Should this process be adopted, the result would no longer represent the
wine now accepted as commanderia, which finds a ready market in the
Levant, owing to its peculiar sweetness and rich flavour, although
disagreeable to Europeans; there would accordingly be a risk attending
such experiments, which the grower would consider unnecessary, as he
already commands the sale.
The large jars in which the wine ferments are porous and unglazed; the
usual waterproofing is adopted, in the shape of tar, with which the
inside is thickly coated. There are many jars of a century old, which
have lost the flavour by extreme age, and have become liquid-proof by
the choking of the pores with the crust deposited by the wine; these are
highly prized, and the wine after fermentation is left upon its own lees
to ripen; or, according to our ideas, it is entirely neglected. It is
never racked into other vessels.
There is an unusual peculiarity in commanderia; instead of the colour
becoming paler by great age, it deepens to an extraordinary degree. The
new wine is the ordinary tint of sherry, but it gradually becomes
darker, until after forty or fifty years it is almost black, with the
syrup-like consistence of new honey. Wine of this age and quality is
much esteemed, and is worth a fancy price. I was presented with several
bottles of the famous old Cyprus growths of commanderia, morocanella,
and muscadine, by the kindness of Mr.
Pages:
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353