Moscatel Gloria 15%, Manuel Aragón

Appearance
Pale but quite rich lemony gold, viscous.
Nose
Azahar (orange blossom), super-ripe grape pulp, strong aromas of Moscatel de Alejandria: grapey, musky, lush and very fruity. Not over complex but a young wine and none the worse for that, fresh with vineyard aromas and a noticeable hint of alcohol. Sweet and desirable.
Palate
Light in weight but full of flavour, a little rustic, but that is what it is, sweet and nicely textured with that almost addictive Moscatel flavour which has a gentle tang and a real feel for the grape itself without secondary and tertiary flavours of fermentation and ageing. Luscious refreshing, persistent and delightful.
Comments
While not technically/legally Sherry, this is nonetheless a quality wine produced in the Sherry zone, and so I include it here because it should be DO Jerez and because it's good! To be a DO Jerez a Moscatel (which will have been bought in from Chiclana or Chipiona) must be aged (however briefly) at a bodega registered as a shipper in Jerez, El Puerto or Sanlúcar and bottled by them under their own brand name. So producers of Moscatel in the sandy coastal areas of Chipiona and Chiclana cannot sell wine they have bottled as Sherry. Their labels can only state their origin (eg Chiclana). This still needs to be sorted out.

There are two types of Moscatel: that made from super-ripe grapes or that made from sun-dried grapes. Both are fortified with next to no fermentation, and the former is sold young, like this Moscatel Gloria.The latter is usually aged in soleras and sold at a greater age. Luckily for Manuel Aragón, the bodega has a long history and good reputation, so they can manage without DO Jerez.