Killer Madeira Tasting Event by Rare Wine Co June 7

[Reidar Andersen]

Thanks for this one ... have printed it out in color for my files...

[Marco D.]

Great notes so far. I've been pretty busy at work and haven't typed my notes in yet, but I must say they align pretty well with others.

[Roy Hersh]

Within 24 hours, you will also receive my article/TNs/photos on this event.

[Roy Hersh]

For anyone who is interested, you can go to the homepage and check out my article and photos in a pdf format. You do not need to be a subscriber in order to access the newsletter this month.

[Roy Hersh]

An open email to everyone who attended
the Leacock tastings on June 6th and 7th ....

First of all, I want to thank each of you for sharing this important event with me. I hope that it more than fulfilled your expectations.


Over the past ten days, we've taken advantage of our new Rare Wine Co. Blog (blog.rarewineco.com) to post a first report on the tasting, and we've also posted an article on our website (http://www.rarewineco.com) which largely mirrors the booklet we handed out.

In addition, two of the most knowledgeable and experienced among us have published detailed tasting notes on the web. First out was Richard Jennings (from the Saturday tasting) who posted his usual great notes at http://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=7840. Then, Roy Hersh (who was there on Sunday) filed his much-anticipated notes for his subscribers at http://www.fortheloveofport.com.

I have not forgotten that I owe you all a report on how the bottles differed over the two days. I promise that I will do this, but I first want to revisit a few of the wines to get a sense of the extent to which differences may have been due to breathing rather than bottle variation. Your patience will be rewarded!

In the meantime a couple of mysteries appeared to have been cleared up. The first is the origin of "A," the opening "wine." As you know, on Saturday, I surmised that "A" could well stand for Aguardente. And the Sunday tasters know that I received an email mid-tasting from Barbeito winemaker Ricardo Freitas who strongly concurred. I had the chance to spend the day with Ricardo in Boston last Thursday, and he is adamant that it must be Aguardente. However, it would not be Aguardente made from sugar cane but Aguardente made from wine "lees." He explains that farmers on the island would often distill their lees (the matter left in the lagar after crushing and pressing). According to Ricardo, a single or double distillation, followed by wood aging, would produce something very much like what we drank. Also, he recalls seeing bottles of Aguardente in family cellars on the island also painted "A."

The other mystery solved is the meaning of "VMA" on the Malvasia bottles. For this we can thank Peter Reutter of http://www.madeirawineguide.com. Peter noticed that the M and A were slightly smaller and underlined, meaning that this was actually an abbreviation for Velhissima, meaning very old. Thank you, Peter!

Best wishes

Mannie Berk



THE RARE WINE CO.
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email: [email protected]

[Marco D.]

Finally got to writing my notes down:

A TASTE OF HISTORY: THE LEACOCK FAMILY MADEIRAS - Hotel Monaco, San Francisco, CA (6/6/2009)

This historic tasting of the Leacock family Madeiras was put together by Mannie Berk of the Rare Wine Company. The wines came from the personal cellar of William Leacock, the only son of Edmund Leacock. These gems went up for auction at Christie's on December 11, 2008, and Mannie Berk was fortunate (and astute) enough to win many of the more interesting lots.

Originally scheduled for June 7th, response was so great that a second, identical, tasting was scheduled for June 6th as well.

While most of the Madeiras available today see very little bottle aging, this tasting was unique in that these wines are heavily bottle aged and will show quite a different character to what one would normally experience.

The wines were opened for a week, with the hope that extended aeration would eliminate any bottle stink that typically develops from so much time in the bottle.

As one climbed the stairs towards the dining room, you could already smell the rich and intoxicating perfume of the Madeiras being poured.
PREFACE
A little something to get the taste buds going...

• 1988 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Vintage Rare - France, Champagne
  Lively, fresh, and bright on the palate, with hints of yeasty/nutty maturity. Good depth and minerality - but to be honest, I was not paying detailed attention to this wine, as my thoughts were on the treasures to come. (93 pts.)

CHAPTER 1: The Dry
This flight consisted of wines deemed to be Sercial or Sercial-like.

• N.V. Leacock Madeira "A" (undated) - Portugal, Madeira
  Relatively light in color; golden tawny hue; slight green rim. Very perfumed and cognac-like. Some volatile acidity. Good citric, floral and dried apricot flavors. Certainly dry, but not austere. Incredible "cling" on the palate with some "warmth". A slight bit of "earthiness" in the mid-palate was the only detraction. Lingering pit-bull of a finish. For such a dry wine, there is good richness here. My favorite of the flight, I thought this was super. Mannie mentioned that this reminded him of old, barrel-aged aguradente -- but without the alcohol or heat. Could this have been a diluted aguradente? Is that what the mysterious "A" on the bottle stood for? [Update: Mannie has met up with Ricardo Freitas of Barbeito, who is convinced this is an aguardente - but from wine "lees", not sugar cane. It was probably single or double distilled and the wood aged. Ricardo also mentioned seeing aguardente bottles in family cellars with the distinctive painted "A".]. (94 pts.)
• 1825 Leacock Madeira Seco - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium copper in color. A bit ungiving in the nose. Not as dry as the Leacock "A" and not quite the acidity of that wine as well. Medium length, a bit spirity and raw on the nose. This was (relatively) soft in the mouth, but still very nice. The finish was mouth-watering, but the flavors somewhat muted. Perhaps this was a Verdelho? Mannie mentioned that Sercial was quite prestigious at the time this was produced -- so if it was a Sercial, you would think it would be labeled as such. (89 pts.)
• 1890 Leacock Madeira Sercial - Portugal, Madeira
  Similar copper color as the 1825 Leacock Seco. Odd bottle stink on the nose. I couldn't get the weird "stewed vegetables" (brussel sprouts?) flavors off my mind. Tangy, but dry (this time austerely so). Interesting from an intellectual standpoint, but this didn't give up much "love" for me. (84 pts.)

CHAPTER 2: The Off Dry
This flight consisted of wines deemed to have an off-dry, Verdelho-like character.

• 1928 Leacock Madeira Verdelho "EEL" - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium-amber in color. Leather and nut skin on the nose. Very dry; Sercial-like. Beautful old wine cellar scents -- like decending into an ancient wine cave. Lingering tart finish, but some heat is evident. This was probably a private family wine for Edmund Erskine Leacock ("EEL"). (90 pts.)
• 1934 Leacock Madeira "SJ" - Portugal, Madeira
  A single vineyard Madeira from the famous, but now defunct, São João vineyard. It was here that the Leacock family ran experiemnts to halt the spread of phylloxera. Medium dark caramel color. Ungiving nose. Somewhat flat on the palate. Not a bad wine, but lacks the vibrancy I crave from Madeira. You really need to work this to get any flavors. Some spirit on the finish. Some nuts and caramel, but this was generally closed in on itself. (83 pts.)
• N.V. Leacock Madeira Malvazia "VMA" (undated) - Portugal, Madeira
  Another ungiving nose here. With time in the glass, floral scents were revealed. Better on the palate. Medium sweet, soft and velvety on the palate. Relative to the other wines in the flight, this seemed lower in acidity. Nice wine, but I would personally prefer more drive and energy. Nobody seems to know what the "VMA" stands for. [Update: Peter Reutter (of http://www.madeirawineguide.com) noticed that the "MA" is superscripted and underlined, meaning that the "VMA" was an abbreviation for "Velhissima", which translates to "Very Old" or "Ancient".]. (82 pts.)

CHAPTER 3: The Odd Couple
A couple of unusual private family wines, believed to have been laid down for John Milburne Leacock's sons.

• 1896 Unknown Madeira HFS "E" - Portugal, Madeira
  Probably another private family wine; believed to have possibly been laid down for Edmund Erskine, born in 1891. Very dark in color; almost cola-like. Interesting camphor/sandalwood/tea leaf/pressed dried flowers and perfume. These are the scents I normally associate with extreme bottle-aged Madeiras -- and it was intoxicating. Initialy luscious and round on entry, but very good balancing acidity. Off-dry. Beautiful "sweet" bottle bouquet that I could not get enough off. An unusual wine in that the nose strongly suggested bottle-aging while, paradoxically, the color suggested cask aging. (94 pts.)
• 1895 Unknown Madeira HFS "JPW" - Portugal, Madeira
  Dark, but not as much as the 1896 HFS "E" that preceded this. More "sweet" bottle aged flavors, although not as expressive as the previous wine. Medium sweet, elegant and nice juicy acidity, although again, not as precise as the previous wine. Lovely wine, but for me, overshadowed by the 1896 HFS "E". This is believed to have been laid down for Julian Philip, born in 1893, the son of John Milburne Leacock. (92 pts.)

CHAPTER 4: Now We're Talking
A big step up in overall quality.

• 1881 Leacock Madeira Terrantez - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium dark amber. Highly expressive nose of burnt sugar and dried fruits. More torrefaction here that in the other wines. Incredible palate impact. Envelopes and carresses the palate with a luscious coating of semi-bitter nutskin. Tangy, with terrific cut and precision; lime-squit acidity. This deliveres an unforgettable punch, with facinating contemplative length. (95 pts.)
• N.V. Madeira Wine Association Ltd. Madeira A.G. Pacheco - Portugal, Madeira
  A famous wine among "old time" Madeira collectors. Bottled by the Madeira Wine Association in 1927. Medium amber in color. Quite a bit of sour flavors on the nose and mouth. Somewhat muddied in the mid-palate while showing a quite a bit of spirit. There is good length here, with some pretty dried floral notes... but the sour elements were somewhat distracting to me. (87 pts.)
• 1868 Lomelino Madeira Very Old Boal E.B.H. - Portugal, Madeira
  Wow! My favorite wine of the tasting so far, and one of the wines of the entire tasting. Dark amber in color, with a slight green rim. A fascinating, lifted, fresh "green" herbal note to go with the caramel and dried fruits. This was astonishingly rich and luscious, reallly clinging to the palate -- yet this was a diamond of a wine, displaying clarity, cut and brightness. There are times when you just stop analyzing and talking about specific flavors and just take in the gestalt... this was one of those times. The EBH stands for Eugenia de Bianchi Henriques, who had many strong family connections in the trade. (97 pts.)

CHAPTER 5: The Big Guns
Some of the rarest wines of the tasting, including a Bastardo that was previously unkown to have existed and my wine of the day.

• 1845 Lomelino Madeira Quinta da Paz - Portugal, Madeira
  A famous, yet ridiculously rare wine. Produced on the estate of Joseph Phelps, an early British shipper. One sip of this and I declared it the wine of the tasting for me. Dark caramel in color, root beer, treacle, figs. Expands slowly on the palate, where it mercilessly coats anything that happens to get in its way. Like "The Blob", resistance is futile. One of those wines where you can taste it minutes later by licking between your gums and lips. Uncanny combination of richness and nervous tension. Profound length... profound wine. (98 pts.)
• 1836 Lomelino Madeira Bastardo - Portugal, Madeira
  This is the oldest Bastardo currently known to exist. Intriguing fruitcake and mocha nose. The flavors are "darker" than the other wines tasted thus far. More fruitcake, treacle and roasted flavors on the palate... almost like a liquid bolo de mel. Pleasing nut skin and coffee bean bitterness on the finish. This leans more towards the "bass" rather than "treble" spectrum of flavors that Madeiras can take on. More of an intellectual rather than hedonistic experience, but extremely enjoyable and unique. [I find it interesting that of the few Bastardos I've had, they've all tasted radically different... the 1875 Cossart Gordon displayed exotic tropical fruits (mangos/papaya/kiwi); the 1927 D'Oliveira was sharp and mouth watering with citrus and a bitter/chalky/mineraly almost Chinon-like flavor and acidity; the 1927 Leacock had a dusty dried strawberry and boullion/saline character. Tough to surmise a common thread among these little "Bastards". Mannie mentioned the classic bitter finish... perhaps the defining attribute?] (94 pts.)
• N.V. Borges Madeira Terrantez HMB (undated) - Portugal, Madeira
  Although undated, it is speculated that this is the famous 1862. I was immediately taken back by a prominent bottle stink. Trying to look past this, there was lovely orange zest, burnt sugar and nut skin flavors. Nice combination of richness and precision. Impressive complexity and a finish that hung on for dear life. This surely would have been one of my top wines of the tasting, had I not focused so much on the bottle stink. I would be curious to revisit this bottle again after more aeration. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Richard Jennings]

Mannie,

Thanks again to you and the RWC staff for putting together such a memorable and informative tasting.

I can understand your desire to spend a little more time with your notes (and the wines) as they have so much to tell us (and you're fortunate enough to still have some to sample). I look forward to your comparison of how the same wines showed Saturday and Sunday when you're ready with it. In the meantime, thanks for letting us know the apparent answers to two of our labeling mysteries. It's great that we have a few vintage Madeira experts left in the world--you, Peter and Roy--to help us make sense of these historical treasures whose makers are so long gone.


And Marco,

Thank you for your notes.

[Roy Hersh]

Marco,

I truly appreciate you taking the time to write up your notes too. A great read. I find it fascinating to see that variations of opinions of the wines within the same day. Mannie had a reference point from which to make comments when we had day 2 (Sun.) after Marco/Eric/Richard and Steve ... from attended. He commented on how the bottles varied from Sat. to the next bottle opened on Sunday. I did not want to include those comments in my article though, as I felt it was much more appropriate for Mannie to do this and knew he had further sample containers of each wine to further his comparisons.

That said, thanks to all of you who have posted and I do hope we get some more impressions too. Heather, oh Heather. Seriously, there is a very good possibility that many folks who attended and some that were unable to attend are reading here. In fact, I know that IS the case.

Thanks again Marco, Richard and Eric!

For historical sake in this thread, I will include a direct link to my article for comparative sake. Unfortunately, no one else from Sunday has posted notes yet. The variance in scores on that day probably would be far less than those from different bottles on opposite days.

Here is the link: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/madeira ... eiras.html

[Heather Hathwell]

Yes, yes, yes, I know

After being absent from home 3 weeks (and then immediately getting up at 4am 2x for this wonderful even) I had jet lag to get over, work to get caught up on and house to get back in order...... I'll be tardy but I'll get something up, I promise. But I can immediately concur with those who already posted here about what a fantastic opportunity it was and how enjoyable it was. Meanwhile, I know I differed in opinion on one of the wines not well liked, so I guess I'll be the odd one out. I think the gentleman next to me shared the same view..... so maybe I'm not totally alone.

Coming, coming...

[Roy Hersh]

Heather we will be patient in awaiting your impressions/TNs from this tasting. The more the merrier whether you agree/disagree and nobody is right or wrong here.