The Marnisi 2007 is Malta’s first ‘Rizerva’. Marsovin specifically selected Marnisi as the winery’s ‘Rizerva’. The character of the wine lends itself well to be released as a ‘Rizerva’ for one specific reason, its ageing potential. It is clear from the vintage tastings carried out by the winery’s experts that the wine ages well over a period of 10 to 12 years depending on the vintage.

Producing a ‘Rizerva’ is time consuming and costly. The D.O.K. protocol of Malta and Gozo both state that for a wine to carry the name ‘Rizerva’ it must be aged in OAK barriques for 12 months followed by ageing in the bottle for a minimum of six months. What more the wine can not be released before 1 September, two years after it was harvested. The Marnisi ‘Rizerva’ harvested in 2007 and was released on 1 October 2009.

Marnisi is a blend representative of the four grape varieties on this Estate which includes over 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, about 30% Merlot and smaller quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Low yields, barrel ageing of the unfiltered wine and judicious blending produce a concentrated, full-bodied wine with excellent ageing potential. The high concentration of natural sugars coming from an excellent grape maturity and a minimum of 12 months maturation in oak barriques followed by a further six months ageing in bottle qualify this wine for the special mention of ‘Rizerva’.