Muscat du Cap Corse AOC — Corsican Fortified Sweet Wine

Cap Corse peninsula, Haute-Corse. AOC. Schist and granite terraces.

Muscat du Cap Corse is Corsica's most internationally recognised wine — a vin doux naturel (naturally sweet fortified wine) made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grown on the schist and granite terraces of the Cap Corse peninsula's steep northern tip. The grapes are harvested at high sugar concentration (minimum 252g/L natural sugar), then the fermentation is stopped by the addition of neutral grape spirit (mutage), preserving residual sweetness while fixing the aromatic compounds. The result is intensely floral and orange-zest sweet, with the characteristic Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains aromatics amplified by the island's granite terroir and Mediterranean microclimate. Muscat du Cap Corse is the traditional accompaniment to fiadone, canistrelli, and falculelle — the sweetness of the wine matching the restrained sweetness of the Corsican pastries rather than overwhelming them. It is also drunk chilled as an aperitif with fresh brocciu and chestnut honey — the floral wine against the dairy and mineral honey creates the quintessential Corsican afternoon.

• Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise (Rhône — same grape, different terroir expression)
• Banyuls AOC (Roussillon — vin doux naturel parallel, Grenache-based contrast)
• Moscato d'Asti (Piedmont — lightly sparkling sweet Muscat, different technique parallel)

Intensely floral (orange blossom, apricot, rose); orange zest; restrained sweetness; high aromatic complexity; not cloying.