A sweet Moscatel produced from late-harvested grapes, the 2017 La Diva has a golden color and a balsamic nose with notes of peppermint and sweet spices complicated by the varietal notes of candied orange and white flowers. The must fermented in 300-liter French oak barrels with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 225-liter barriques for one year, which lent it some light oak aromas and soft tannins. It has 14% alcohol, 7.02 grams of acidity (in tartaric) and 114 grams of residual sugar, but it doesn't feel too sweet, as the sweetness is very much compensated by the acidity and some light tannins. This is an exceptional sweet Mediterranean Moscatel with great balance, complexity and finesse. 2,500 500-milliliter bottles were filled in November 2018.

The 2014 Casta Diva La Diva was produced with the juice from very ripe grapes, left to raisin on the vine, which concentrates sugar and also acidity. It fermented with indigenous yeasts for one month in 300-liter oak barrels, pressed and then aged in 225-liter French barrique for two and a half years. It has 13% alcohol and 186 grams of sugar with high acidity (7.38 grams). This has a surprising balance, balsamic, honeyed, with lots of candied oranges, and full of character. It has very good freshness in the palate, this high acidity clearly counterbalances the sweetness and makes what is difficult in sweet wines, to make them fresh and not so sweet.... 432 bottles were filled in July 2017.

The 2012 Casta Diva La Diva wants to be the most concentrated and powerful of the sweet late-harvest Moscateles produced here, with acidity, sugar, high density and dry matter. It fermented in 300-liter oak barrels with indigenous yeasts and was fortified to 14% alcohol, leaving some 130 grams of unfermented sugar. It matured in barrel for two years before bottling. 2012 could probably be considered a normal Mediterranean vintage, with rains in autumn and spring, and a dry summer. This is aromatically stunning, with notes of marmalade and mint, honeyed aromas and some hints of dry herbs. It is somehow developed with balsamic undertones that reminded me of the dry Moscatel of the 2002 vintage that I also tasted in this sitting. The palate does not feel very sweet, with some bitter orange flavors. Only 450 half-liter bottles were produced.

A sweet Moscatel from 50-year-old vines on chalk soils, the 2011 Casta Diva La Diva has 135 grams of sugar and 14% alcohol. The fermentation was stopped by adding alcohol to the 300-liter oak barrel where the raisins were introduced to start fermentation. After pressing, the juice was put into 225-liter barriques were the wine slowly matured for 36 months. Dark gold-colored with some amber tints, it has a nose combining aromatic herbs, mainly lavender and thyme with aromas of honey, beeswax, orange peel and perfectly integrated spices. The medium-bodied palate is compact with bitterness and a slight astringency that denotes a recent bottling. It's intense, long and lifted by the alcohol to add persistence to the finish. It should develop more complexity with a little bit of time in bottle. Quantities are smaller, only 350 half-liter bottles were obtained.

The 2010 Casta Diva La Diva, is produced with late-harvested Moscatel grapes from a 60-year-old vineyard very close to the sea. The process is very similar to the Cosecha Miel, but here the whole clusters are fermented in open barrels. The effect of the oak is almost unnoticeable; it’s a lot more integrated in the wine. This is a lot more subtle, with less sugar, better balance, less in-your-face, with elegant notes of dried flowers, chamomile and balsamic bay leaf. Only 1,200 bottles are produced. This is a superb sweet Moscatel. Drink 2013-2018. The winery, created in 1978 by Felipe Gutierrez de la Vega, a literature and music lover – hence all the artistic references in the names of his wines – is one of the most original throughout Spain, with a wide range of wines. They are located in Parcent, in the Marina subzone of Alicante, very close to the sea, between Benidorm and Denia, where the specialty is Moscatel. The zone is very interesting because the vineyards are located at 700 meters altitude and very close to the sea, which contributes to extra freshness. All their vineyards are dry-farmed and pruned in the old goblet or bush style. They only own two hectares but rent and work a further eight. No external yeasts are used for the fermentations. Daughter Violeta, who studied oenology in Bordeaux, is slowly taking over the winemaking from her father and I have the feeling she’s bringing fresh, new ideas. I know she’s searching for high altitude, almost-forgotten, old-Grenache vineyards to produce some personal wines of her own. There are not that many wineries specializing in sweet wines in Spain; this is one of them, and for me, one of the best. Total production is around 100,000 bottles per year. A (not so new) name to follow, as the new wines show a very promising profile. Other than in Jerez, there are not so many wineries specializing in sweet wines in Spain, but Gutierrez de la Vega is one of them. They have traditionally produced a wide range of wines using Moscatel grapes. All their Moscatels, dry and sweet, share the Casta Diva name, with a subtitle to differentiate them. To complete the range, they are doing some sweet red Fondillon, the traditional rancio wine from Alicante produced in a solera system and aged for a minimum of ten years. Gutierrez de la Vega, of course, does it in his special way, and has released some single-vintage Fondillon, until he had enough old blended wine to start bottling the solera. Importer: Classical Wines, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 297-6713; www.classicalwines.com