Commandaria refers to the legendary wine from Cyprus. Its color is warm, golden to ruby, its
aroma is complex and passionate, its
taste is sweet, its aftertaste is everlasting. Commandaria wine is old and unique that Cypriots traded it for centuries to the most demanding consumers of the known world and which other winemakers attempted to copy on many occasions. Commandaria wine carries with it the centuries old culture of the Cypriot rural society and is closely tied to the commercial activities of the island’s traders who loaded it on ships for export to the most demanding European markets of the time. Commandaria thrived during the Middle Ages, suffered under the dark period of the Ottoman rule, became a forgotten wine during the latter part of the 20th century but survived, remaining unspoiled by all foreign cultural influences, standing out today as the flagship of our vine and wine heritage.
Commandaria as a "legendary-wine" was a statement verified by the selection of vintage 1223 among the top ten wines of the past 1,000 years. The competition, BBC – one thousand years best wine competition, characterized Commandaria as "a powerful sweet wine from Cyprus" that won the first wine competition, La Bataille des Vins, organised by the
French king, Philip Augustus.
Commandaria is made from the
blend of two indigenous varieties, Mavro and Xynisteri and it is by no chance that only these varieties are suitable for its making.
Commandaria is a sweet,
desert wine, characterized by a high alcoholic content of 15% and a notable richness in natural
sugars derived exclusively from the
grapes used. The critical factor in the serving of Commandaria is temperature. Commandaria brings out all its aroma and flavour when drunk well chilled at 6 - 9°C. Within this temperature range, ideal for most
dessert wines, Commandaria reveals all its merits and at the same time conceals any likely "flaws", such as the presence of a high
alcohol content and its
volatile acidity which are more easily discernible when the wine is served at temperatures exceeding 9 - 10°C. Like all
sweet wines, Commandaria is served in small stemmed glasses with a comparatively
short stem and a long cup, with inwardly sloping sides to retain the
wine’s rich bouquet.
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