One of the finest and most original sweet wines from Spain is the Moscatel 2019 Molino Real, from a year that was classical for the zone (despite some rain during the time when the grapes were being sun dried). It has a very distinct nose of bay leaf, mint and condensed milk and is balanced and fresh, not sweet despite the 130 grams of residual sugar that seem to be nicely balanced and integrated into the wine. It fermented and matured in 225-liter oak barrels for 20 months. 2,053 half-liter bottles were produced. It was bottled in August 2021.

The sweet 2018 Molino Real comes from a more normal vintage compared with previous years. It comes from nine hectares at 350 to 1,000 meters in altitude on slate soils. It had a slow fermentation in 225-liter oak barrels, where it matured at low temperature for 20 months. It has 13.5% alcohol and 147 grams of sugar, a little higher this year. But still, the wine doesn't feel too sweet; it's very tasty and luscious, with the notes of bay leaf and the creamy lactic and sweet touch, with balance and energy. It keeps the poise and character. 4,103 bottles were filled in June 2020.

2017 was an extremely dry year in Málaga, and the Moscatel grapes for the sweet 2017 Molino Real were picked early (starting August 14th). Sorting was very important in this heterogeneous year; the fermentation was long and complex in 225-liter oak barrels, and the wine matured slowly at low temperature for 20 months in barrel. It's 13.57% alcohol and has 135 grams of sugar. It feels a bit roasted—there was a burning wind from Africa—and the ripeness without one bunch was different. The wine has musky aromas and flavors within the classical notes of the Molino Real (to me bay leaf and condensed milk). It's very intense on the palate, sweet but with a kind of lightness that makes it more aerial, not ethereal but not heavy at all and with freshness. It keeps the level in this very unusual year. 4,106 half-liter bottles were filled in June 2019.

2016 was dry and late in Málaga because of a delay in the vegetative cycle given the rains of May that also favored mildew that resulted in lower yields. The 2016 Molino Real is the flagship sweet Moscatel from the Málaga Mountains and wears the subtitle Mountain Wine; it comes from nine hectares of vineyards spread between 350 and almost 1,000 meters in altitude on slate slopes. It has a long and complex fermentation in 225-liter oak barrels, where the wine evolved slowly at low temperature for 20 months. This is an incredibly fine and elegant vintage that is herbal and fresh and less varietal than other vintages. It's subtle and balanced, sweet without excess. 4,132 500-milliliter bottles were filled in June 2018.

I still have to visit the vineyards where they produced the 2015 Molino Real, the stunning sweet Moscatel from Málaga. The grapes are sourced from up to nine hectares of vines on slate slopes at elevations that range between 350 and 1,000 meters. The grapes are sun dried to further concentrate the juice and then pressed with oil presses separated by esparto grass mats, like it was done in the past. They tell me they need 2.5 kilos of grapes to obtain one liter of juice. Fermentation is long and happens in 225-liter oak barrels, where the wine matures at low temperature for 20 months. This feels sooooo young and tender, undeveloped and reticent compared with the 2013 and 2014 I tasted next to it. These wines need at least five years to start showing their true colors. It's faintly minty, not really grapey, but balsamic, with faint notes of bitter orange marmalade. The one thing I also like is that this wine is never overwhelmingly sweet and feels fresher. It's hard to guess what's going to happen with this wine in a few years, but I think it will evolve beautifully. They produced 5,760 half-liter bottles in 2015.