Liqueur Muscat

A Liqueur Muscat (also known as Liqueur Tokay) is a fortified wine made in Australia from the Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (known locally as Brown Muscat) and Muscadelle grapes. The wine is sweet, dark, highly alcoholic Australian wine that has some similarities to Madeira and Malaga. The grape is most commonly produced in Victoria in the wine regions of Rutherglen and Glenrowan. J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 403 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906 ]

Production

Liqueur Muscat essentially starts out being a late harvest wine with the grapes allowed to stay on the vine till they are in a partially raisined state. The grapes are then pressed and go through partial fermentation where it is halted by the addition grape spirits. The wine is then aged in oak in a system resembling the Sherry solera system. Similar to Madeira, the wines are often exposed to high temperatures.

Classification system

In the late 1990s, winemakers in Rutherglen established as voluntary classification and regulation system for their Liqueur Muscat wines. At the lowest classification is the wine styled "Rutherglen Muscat" followed by "Classic Muscat" and "Grand Muscat". At the highest end and meant to indicate a richer and more complex wine is the "Rare Muscat".

References