For The Love Of Port

Ok guys! Time to get a Madeira wine for this month Virtual tasting. As a part of the forum topics it would be nice that both experts and novice share their thoughts in this very nice drink!

I have to confess here and now that I have never tasted Madeira

Please, can someone tell me what to buy as an entry level experience and I will do my best to find a wine to report on here.

Derek

Derek my first Madeira was Bual 5 years old from Cossart Gordon. It did ring the bells for me. Then you can probably get a 10 year old malvasia to compare the style. This is especially why I chose this topic this month, so some people can taste this nectar for the first time and open their eyes on its great quality.

Derek

Fred's suggestion seems pretty reasonable. Broadbents 10 yr Malvasia is a great introduction.

Bual is the "middle" of the range in terms of sweetness, with Malvasia (Malmsy) being the sweetest. Sercial is the driest generally. Terrentez is very nice but harder to find.

To me, rainwater is an acquired taste (which I have yet to acquire). A Cossart-Gordon 5-15 year would not be bad, stay away from 3-years (any producer) for your first experience.

The older the wine, generally the more complex it will be. If your looking for the equivilent of an old Colheita port, look for a vintage (labled as a specific year, from ~1970's or ideally earlier) instead of a age-specified (i.e., 5-year or 10 year)

My two cents, take with a grain of salt!

Jay

Thanks, guys - I will try to find one of the wines you have mentioned.

Is anyone planning to post TN here???????

Derek

As usual I will. Anyone not interested to do so, please feel free to say why, I think it could be as interesting.

I will certainly. I am having freinds over for a Bordeaux tasting on the 16th, and will provide a dessert wine at the end which may be a good opportunity to open one up (but then, theres so many ports to consider as well!).

If not then, I'll pop one open anyways and post a note. Maybe the D'oliveiras 1969 sercial, as I have ben quite curious about that one following Roys "lemons" comment. Several forum members may have that one, so if somebody else wants to take that I'll pick another.

Jay

Jay

Just picked one up this evening...will probably open it early next week as I am busy this weekend.

I haven't posted yet for the usual sorts of reasons. That is, I'm very busy at work and haven't had chance to pick up a bottle of anything that has been suggested here as a good starting madeira.

If I get the chance, I will post a note here, and if I don't post then you'll all know that I was too busy.

When the theme for a month coincides with a wine that is already in my cellar, then I post.

Alex

1977 D'Oliveires Reserva Terrantez bottled in 2004

Well here is my first foray into a Madeira that has some age on it, although for Madeira, still quite on the young side. I opened the bottle 3 days ago.

Color reminds me of a 20 year tawny, redish-orange. The nose has VA for sure and baked nuts and what is similar to carmel (but I cant place excatly what it is). In the mouth this gives a sour sensation with its acidity and yet is quite pleasing at the same time. I get walnut and pistachio flavors along with slight hints of citrus fruits. The finish is rather long and when I run my tongue along my teeth I get a second and third wave, making the finish really delightful. My only complaint is that this does not seem highly complex, but that is just being really picky. 92 points.

Verdelho 15 years old, Henriques and Henriques : Pale amber color with some green hint, this madeira develops a nice bouquet of grilled nuts, dried figs, nutmegs and some orange zest, not very intense but attractive. On the palate, the wine develops very well with the acidity lifting flavours similar to the nose, some sweetness is showing in mid-palate and the finale is dry and dominated by caramel and spices. 16/20

So what we doing for March, since not many people joined in with us this month

This is my second madeira tasting.

But the first was quite some time ago, and it was a 1957 madeira.

Tawny like color.
Nose of caramel, maple and later spices, nuts and fruit cake
On taste, brown sugar, nuts. very good aftertaste of nuts. A well balanced wine. Very nice.
I like it very much. Drank the third of the bottle !

I was surprised to learn the existence of the

Instituto do vinho da Madeira

Good surprise for me. Hope to taste other madeira's in the future.

Gilles

Merci Gilles!

Indeed this is a very nice wine and great value for the money. This was the first Madeira I had and I really enjoyed it! It's a shame we don't have good selection of Vintage Madeira in Québec.

D'oliveiras 1969 sercial

This wine was super dry, even for a sercial. My impressions were: sour, grapefruit, VA, astringent yet rich, and in the end, overpowering.

I did not find this example to be reprsentitive of sercial in general. It is a good wine, but probably not to be recommended as a first entry into madeira!

Jay

1957 Henriques & Henriques Boal

Picked up at the bottling plant in 2003 during my first trip to Madeira. This was the only Vintage I could find of my birth year so it had to be bought.

It has a pleasing dark brown colour and on the nose coffee, walnuts, raisins and prunes; very enticing. On sipping the coffee and raisins come to the fore along with the refreshing acidity one expects. This might not be a great madeira but for me the bottle has fond memories of a great holiday and it was made in the year I was born! It works for me.


Paul.

Barbeito VB Verdelho/Boal blend. This is bottle #0935 of 2490 bottled in 2005. Total aging was over six years. 18% alcohol. $25 (now $30) from Rare Wine Company. 500 ml.

Opened on 24 February. The color is very light honey. The flavor is right in the middle between what we would expect from boal and verdelho. There is a little heat from the alcohol. Not much acidity. On 25 February the alcohol has moderated, so the wine is more balanced. There is a nice acidity. The color is a little darker, but this is still the lightest madeira that I have seen. It seems a little drier now and more toward the verdelho. There is a very slight touch of bitterness on the finish. The finish is rather short.

Barbeito's VB would be a nice introduction to the drier styles of madeira without being too extreme for a newcomer. I think that Blandy's Alvada would serve the same purpose for the sweeter styles.

Gary