TN: 1890 Leacock Sercial Madeira
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:31 pm
This was purchased from the Rare Wine Company and decanted for two weeks before drinking.
The capsule was rather old but it appeared as though it might have been sealed with wax but at some point the wax was removed (perhaps to top off the bottle?) and then resealed with a gold capsule. You can see the ullage in the photo below.
I would say it was pretty much ready to drink on opening. Remarkable when you think about how long it must have been in the bottle as it was part of the Leacock family reserve and looks like a rather old bottle (perhaps 60 years old?)
On opening, there was a rush of aromas of caramel, quince, apples. Very dry on palate, tangy Meyer lemon notes, quice, apple and caramel with slight breadiness like a tart tatin. Amazingly vibrant for 120 year old wine. No sign of being tired or over the hill. I could have honestly drank it all right then and there myself.
After two weeks in the decanter all of those initial components were still there to varying degrees but the nose had grown super rich and spicy with strong caramel notes. On the palate it was much deeper than first tasting with pronounced burnt sugar notes along with orange peel.
Really an extraordinary tasting experience and a testament to how well Madeira ages and how undervalued and under appreciated it is.
The capsule was rather old but it appeared as though it might have been sealed with wax but at some point the wax was removed (perhaps to top off the bottle?) and then resealed with a gold capsule. You can see the ullage in the photo below.
I would say it was pretty much ready to drink on opening. Remarkable when you think about how long it must have been in the bottle as it was part of the Leacock family reserve and looks like a rather old bottle (perhaps 60 years old?)
On opening, there was a rush of aromas of caramel, quince, apples. Very dry on palate, tangy Meyer lemon notes, quice, apple and caramel with slight breadiness like a tart tatin. Amazingly vibrant for 120 year old wine. No sign of being tired or over the hill. I could have honestly drank it all right then and there myself.
After two weeks in the decanter all of those initial components were still there to varying degrees but the nose had grown super rich and spicy with strong caramel notes. On the palate it was much deeper than first tasting with pronounced burnt sugar notes along with orange peel.
Really an extraordinary tasting experience and a testament to how well Madeira ages and how undervalued and under appreciated it is.