Malagousia is quite an old variety which very few people were familiar with in Greece 20 years ago, since it was almost extinct. With an exceptional effort from some of the very talented producers in Greece, especially Vangelis Gerovassiliou and Roxani Matsa who first replanted Malagousia, is today one of the top 5 Greek varieties exported abroad and a very common choice for Greek consumers all over the country. While Malagousia seems to come from the central part of Greece, specifically from the area of Nafpaktia in Aitoloakarnania it came back to life in the area of Halchidiki at the north of Greece and now it is cultivated in almost all parts of the country.
Malagousia wines are somehow lemon green in colour with expressive nose and highly dense aromas of peaches, herbs, pepper, white flowers and citrus. Malagousia offers a round palate with a sense of oiliness and moderate to high levels of alcohol. Sweet versions of Malagousia, coming from late harvest grapes, are more expressive and aromatic in nature. Oak aging up to 4 years or more offers new wonderful characteristics that take this great grape variety one step up to create wines of unique texture and taste.
On the other hand sweet versions of Malagousia often are oaked between 4 to 7 years and in some cases even more. They acquire a more sweet character with notes of honey, orange jam and apricot. In order to maintain the fresh character of this great variety usually stainless steel tanks work equally well and in some cases even better than the traditional oak barrels.
