Opened 2 days
Bottled in 2017…49 years in cask
Deep copper
Aromas of burnt caramel, mint, dried oranges, nuts, crystalline citrus, vanilla, sweetened Cognac
Round, dry, savory, rich, thick on the palate, acidity crashing across the tongue
Long, coffee-inspired, oxidative-salinity finish
95 pts
I have only had a Sercial once - once ounce of an EXTREMELY old bottle at that place in Tampa that we are not supposed to mention. I was glad to have had it once, but never again. The acidity was off the charts. Tasted like caramelized sulfuric acid. The acidity was so high that it obscured the flavors. How was the acidity in this one - crashing across the tongue sounds bad, but hard to interpret.
Jay, I have a high tolerance for electric acidity
I found it joyfully needed amongst the rounded, aged extract
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Ha! Perhaps not surprisingly, Sercial is my favorite of the Madeiras.
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Sercial is an outstanding food wine, especially with a fatty seafood dish that handles the acidity well. I once paired an 1863 Blandy’s Sercial with a Williamsburg revolutionary war-era recipe of sea scallops with a cream sauce. It was spectacular.
This! Off-the-charts acidity is exactly the thing that makes Madeira so great.
I remember tasting Fajã dos Padres Malvasia (as they choose to label Malmsey) 1996 that was obviously luscious in sweetness, yet tasted barely off-dry, thanks to the piercing acidity. Simply stunning stuff.
Which is, of course, what makes it one of the very few wines IMHO that can actually pair with a dessert. As much as I love a d’Yquem, it is a dessert unto itself and I do not like it with sweet accompaniments.
I have had 1875 Barbeito twice, a variety of wines from The Rare Wine Company series and a couple of Broadbents and I have found them very enjoyable. But that Secial, about an 1840, was not something I would revisit unless offered to me for free. It appears that is the style of the grape and the process of making madeira out of it.
I have some 19th century Sercial that will dissolve your teeth enamel!
I remember tasting Fajã dos Padres Malvasia (as they choose to label Malmsey) 1996 that was obviously luscious in sweetness, yet tasted barely off-dry, thanks to the piercing acidity. Simply stunning stuff.
1996 or 1986? The last release was the 1993. So far, Barbeito has released 1986, 1990, and 1993 Faja dos Padres Malvasia. Barbeito is getting all the Faja dos Padres fruit these days. Ricardo Freitas’ (director of Barbeito) mother (who also ran Barbeito) and Mario Fernandes’ (owner of Faja dos Padres) father were good friends. The Fernandes family also act as partadistas (growers who make wine but cannot export) in the town of Seixal. If you find any wine labeled MEF, for Manuel Eugenio Fernandes (the father) it will be superb.
The Malvasia from Faja dos Padres is pure Malvasia Candida, the original variety. It was thought extinct on the island until Mario Fernandes found a lone vine growing at the cliff face. All the current vines on the faja were planted as scions. DNA analysis in Lisbon showed that this was the original Malvasia Candida. Most of the Malvasia on the island is the newer Malvasia Sao Jorge variety.
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Well, it wasn’t exported but instead a bottle purchased directly at Faja dos Padres, to my understanding bottled directly from the cask at request, and had just small “Malvasia 1996” handwritten sticker on it. Brought to a tasting by a friend who had visited the place. The bottle is on the far right in the photo.
The Malvasia from Faja dos Padres is pure Malvasia Candida, the original variety. It was thought extinct on the island until Mario Fernandes found a lone vine growing at the cliff face. All the current vines on the faja were planted as scions. DNA analysis in Lisbon showed that this was the original Malvasia Candida. Most of the Malvasia on the island is the newer Malvasia Sao Jorge variety.
An excellent piece on information, thank you! Very interesting to hear. I didn’t know there had been a third Malvasia variety grown in Madeira.
Now we’re talking. That’s what I had. Caramelized sulfuric acid.
I will be delighted if ever-scarcer vintage sercial becomes tarred with brush that it is “caramelized sulfuric acid”. It’s rare enough as things are.
If I fine a mixed lot of sercial and boal, I’d gladly go halvsies on it with you.
I’m glad you guys don’t like Madeira. More for the rest of us.
I like Madeira. I do not like Caramelized Sulfuric Acid. Three of the 14 most valuable 750s that I own are Madeira, but they are Boal or Malvasia. I have been trying to get a Terrentez but I keep losing out to last minute snipers.
Well, it wasn’t exported but instead a bottle purchased directly at Faja dos Padres, to my understanding bottled directly from the cask at request, and had just small “Malvasia 1996” handwritten sticker on it. Brought to a tasting by a friend who had visited the place. The bottle is on the far right in the photo.
OK, it’s the equivalent of a grower’s wine made by Mario Fernandes. He has a small lodge on the property where he’ll vinify fruit that doesn’t get sent to Barbeito. Technically not supposed to be exported since it doesn’t go through the IVBAM, the governmental agency responsible for Madeira (and other things.) If you manage to go there, Mario will let you taste from cask. Difficult to do otherwise on the island because of the IVBAM rules. He even has a couple small casks of young Terrantez. I’ve no idea as to judging the quality of really young canteiro wines (less than 5 years). They all seem disjointed to me. I have to rely on Mario’s judgement. The older wines are superb.
An excellent piece on information, thank you! Very interesting to hear. I didn’t know there had been a third Malvasia variety grown in Madeira.
There are several other varieties of Malvasia grown historically on the island. Malvasia Balbosa was common at one time. I have a single bottle of a Malvasia Roxo as well.
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Since you only like the wines with huge sweetness, you won’t like a Terrentez. These were generally vinified in a drier style.
It’s a really fun place to visit and taste (we stayed there in one of the cottages at the recommendation of someone on this board). As you said, its more of a “sample” bottle that you purchase. When we were there in 2019 it was the 2005 that was bottled for us (after we tasted it with Mario).
Some photos:
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Great photos. I love the non-industrial, hometown approach that the photos reflect. We were supposed to travel there last summer but you know how that went. Maybe next year.