MADEIRA thread

WINE TALK
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I’ve got one bottle of V. Sattui NV and gave my second as a gift. The gift bottle was well received and they went to town on it.

I tried at my grandfather’s before heading up to the winery - very much a dessert wine, with caramel and vanilla. I’m not much for the sweet stuff and could only do a bit, but can see why it’s so popular.

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Lomelino Solera 1862 “Rare Old Malmsey”

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OK,Roy,all this Madeira talk has piqued the spice in my mouth,so I’ll try to come up with a full five favorites,not in any order:

aforementioned d’Olly 75 Moscatel
yes,the 75 d,Olly Malvazia
great year IMO,1907 and so,Blandy’s Bual and another d’Olly Malvazia
…and maybe one that stands out from the others,not necessarily the best,but a total turn on as well as a cerebral delight was the 1795 Ferraz Terrantez

Nope can’t keep it to 5,so I’ll stop here.

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Roy,

There are three so far that I’ve given 100 points to. I had a lot of 98 and 99 point vintage Madeiras with you on the island in May, of course:

1868 Lomelino Madeira Very Old Boal E.B.H. - Portugal, Madeira (6/6/2009)
Leacock Family Madeira Tasting - Rare Wine Company (Monaco Hotel, San Francisco, California): Medium reddish brown color with red lights and clear meniscus and little bits of sediment; lovely, raspberry, smoky orange marmalade and baked apricot nose; delicious, deep, tart orange, orange marmalade, tart apricot and praline palate, powerful, with perfect balance; long finish [The initials are for Eugenia de Bianchi Henriques, granddaughter of both Tarquinio Torquato da Camara Lomelino, the founder of Lomelino, on her mother’s side, and Carlo de Bianchi, who ran Lomelino after Tarquinio’s death, on her father’s side.] (100 pts.)

1884 Avery’s of Bristol Ltd Madeira Campanario - Portugal, Madeira (6/9/2007)
Lovely clear, light orange brown color with ruby center and yellow meniscus; VA, perfume quality, ethereal, sexy, light caramel and pecan nose; exquisite on the palate, with beautiful delineation, balance and finesse; long finish (100 pts.)

1805 Blandy Madeira Verdelho - Portugal, Madeira (12/31/2003)
New Year’s Eve 2003 with great Bordeaux and 1805 Madeira (Opaline Restaurant, Los Angeles, California): Rich, golden brown liquid; huge, sunny, lemony nose; rich, deep, layered flavors including coffee and caramel, laced with invigorating acid. On the two-minute finish, I sometimes picked up a tangy, smoky mélange of ripe oranges and orange rind. Wine hedonism doesn’t get much better than this. 100+ pts. (The paper front label indicated that Blandy’s Madeiras Ltd. had acquired the wine from Tiburcio Henriquez in the 19th Century. It was bottled and shipped by Blandy, and was numbered bottle 222 out of 240. It carried a Blandy signature on the back, and indicated alcohol at 21%.) (100 pts.)

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So far the 1827 Quinta do Serrado Bual with the 1850 D’Oliveria Verdelho right behind. I’ve manage to track down some of the 1795 Barbieto and the 1802 Acciaioly Terrantez and I’ve high hopes for these bottles!

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I opened a bottle of that for Millenium New Year’s Eve. Kept it going in the fridge for about 5 years before polishing it off. Fabulous!

My all-time greatest were the 1795 Tarrantez and a 1900 Moscatel.

1795 Barbeito Tarrantez–Lighter than the malvasias. Petrol, caramel, toffee, espresso nose. Shows aromas of cloves, allspice, medicine chest. Very rich, deep, high acid core. Really magnificent. Perfect. Seriously long. Complex, seemless. Multilayered. Finishes with great length. Truly profound. 99

1900 d’Oliveira Moscatel–Deep dark color. Brilliant nose. Very forward, evocative. Coffee, toffee. High acid. Extremely long. Very much like a PX without the thick sugary coating. A spectacular way to end a meal. 98

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Evening all,

I love Madeira - something about its weirdly twisted personality really fiddles with my funny bits. I’ve put in serious effort to try as many wines as possible, including several 18th Century bottles, but I have to say the its not these ancient bottles that have bewitched me the most. I totally adore the Barbeito Colheitas, which are rarely more than 20 years old. They are made using the preferred canteiro process, heated naturally in a warehouse rather than by artificial application of heat, and, in addition to the traditional Madeira whacked out craziness, they have a freshness which is very attractive. Whenever I see one of these on sale I snap it up as they are not expensive and tickle my fancy no end - in my view they are the bleeding edge of Madeira cool, if such a thing exists. If you should be in London then Fortnum and Mason often have a few examples on their shelves at reasonable prices. Here a note:

MALVASIA COLHEITA CASK 18A 1994, BARBEITO
The colour is quite light orange-brown. The nose displays all of the weird aromas of decent Madeira but it has a lightness to it; it is not aggressively rancid or chemical. There is also some candied orange fruit there. The palate is also remarkably light for a Madeira; certainly full of flavour but not thick and heavy. The note on the back label was right, this does seem elegant compared to other Barbeitos I’ve had. It is very complex and very long. This is very stylish and very satisfying. Cool Madeira!

Seek these wines out, you will not regret it.

Cheers,
David.

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I’ll second Bernie Roth’s nomination of the 1900 Moscatel from d’Oliveira - I liked it so much, I kept the empty bottle!

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That is a really wonderful Madeira. I gave it a 96 when Roy and I tasted it in May with Luis d’Oliveira: Medium dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; serious ginger, ginger cake, walnut nose; rich, wonderful, ginger cake, ginger honey, apricot honey, smoky, sweet roast coffee, almond palate; long finish

30

Sorry guys and gals, I’ve been working hard to get my newsletter done and ready to send out tonight. I don’t want to hog this by responding to every post in the thread (which I will get to the majority of) but here are a few from the top:

Chris Blum: The Rare Wine Co. is offering a gift pack with a pamphlet on Madeira etc. and a bottle of each of their wines in the historic series. That’s what I’d suggest you buy at a discounted price that they’re now offering.


Ray Walker: I remember that lunch like it was yesterday. What a great time with you and Jamie K. Yeah, that Madeira was fun too. I hope France has been good to you!


Benjamin Sullivan: Just for grins, what did you pay for the 10 year old Malmsey by Broadbent?


Robert Fleming: Somehow I knew that you would say the 1950 Fajã dos Padres Terrantez, as I know it is your birth year and had hoped to open that for you in 2010 but never did get back down to Atlanta. Anyway, please note that it is a product of ‘Fajã dos Padres’ and was only bottled by the owner’s cousin, who just happens to be Ricardo DeFreitas of Barbeito. In a crazy twist of fate, the owner of Fajã (Mario Jardim Fernandes) had given ALL of that wine to his cousin to bottle but had NEVER tried it himself, as it was something he did not make but his wife’s relatives did. So the next year during my annual visit, I brought a bottle to Madeira to open for him and you should have seen the shock on his face. He had his wife and daughter come to join us in tasting this nectar. Priceless experience!


Alex Hay: I have had that 1933 on several occasions with Bartholomew and a few times with my family because it is my mother’s birth year. I keep a bottle of the greatest birth year wines I have had with each of my immediate family members and that is the one displayed for my mom. Very fine wine from the year that Prohibition was repealed.


… I’ll be back!

31

I’d have these two at the top of my list as well - didn’t remember the Moscatel until you noted it.

32

Can anyone point me to this? I see a 4-pack of 375’s from the historic series for $95 but that isn’t a discount.

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Roy may have thought the four-pack to be 750’s instead of 375’s. But since 375’s usually command a bit of a premium, and the four-pack is priced at exactly half the cost of four 750’s, it does represent something of a discount. In any event, there is no better (or cheaper) way to get an introduction to the basic styles of Madeira.

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Here are a few of my favorite Madeiras:

  1. 1834 Barbeito Malvasia - Medium sweet with powerful acidity. An excellent cheese wine.

  2. 1900 Barbeito Malvasia - Another medium sweet Madeira that dries out a bit after a while. Good with nut desserts and cheeses.

  3. 1955 Barbeito Bual - Sweet with zinging acidity, almost what one expects with a malvasia. I’ve paired this with strong cheeses very successfully.

  4. Henriques & Henriques 15-year Verdelho - I love this wine with main courses, primarily chicken. Also good with caramelized sweet shellfish such as diver scallops. It’s rich but mostly dry, with balanced acidity and a nutty character.

  5. RWC New Orleans Special Reserve - My favority of the RWC Historical Series. A blend of Tinta Negra Mole and Terrantez, it’s a great seafood wine that has an excellent acidity to go with the food’s richness. I’m glad I still have a couple of bottles left in the cellar.

  6. RWC Boston Bual - My second favorite of the RWC Historical series. Flavors of toffee and spice, with great acidity.

  7. RWC Charleston Sercial - An excellent aperitif wine, with sharp acidity.

35

Great thread Roy, especially for a Madeira freak like me!

Although drinking a glass of Madeira every week the year around, I find it really tough to pick my all time favorite and the best glass I’ve had.

So, instead of choosing a wine that’s more or less impossible to to get your hands on today, I go for the best ‘modern’ Madeira I’ve tasted - one that should be available to pick up as well;

Barbeito’s 30 YO Lote Especial Malvasia is nothing but a spectacular wine assuring that great Madeira wines still are produced and doesn’t have to be 150 years old! First time I tasted the wine was at Barbeito’s. I was blewn away! It had such an intensity and elegance you normally connect with really old wines. Yet a freshness that is somewhat of a trademark for Barbeito.

Américo Correia Pereira (the company’s commercial director) almost whispered to me that this wine became so good that he thought it would scare Ricardo (the winemaker) off to even trying to repeat a similar bottling in the future.

I’ve continued to follow the wine and am still amazed of its class.

All the best,

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Roy, $40 clams per.

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[scratch.gif]

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The current bottling, according to RWC’s website, also includes “a small amount of incredibly rare Malvasia from Faja dos Padres, Madeira’s most historically important vineyard. This adds a fudgy, spice cake complexity to the burnt orange and grilled nut character that pervades the wine.”

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1922 D’Oliveras Boal, my mother’s birth year wine, drank it with her and the rest of the family on her 85th Birthday . . . BUT I just bought 3 bottles of 1875 Malvesia Reserva Barbeito so that may win the prize. I know Roy liked the 1875 D’Oliveras better, but that was not for sale.

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O,doesn’t hurt to have a few more 75s around the house… [drinkers.gif]