Negramoll

and Negra Mole

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Negramoll and Negra Mole, Iberian dark-skinned grape variety and by far the most commonly planted vine variety on the island of madeira where it is often called Tinta Negra or Tinta Negra Mole. As Negramoll it is also grown in the canary islands. dna profiling recently showed it is identical to the Andalucian variety Mollar currently grown on more than 400 ha of extremadura. It is therefore indubitably a vinifera variety (unlike many of the vines that replaced the so-called noble varieties sercial, verdelho, bual, and malvasia on Madeira after the ravages of powdery mildew and phylloxera in the 19th century). On Madeira it yields relatively high quantities of sweet, pale red wine which turns amber with the madeira production process and then yellow-green with age. A variety called Negra Mole but considered distinct is grown in Portugal’s the Alentejo.