Bodegas Matsu "La Jefa" 750ml

The Giaconda-like smile on the Bodegas Matsu bottle harbours years of expertise. It graces the label of La Jefa, a white wine with a complex, delicious flavour. Made predominately of Malvasia grapes from vines over a century old, the drink has an orchard fruit, white peach, and honeysuckle flavour, layered with oak and toast nuances and a medium-full palate. Highly approachable yet excellent in quality, this wine is a fine accompaniment to a variety of dishes, ranging from grilled prawns to Christmas dinner. It may even rival some of the very best Burgundy. Bodegas Matsu's labels have been a great success in the last decade, easily recognisable thanks to their images of winemakers. Now, with the arrival of La Jefa, the range of red wines has increased to four.

White wine from Toro (the region where Matsu are based) has been on the decline with 95% of vineyards now dedicated to planting red grape varieties. Because of this, it is all the more admirable that Matsu have forged ahead and unearthed the forgotten white vines of Toro, resulting in an intense white wine that is La Jefa. Sandy soils and a high level of granitic rocks are the characteristics of the vineyards that the Matsu owners have collected and, like the Malvasia vines, are able to age and mature like, well... er, fine old wines. 

Picked by hand, these Malvasia grapes are aged for 14 months in new, lightly toasted French oak barrels.

This is a rich and complex wine; wonderfully layered with its notes of vanilla and ripe stone fruits, the palate is creamy in texture, complemented with notes of aniseed and spice that are a reflection of the aging in casks. It is a mouth-filling, silky wine, that retains the balancing acidity from the old Malvasia vines.