caimotto suggested that, although unusual for the area, there seemed to have been some biological ageing involved in the making (an idea for 21st century producers?). In the case of Larios Pedro Ximénez Tres Cruces, the variety and brand name appeared on the neck of the bottle without any numerical indication. This long-established brand was sold as a Trasañejo, an indication for maximum extended ageing. I found the wine less consistent. There were aromas of esparto grass and anchovy that reminded me of sweet PX from Montilla-Moriles, as well as raisins and roasted coffee that suggested the presence of arrope. In fact, it gave the impression that the sweetness of the arrope was not fully integrated into the wine. Nevertheless, the bottle was in excellent condition.
The numbers featured on some of the neck labels prompted some speculations. Javier Krauel spent a few days researching the subject and concluded that it could be the wine's reference in a price list. This would make sense given the complexity and scope of the wines. It would also make it possible to use generic labels for different wines, provided that the specific features were indicated on the neck labels.
With its eye-catching red capsule, the Moscatel was another favourite thanks to a combination of aromatic intensity and delicacy on the palate. The wine retained the variety's grapey profile, offering striking freshness and a well-balanced sweetness. What an incredible bottle! The only old Moscatel I can compare it to is an early 20th century unfortified sweet wine that I tasted at González Byass a few years ago - it was also amazingly fresh, if a little lighter.
Four of the wines in this flight had colour indications related to the amount of arrope in the blend (see the full classification in the table below).
Among those labelled Oscuro, with 5 to 10% arrope in the blend, the Larios Málaga Dulce Oscuro had the caramel notes expected of the style, with a superb texture and concentrated acidity lending freshness. It could be seen as the refined version of the Larios Málaga Dulce Oscuro Añejo nº 22 which offered notable concentration and fascinating complexity (black olives, toasted caramel dates, sultanas and gingerbread). Voluptuous and rich, it ended with an original earthy character. The contrast between both wines was fascinating.
In the Color range we found similar differences between a subtle, aromatic wine and a more concentrated one. The vivacity of the Larios Dulce Color Superior nº 22, enhanced by its herbal character (think of entering a pharmacy or of vermouth's botanicals) and its refreshing edge, left us speechless. It felt almost aerial and was extremely long. The Larios Málaga Dulce Color Añejo Extra nº 28 played the role of the powerful, older brother. Although retaining an herbal, aromatic edge, it was far more concentrated, with moderate sweetness, superb acidity and a velvety texture. Another safe bet.
The tasting ended with the Larios Vino Dulce Trasañejo Legítimo de los Montes Cártama 1817. The year must refer to the inaugural year of the Solera, before Prosper Lamothe took over the business. Cártama, on the other hand, is a village 17 kilometres from Málaga. The style is less influenced by arrope (there is no colour indication in this respect). There is less depth and the salty almond notes of some dry wines reappear. Moreish and velvety, it had hints of coffee beans, bitter chocolate and toffee leading to an elegant, not overly sweet finish.
Obviously, Malaga is moving away from traditional wines. Although there are still some amazing fortified and sweet labels, the future of the region lies in dry vintage wines that reflect the terroir at its best. But the greatness of these old bottles that have aged beautifully should give producers complete confidence in the region, its landscape and its grape varieties. And the understanding of the complex resources used in the past should inspire them to let their imagination run free.
