Moscatel Galego

The small-berried Muscat. In the Douro, around Favaios, it makes fortified Moscatel do Douro. A rare pink-skinned form, Moscatel Roxo, makes prized wines in Setúbal.

In the glassGrapey, floral, orange blossom; finer than Muscat of Alexandria.

Wines made with Moscatel Galego

Port

Fortified

Vinho do Porto

Sweet fortified wine from the Douro. Fermentation is stopped part-way by adding grape spirit (aguardente), which keeps natural grape sugar and lifts alcohol to roughly 19–22%. Grapes are still trodden by foot in granite lagares at some quintas. Traditionally the young wine was shipped downriver and aged in lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, opposite Porto.

Critics: up to 99 pts

Moscatel de Setúbal

Fortified

A rich fortified Muscat from the Setúbal Peninsula. After fortification the wine stays in contact with the grape skins for months, soaking up intense orange-peel and floral flavours. Aged versions turn amber and take on notes of caramel, dried apricot and walnut. Moscatel Roxo, from a rare pink-skinned grape, is especially prized.

Moscatel do Douro

Fortified

Moscatel de Favaios

A fortified Muscat from the high plateau around Favaios and Alijó in the Douro, made from the small-berried Moscatel Galego. Fresher and more floral than Setúbal’s Moscatel; a popular aperitif across northern Portugal.

Bottles to try

Alambre Moscatel Roxo

Fortified

José Maria da Fonseca · Península de Setúbal

€14.99lowest of 2 shopsMid-range

Producers to try

José Maria da Fonseca

Est. 1834

Azeitão · Península de Setúbal, Alentejo

One of Portugal’s oldest table-wine producers. Makes Periquita, Lancers rosé and Moscatel de Setúbal with a cellar of 19th-century stock, plus talha wines at its José de Sousa estate in the Alentejo.