malmsey

noun

malm·​sey ˈmäm-zē  ˈmälm- 

often capitalized

: the sweetest variety of Madeira wine

Examples of malmsey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cheap Madeira is generally made out of a blend of grapes, but the best bottles tend to come from four principal grapes in ascending order from driest to sweetest: sercial, verdelho, bual and malmsey, which is better known elsewhere as malvasia. —Eric Asimov, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2016

Word History

Etymology

Middle English malmesey, from Medieval Latin Malmasia Monemvasia, village in Greece where a sweet wine was produced

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above