Aleatico

"Muscateller" redirects here. For the Austrian wine grape also known as Muscateller, see Roter Veltliner.

Aleatico
Grape (Vitis)
Color of berry skin	Noir
Species	Vitis vinifera
Also called	Red Moscatel and other synonyms
Origin	Italy
Notable regions	Apulia, Lazio, Chile, New South Wales, California
Notable wines	Aleatico di Portoferraio

Aleatico is a red wine grape. Ampelographers suspect that Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains may be a mutation of the Aleatico cultivar. Aleatico is notable for being the primary grape in the cult wine Aleatico di Portoferraio made in Elba. It is grown most commonly in the Puglia and Lazio region of Italy. In Chile is known as Red Moscatel. The grape has also been cultivated at Mudgee in New South Wales and in California.^[1]

History

During his exile in Elba, wine made from Aleatic was reportedly a favorite drink for Napoleon.

Ampelographers suspect that Aleatico may be a dark skin variant of the French wine grape Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains which is part of the extensive Muscat family of grapes, believed to be the oldest family of Vitis Vinifera in the world.^[2] DNA profiling conducted at Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige suggest that the relationship between Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Aleatico maybe that of a parent-offspring rather than just a mutation.^[3] Other alternative theories has the grape being descended from Muscat noir. Historians also disagree on the wine's exact origins with competing theories of the grape being brought to Italy by the ancient Greeks or being native to then southern Italian region of Pulgia.^[4]

During the 14th century, the Italian wine writer Pietro Crescenzi wrote of wine being produced in central and southern Italy from the Livatica grape which is today believed to be Aleatico. In Elba, there is a long history of producing dessert wines from Aleatico.^[3] During his exile on Elba, the Aleatico wines of the island became a favorite drink of Napoleon.^[5] Napoleon was reported to have said that Aleatico wines were his only consolation during this time.^[4]

Wine regions

Aleatico wine is produced in Salento Peninsula.

Aleatico is most commonly found in Italy, primarily in Elba, Apulia, Lazio, and southern Tuscany.^[2] Smaller plantings of Italian Aleatico can be found in the regions of Marche, Abruzzo and Sicily.^[4] Outside of Italy the grape can be found in Australia, California, Chile, Corsica (though it is not permitted in any AOC authorized wines^[3]), Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.^[2]

For most of the 20th century, Italian plantings of the grape had been in decline but recent years have seen a spike of interest in the variety.^[3] In Elba there is a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, the Aleatico dell’Elba Passito DOCG dedicated to the production of passito style wines made from Aleatico. Under Italy's appellation system, very few dessert wine receive the highest designation of DOCG level making the Aleatico dell’Elba Passito a rarity in Italian.^[4]

In Apulia, Aleatico is widely around the city of Bari and in the southern Salento Peninsula. The style of Aleatico wines from Apulia tend to be sweeter and richer in flavor than the wines typically from Elba due to the warmer climate of southern Italy and the potential for higher levels of sugars in the grapes.^[4] In Lazio, Aleatico is found around Lake Bolsena where it has its own Denominazione di Origine Controllata region of the Aleatico di Gradoli DOC. This dessert style wine is produced from grapes grown on the northwestern hillsides of the lake which partially overlaps into the Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone DOC.^[6] In Apulia, there is the Aleatico di Puglia DOC.^[3]

Wine styles

Lychee is an aroma descriptor often attributed to wines made from Aleatico.

Aleatico is often used to produce dessert style wines. The grapes may be dried or the wines could be produced fortified in a Liquoroso style. The wines are typically aged at least 6 months prior to release with Italian wines labeled as Liquoroso Riserva requiring three years of aging, with at least 2 of those years in wood barrels.^[4]

Aleatico wines are characterized by their sweet aromas of roses (a trait they shares with Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains).^[2] Other aroma notes common to Aleatico include various berry fruits and lychees. Aleatico wines tend to have high alcohol content that is balanced by the grape's acidity.^[4]

Synonyms and mutations

In Chile, the grape is known as Red Moscatel.^[1] Other, rarely seen, synonyms include Livatica, Leatico and Agliano.^[3] A white mutation of Aleatico, known as Aleatico Bianco exist but is very rarely cultivated.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} J. Robinson Vines Grapes & Wines pg 189 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ISBN 1-85732-999-6
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes pg 35 Harcourt Books 2001 ISBN 0-15-100714-4
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 10-11 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0-19-860990-6
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} S. Gold "Aleatico - A little Known Italian Grape that makes a fabulous Dessert Wine" Alta Cucina Epicurean Society, Accessed: December 13th, 2009
5. ^ H. Sutton "Exile me to Elba" The Daily Mail, July 5th 2004
6. ^ M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy Italian Wines for Dummies pg 198 Hungry Minds 2001 ISBN 0-7645-5355-0