Madeira Recommendations

[JacobH]

I used often to have a decanter of Madeira available, though it would often take me several months to ponder and drink it, as I am rarely in the mood for it. I think I should buy some more, but I am a bit at a loss as to what to get.

Does anyone who has some better knowledge than I have any recommendations for what might be a nice bottle to try, preferably with a bit of age but not too expensive (i.e. the Madeira equivalent of the Malvedos ’87 or Vesuvio ’96)? I’ve like both sweet and dry Madeiras, so would be happy to go for whatever is better value.

[ACmole]

The main problem is one of availability in the UK. I always keep a decanter of Broadbents 5 year old Reserve (BBR) as an everyday drinking Madeira. Failing that, bog standard Duke of Clarence can be relied upon.

D'Oliveras are probably the best value of the Vintage Madeiras, their 1966 Vedelho was particularly good in tasting this year. Laithwaites do a 1978 Bual at £70, which strikes me as good value.

Barbeito offer some quality wines, but their Lodge in Funchal was the only one not reopened after the floods earlier in the year. So i'm not sure what's happening there. Their 1978 Vedelho has won several medals.

Any of the Madeira Wine Company producers are good, they've manged to keep their house style intact. For me Leacocks always seems to win in a blind tasting (much as Warre's does with Port). Blandy's seem to come with a premium price tag.
Leacocks 1950 Sercial would be my choice. Cossarts 1960 Sercial is excellent too (£190 BBR)

Henriques & Henriques Vintage is very difficult to find, even on the island. But the blends are very good.

As for Barros and Sousa, I have yet to find their Lodge let alone a bottle of wine (I've only bee looking for 10 years!)

Sorry for such a rambling post, but it's a huge subject. Can I suggest a holiday to Madeira for some intensive tasting? Ater all there's Sercial, Terratez, Verdelho, Bual, Malvasia and (if you can find it) bar steward and Moscatel, before you even start with the Rainwater and different vintages.

If anyone knows where I can get a 1978 Blandy's Malmsey, let me know!

Alan

[JacobH]

Alan: thanks for that and those recommendations: they are very interesting. I've certainly been thinking about a trip to Madeira at some stage and it might even materialise into a definitive plan sometime next year!

Could I ask you, though, if there are any Madeiras you would recommend which are somewhat between the non-vintage/5-year-old and the vintage Madeiras? I was wondering what the Madeira equivalent of a 20 year-old tawny or SQVP?

[ACmole]

Could I ask you, though, if there are any Madeiras you would recommend which are somewhat between the non-vintage/5-year-old and the vintage Madeiras? I was wondering what the Madeira equivalent of a 20 year-old tawny or SQVP?

I would say the closest would be Blandys Single Harvest, (probably closer to a good LBV) Waitrose have a 2001 Malmsey for £14. At the other end of the sweetness scale; Miles or Leacocks Rainwater is excellent and similar to a Fino Sherry. Blandy and Henriques also "do" 15 year old in the standard grape varieties. I've only tried the Blandys Bual which was really rather good. Again, Waitrose is the place to go!

To be honest there's a bit of a gap in the market between that and Vintage.

[Glenn E.]

Could I ask you, though, if there are any Madeiras you would recommend which are somewhat between the non-vintage/5-year-old and the vintage Madeiras? I was wondering what the Madeira equivalent of a 20 year-old tawny or SQVP?

Madeira Colheitas are sort of what you're looking for.

Vintage Madeira must spend at least 20 years in wood. 5- and 10-year olds are blends that are at least the stated age. Rainwater is... well, crap.

In between those lie the Colheitas, which must spend at least 7 years in wood. The clever thing about Madeira is that declaring as a Colheita does not prevent one from later changing that Madeira to a Vintage. It's simply a way to allow producers to sell younger wine to keep the cash flow going while waiting for it to mature into Vintage Madeira.

I tasted a range of Justino's Colheitas last night and enjoyed them. 1995-1998, plus their 5-yr old and their 10-yr old. All supposedly retail for around $30 in the US.

[ACmole]

Colheitas are few and far between in the UK, the term apparently was only applied to Madeira in 2004. There seems to be a blurring of the definition with the Single Harvest wines, which can be younger than the strict definition of a Colheita. The problem, I think, stems from the Madeira wine industry trying to find itself a market niche and regain the popularity it once had (and deserves). So we find many similar wines sold under different "catagories", for want of a better term.

Because of the differences in production it's very difficult to draw a direct comparison with port, a vintage Madeira is almost a LBV and a Colheita is almost VP if you go by the time in barrel. Virtually the opposite to actuality.

If you go by price, and bearing in mind that Madeira is probably 15% cheaper than port, then Single Harvest would be a similar price to an aged tawny (and similar to the price of a Colheita Madeira in the States)

[ACmole]

Because of the differences in production it's very difficult to draw a direct comparison with port, a vintage Madeira is almost a LBV and a Colheita is almost VP if you go by the time in barrel. Virtually the opposite to actuality.

I probably didn't explain that very well, my apologies.

What I meant was Vintage Madeira matures in the Cask, sometimes for 100 years or more, and Colheitas are bottled earlier, much as VP is.

Back to question....I think Single Harvest would be a good start, decant it, drink it up within, say, 3 months and see how you go. Try all the varieties you can, I started out only liking Malmsey and now the majority of my purchases are Sercial, and enjoy!

A nice Terrantez, some Parma Ham, Salami and a bit of Pecorino, now that's perfect!

[JacobH]

I’ve just spent a few days in Funchal and had a few tastings of Madeira. Quite an interesting experience seeing the wine lodges there which really turn conventional wine-making on its head: barrels kept slightly empty; young wines being stored on the top floors of the building to allow them to cook. Very strange to see it in practice! I also hadn’t realised that, with the exception of one newish rose made from Tinta Negra Mole, there isn’t really any non-Madeira wine made on the island which had the benefit of making a big selection of Douro table wines available everywhere.

I hadn’t quite realised what a mess the Madeira regulations are in, either. For such a niche wine, it seems crazy that it can be made both out of one grape-variety (Malmsey, Bual &c.) and also made out just Tinta Negra Mole in the style of the other grapes. Then there’s the single-harvest / colheita / vintage distinctions, indications of age (which may or may not describe whether the wine has been estufagem’ed or heat treated) and all sorts of issues to do with recorking...

Anyway, following ACmole’s suggestions, I had a look at the colheitas. I rather like Blandy’s 1994 Malmsey: a bit like drinking golden syrup and their 2001 Verdelho: surprisingly complex, with enough sweetness to make a very nice aperitif.

I also rather liked the Blandy’s Alvada: a five-year-old made from a blend of Bual and Malmsey. The packaging and bottle design suggests to me this is a Symington’s effort at making Madeira version of the Warre Otima, but it is very simple and gluggable with enough tropical fruits to remind me of the island. At €8.80 a bottle, you really can’t go wrong, though I imagine it probably isn’t that well priced here.

[griff]

Just thought I should mention that I'm currently sipping on a 2001 Barbieto Bual Colheita Madeira. Very nice and perhaps it might be what you desire. Walnuts and spice but more oxidative notes with keener acidity when compared to a Colheita Port.

[JacobH]

Just thought I should mention that I'm currently sipping on a 2001 Barbieto Bual Colheita Madeira. Very nice and perhaps it might be what you desire. Walnuts and spice but more oxidative notes with keener acidity when compared to a Colheita Port.

I did think, from my trip to Madeira, that the optimal categories for Madeira lay somewhere in the middle, with Bual and Verdelho being more interesting than Malmasey and Sercial, although I don’t think I tried that one. Is it readily available in the UK?

(Unfortunately, going to Madeira also made me realise that what I actually desire is a cellar full of interesting bottles of the wine, in a variety of styles, to be drunk when the mood takes me...)

[jhonsmith]

Hello dear i think any of the Madeira Wine Company producers are good, they've manged to keep their house style intact. For me Leacocks always seems to win in a blind tasting (much as Warre's does with Port). Blandy's seem to come with a premium price tag.Leacocks 1950 Sercial would be my choice. Cossarts 1960 Sercial is excellent too (£190 BBR) Henriques & Henriques Vintage is very difficult to find, even on the island. But the blends are very good...!!!

[christopherpfaff]

Leacocks 1950 Sercial would be my choice

Did you taste also Rutherford & Miles Sercial 1950? I have a bottle of this sister brand of Leacocks and will open it at a nice tasting during X-Mas and silvester.

[LGTrotter]

I enjoy the Barbieto single harvest wines, they seem nearer my price range for a suck it and see wine than some of the Colheitas. I concur with whoever it was that ones taste in madeiras changes, I am now much more into Verdelho than Malmsey which I originally loved. Not too sure that the basic 3 year old blends are worth the trouble, the last bottle of Duke of Clarence I bought went in gravy and trifle. The 10 and 15yo are much more interesting, the H+H wines, especially the Verdelho are a delight.

[JAC]

The Rare Wine Comapany's historic series Madeiras are quite good for the price, although availability in the UK might be a bit tricky.

[LGTrotter]

I asked last year if Rare Wine Co. ship to the UK, a polite 'no' was the answer.