NV Henriques & Henriques Madeira Inauguration Wine- Portugal, Madeira (6/17/2016)
Opened on 6/15/16 to provide a two-day decant. Notes from 6/15/16: Massive acidity that makes the wine practically undrinkable. This was expected based on other online notes. Underneath, flavors indicating a big wine that is unmistakably Verdelho.
Served on 6/17/16. Notes: Very high toned acetone nose. The acidity has calmed down from two days ago, but is still very pronounced. There’s a touch of sweetness that’s still well masked by the acidity. I can understand why others might conclude this wine to be a Bual, but I don’t agree. The color was dark walnut with a green rim. Finish of burned raisins and heavily bruleed crème brulee top. Paired fantastically with the sautéed crusted chicken breast.
Over the next couple of hours in the glass, the acid peeled away and revealed more sweetness. I’m still staying with Verdelho on this one, but definitely more Bual-like.
When the glass was empty, the aromas inside were incredible! They reminded me of the aromas you get when you first walk into a winery’s barrel cellar: intense wood with sweetness under the sharp wood aroma. I couldn’t get my nose out of the glass!
Overall, a fabulous wine that I would buy again in a heartbeat. (95 pts.)
Great question. Henriques & Henriques inaugurated a new facility in 1994 and held a big gala. This wine was specially bottled for the occasion. Here’s a photo of the back label, which gives the story.
FWIW, I went to a tasting last fall and fell for one of their wines. I couldn’t locate it anywhere…and couldn’t locate their usa importer. I tried hard. But, now I can’t even remember the name of the bottle. Do you know who imports/distributes them? A couple of NYC retailers said they couldn’t get the stuff…or find anyone who sold it.
Sorry Stuart, I really don’t know who imports them in the U.S. Back in 2009 I had an email that said H&H was imported by Europvin USA. However, their website no longer lists H&H as a brand they carry.
I would suggest sending a message to Maria Aguiar at H&H to find out who their US importer is. Maria is usually pretty responsive. her email address is maria.aguiar@henriquesehenriques.pt.
