For The Love Of Port

Is it me, or is this area so badly underutilized? :wall:

I would be happy to do anything (legal ) to get more people talking Madeira. Quite frequently I come across total strangers at various tastings who tell me of their "epiphany" Madeira experience. These are fun to listen to and the kinds of stories I'd also enjoy reading -- here.

So what can we do to attract more Madeira lovers to participate?

Roy,

Send me 10% of your Madeira collection and I promise to endlessly post my impressions of each and every one both here and the TN section

But seriously (although I am serious above too ) I don't seem to have easy access or budget to get after drinking a bunch more Madeira. I love it, but there are very few daily drinkers available in Alaska, and when I begin to get into my enjoyable territory for Madeira (10 yr +) the price gets pretty steep and those little 375mL empty far too quickly! So for my QPR, I usually opt for tawny Port with some age.

I think Madeira is a love it or hate it thing. Some people can't get over the VA. Still those that get it, absolutely love it. i guess getting as many people as possible aquainted with the good stuff would be the answer.

I very much agree with the "low-drinking-frequency-theory". For everyday Madeira pleasure it is just the 10YO wines and these have been TNed often enough. (TNed, can you say that?)
But I made a resolution to taste old Madeira vintages more often and to post the TNs despite my rather limited abilities to describe the wines in english language.
Hang in there, Roy!
Peter

I think Madeira is a love it or hate it thing. Some people can't get over the VA. Still those that get it, absolutely love it. i guess getting as many people as possible aquainted with the good stuff would be the answer.

Good point Eric, but are we actually shooting ourselves in the foot by promoting Madeira? By doing so, with a very scarce resource, we are creating higher prices. Ouch. But nonetheless, I think it is the thing to do.



Peter,

Please email me any date between January and April when you think you would be able to spend a long weekend here in Seattle, so I can make some plans for a redux.

Roy-

I lurk in the madeira forum with great trepidation. I can't afford another wine interest at the moment!!

My experience with Madeira is quite limited (I think the only Madeira that I have had was from V Sattui.....and, yes, I figure, true Madeira must come from Madeira!!) :) Through this forum, I am becoming more educated on what true Madeira is about, but will likely get a little further down the road with my port exploration before I turn my eyes toward something additional.

I will say that, due to some of what I've read here, I will probably go and source a bottle or two of "every day" Madeira to have as the occasional alternative to port when the mood strikes.

My $.02.

R

Rich,

There is just something about the complexity of Madeira that drives me wild and even though I love Burgundy too ... nothing comes close to the intensity of the finish and multifaceted dimensions and layers of flavors and aromatics that fine Madeiras can provide.

Join us for May's Fortification Tour and you'll get up to speed in a hurry!

Thanks for posting here though. I truly wish that this specific area of the Forum were a lot busier!

Now maybe if I gave away free bottles of old Madeira for folks hitting certain posting targets ...

Well, maybe a better idea would be to throw a huge Madeira party and have those who participate most here, join in the fun. My bottles, your airfare.

I would love to learn more about Madeira. I would love to know what wines to start with and perhaps where to buy them.

Thanks
David

Quote:
I think Madeira is a love it or hate it thing. Some people can't get over the VA. Still those that get it, absolutely love it. i guess getting as many people as possible aquainted with the good stuff would be the answer.


Good point Eric, but are we actually shooting ourselves in the foot by promoting Madeira? By doing so, with a very scarce resource, we are creating higher prices. Ouch. But nonetheless, I think it is the thing to do.

Roy, I agree. I think spreading the word is better than trying to hoard all the good stuff. Especially with fortified wines, the conviviality of drinking and sharing is important. I'd hate to try to drink an entire decanter full by myself, alone.

I would love to learn more about Madeira. I would love to know what wines to start with and perhaps where to buy them.

Thanks
David

David, if you scroll down the Madeira topics I think you'll find some good recommendations to get into Madeira. I think most 15 year old and some 10 year old blends are an excellent place to start.

Thanks Eric, I will get a jump on some of those. Also, I would hate for you to drink alone too, I am only one state away!

Does anyone know of any good port/madeira shops in Paris as I am going tomorrow?

thanks
David

Dear David,

you should read the article "Paris for wine (and food) lovers" at
http://www.delongwine.com/news/

There used to be some old Madeira wines (see tasting note below) at Nicolas wine shop in Paris, but they no longer offer them anymore, at least not on their website.
Enjoy your trip.
Best
Peter

PS:
1835
Nicolas Madere Imperiale
Bottle:
Modern bottle of industrial make, completely crusted, lots of sediment, heavy lead foil cap over a long, crumbly but moist cork, branded with "Nicolas depuis 1822".
Color:
Brilliant iodine with golden rim, certainly one of the most beautiful madeira wine colors I have ever seen.
Nose:
Sweet ginger cake with only little volatile acidity. Also some burnt coffee and a distinct toffee note, all very harmonious.
Palate:
Very spirity at first with lots of volatile acidity. After 3 hours beginning to soften, medium sweetness balanced by fierce piercing acidity (now I know what Michael Broadbent means when he writes of rapier-like acidity!), coffee, fresh bread, some hints of the cough medicine like taste that old Malmsey sometimes has. It all ended with a superlong bitter finish. A multilayered wine of extreme concentration!
Footnote:
Tasted 2/2004. When asking the company of Nicolas, Paris about the wine, they told me it had been bottled in the 1980ies. They advised me not to open it, because "you will only have taste of acidity, best to keep it just for collection." How wrong they were! Another bottle with a slightly different label and foil cap tasted 8/2007 with the same pleasant results, cork branded with "MADERE 1835".

David

And I was in San Diego last week. Could have had some fun !!

Reidar

David,

There are still some spots open for the Fortification Tour in May. You'd not only be able to learn more in a few days than 5 years on your own, but you'd get to drink the amazing stuff and also have the chance to find great bargains at places that would save you a bundle.

Hello Everyone,

I am new here. I live in Cambridge, England.

I developed a taste for Madeira working my way through a case and a half of Rutherford & Miles Old Trinity House Bual, bought some years ago and now no longer available, as far I know.

Recently I have been drinking Blandy's 5 year old Alvada which I find very disappointing.

Last week, at a charity auction, I bought a bottle of 1952 Cossart Royal Silver Jubilee Bual (bottled in 1977 by Ellis Son & Vidler Ltd in Hastings) for £75, which had been donated by King's College Cambridge from their cellars.

That is how I found you - I googled it and found the tasting note from s_shapiro, posted on 11 Mar 2007.

I wondered if anyone else here had ever tasted it or could tell me anything more about it?

I am planning to drink it with friends in the next year or so.

Steve S.

Hello Everyone.

I am new here also, from the Los Angeles area. I happened across this site researching some notes on certain old madeiras. What a treat this is.

Madeira is my first love in wine, and I've been subconsciously drawn to Portugal and Madeira my whole adult life. I finally got to go about 8 years ago and that included a full week on the island, mainly on the dramatic north coast in Seixal, then on to Porto Moniz, but with a couple of days in Funchal where it was mainly all about madeira. It was an extremely memorable trip. I especially enjoyed the personalized attention I got at A Barros E Sousa, the full tour, the old office that is frozen in time from about a century ago, the barrel tastings, checking out the Brazilian coffee bean seedling in the middle of the old courtyard. Between there and the Lodge I brought back 6 (mostly vintage) bottles with my carry-on, paid minimal duty, and enjoyed every single one of them (1 still left, a 1974 C.G. Terrantez). So it is no surprise I found myself 2 years ago heading back, thankfully just before the in-cabin carry-on prohibition went into effect!

Heather

Hi Heather,

Nice to see you took the leap of faith and I am sure you will be warmly welcomed. Not too many people will see this post unfortunately. Post a similar intro in the Port Forum and you will have many a response.

You didn´t tell me you had been to Portugal, no less twice.

Here I sit at 7:30 a.m. in the Lisboa TAP Lounge waiting for my last flight of the journey. I´m happy you posted and hope you will find this a great education.

A few of the guys who post in this particular spot have been on tours this year and one or two went to Madeira although usually it is just Eric Ifune who posts in the Madeira area.

Have you looked at recent articles on the Madeira tastings in NY, DC and Seattle? There will be one in SF that I am considering for April. Of course you are more than welcome to join us at that time.

I´ll be in touch as I mentioned.

Roy

Roy:

Ah, the good old Lisboa airport. Hopefully you will have a chance to slip into town on the way back between your flights. Have a great trip.

Thank you kindly Heather. I doubt I will have any Madeira on this trip, but I will definitely have my share of old Ports. Iºll need to send my liver out for dry cleaning, yet again!


Also a big welcome for Steve S. from the UK. Weºve had lots of new sign ups from overseas and many from England too. It must be the cold weather!

Steve and Heather,

Welcome to FTLOP, it's great to have both of you here and I look forward to reading more of your posts.

Heather,
I also live in L.A., so one of these days we'll have to meet up and share some vino. I don't have a lot of Madeira, but Port I got plenty of. There is also a few of us from the forum in the L.A. area that gathers periodically for dinner and Ports. Next time we plan one, I'll let you know if you're interested.

Thank you Andy. I would definitely be interested in joining one of your gatherings. I will surely include you in my next madeira tasting. Nothing to compare to the awesome events I've read about on this site though.

About 15 months ago I hosted a madeira tasting with friends, only one of whom was familiar with madeira and who found the Terrantez locally, estimated to be about 35-40 years old. All the other bottles came back with me from Madeira earlier last year. Nothing extremely rare, though the older ABSL Extra Reserva is quickly dwindling in supply. Following is what I served (with one non-madeira bottle):

Artur de Barros E Sousa Lda - Extra Reserva Verdelho
Broadbent - "Old Reserve" Terrantez
Artur de Barros E Sousa Lda - Extra Reserva Boal
Barbeito - 1863 Bual

Extra Bottle:
Jose Fonseca - Moscatel de Setubal "Trilogia" which was a special blend of 1900, 1934 and 1965 vintages).

It was rather unfair to put the Trilogia up there against madeira. The hits of the evening were the ABSL Bual, followed by the 1863 Bual and the Verdelho - the latter two varying according to personal preference. I'll probably post a little something about ABSL on a different segment of the madeira forum in a few days. But basically to put this thread in some context, as you probably surmised already the Extra Reserva barrels may or may not be from a single vintage, but because of record-keeping and paperwork issues, legally it cannot be sold as vintage. And in any case the proprietor has no idea of the year, only who made it. The Extra Reserva are usually wines made by the great-grandfather (or grandfather, depending which barrel) of the current proprietor (who is himself probably about 70). In my case, I had great grand-papa's Bual; the Verdelho might have been grandpa's.

Heather