Can someone offer a quick primer on Madeira?

I know very little about vintage Madeira, but am intrigued by the many well aged bottles available at retail. Can someone help me out on how the varietals tend to change the nature (sweetness?) of the wine. Also, who are the main producers to look for? D’Oliveira, Barbeito?

I didn’t see a particularly helpful thread on this already, but if I missed it, my apologies.

Current issue of View From the Cellar includes a ~70 page treatise, with about half a zillion tasting notes. I suppose that’s not a quick primer, even by Gilman’s standards.

Malmsey: sweetest
Bual: sweet
Verdelho: getting dryer
Sercial: usually dry

From dry to sweet: Sercial > Verdelho > Boal/Bual > Malvasia/Malmsey

Madeira Wine Guide: http://www.madeirawineguide.com/

Suggestion: Start with the Rare Wine Co. NV “Historic Series” bottlings to get an introduction to varietal styles before experimenting with vintage wines. http://www.rarewineco.com/rare-wine-co-historic-series-madeira/

Not a quick primer by any means, but incredibly informative and detailed with tons of background on the winemaking process, different varieties, producers’ history, etc. That’s one thing I love about John Gilman’s reports - there’s a ton of context and background information there beyond tasting notes.

great suggestion. Those are all really good examples for reasonable prices.

Just to piggyback, I couldn’t agree more with this recommendation.

Welcome aboard, Pat.
I bought my wife a bottle of the 1973 D’Oliveiras Madeira Verdelho Reserva last year for her birthday and it is sensational.

Also check out the tasting notes and Madeira forum on Roy Hersh’s site, http://www.ftlop.com.

Terrantez tends to the drier side as well, similar to Verdelho.
Only the cheaper blends are made in Estufa. Anything 10 years and older is made using the Canteiro method (long term cask aging).
Negra Mole (formerly Tinta Negra Mole) is still the most planted Vinifera species grown on the island, however it’s name cannot be used on the label. It can make some quite nice wines.
Production is still miniscule. Annual production for the entire island is still less than many of the largest individual Bordeaux estates. About 1000 liters/year is made of Terrantez, less than all of Romanee-Conti.

As far as producers, D’Oliveiras tends to the biggest, darkest, richest, most opulent wines. These actually improve with a few decades in bottle. Oh, and by the way, bottle aged Madeira is/was a very American thing. Something quite common at the turn of the 20th century. Back to D’Oliveiras, they still own the oldest stocks on the island. Famous for their Verdelho’s from the San Martinho parish (now subsumed by the urban sprawl of Funchal). They still have the 1850 still in cask.
The Madeira Wine Company, now owned wholly by the Blandy’s family, also tends to the big and rich. Their oldest wine in cask is the 1920 Bual, a very lovely wine. They are the largest producers on the island. Some of their more recent releases of vintage wines are nice.
Barbeito is run by Ricardo Freitas, probably the most dynamic winemaker on the island. Unfortunately, they don’t sell any of their really old wines anymore since the family voted to preserve them; probably not a bad thing. If you go to any Barbeito tastings with Ricardo, he’ll probably have a couple of the old family wines to taste. He’s making some terrific blends. He makes the wines for the Rare Wine Company Historic series and just released a wonderful 40 year old Malvasia. Barbeito wines tend to high acidity with a lot of verve…
Henriques & Henriques was bought out by Justinos a few years ago, but is still a separate company. Very nice 10 and 15 year old wines.
One of my very favorites is Borges. Unfortunately they don’t have a US importer. Superb wines but again, nothing really old to sell anymore. They used to have a great 1940 Solera, but it may be gone by now. No one is really making Soleras anymore because the legislation has made it difficult to produce them. A shame really. I believe you can only refresh four times and the amount you refresh is small. And a representative of the IVDAM, the governmental regulatory agency, must be present when the wine is removed, refreshed, and bottled. Unfortunately, I’ve heard that Borges is for sale. Borges is hugely famous for 19 century Terrantez under their name.
Lastly, there is Barros e Sousa, a tiny company that no longer ships. It was bought a few months ago by D’Oliveiras. It was run by a pair of brothers in their 70’s with no heirs to take on the company. Also not imported to the States. By far the leanest and most austere of the wines, but very long and interesting. From what I’ve heard, they will be kept separate from D’Oliveiras, even though they are next door to each other.

Wow, thanks everyone for the comments so far. I will try to find time to tackle Gilman. I will also check out the historic series asap (I’ve actually pondered those previously). Thanks to Eric for the quick overview of the main producers.

Here’s another question. I grabbed this bottle a while back for what I think was a steal. Any idea what it is?

very nice. Are you still working on it?

I’d not come across this, thanks.

Madeira is not a wine for pop and pour. It opens ups with lots of air.

meaning hours or days?

Months

Years

D’Oliveras vs. Barbeito - From what I have had, D’Oliveras is a bit better.

There are some really great older bottles.

The 1875 Barbeito is original pre-phylloxera. I like it. Roy Hersh says the 1875 D’Oliveras is better. I have not had it. The 1922 D’Oliveras is great. I have had it twice. I spilled an ounce on a pair of pants once and you could still smell it after two weeks.

If you can afford it, it’s a great experience.

I have only had an old sercial once. Very high acid and very sharp. I did not like it.

Rare wine Company has a historic series designed to mimic styles popular in the Americas in the 1700s. I’ve had the NY Malmsey from that series and it was very nice. It’s not expensive. You should get some of them if you can find them and learn from them.

There was a very large Maderia tasting last night at The Bristol in Chicago that Ken Kailin attended. I wonder if Ken might share his tasting notes with you or post them here on this thread for all of us to enjoy. Ken?

Also, I know John Danza here in Chicago enjoys Madeira and is very knowledgeable as well.

Thanks to everyone for posting all the other helpful Madeira information. Very helpful.

I was at the tasting with Chris Blandy… incredible wines; the 1920 Bual was stunning. (Admittedly short tasting notes here.) I’m a much bigger fan of the malvasia/malmsey and bual wines. I find the sugar helps keep everything in balance.