Madeira Wine

Anything but Port, this includes all wines other than fortified wines (which have their own section) even if they call themselves Port. There is a search facility for this part of the forum.
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Anything but Port, this includes all non-Port fortified wines even if they call themselves Port. There is a search facility for this part of the forum.
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JohninNYC
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Madeira Wine

Post by JohninNYC »

Has anyone recently tasted a flight of Madeiras (or a combination of people) tasted as follows:
[different ways they are labeled]

Finest
Reserve (5 year old)
Special Reserve (10 year old)
Extra reserve (15 year old)
Vintage

or

Dry
Medium-dry
medium-sweet
Varietal (Sercial, verdelho, bual, malmsey)

Any tasting description you offer would be helpful as I only have gotten to try Bual and Malmsey recently.

Thanks.
John in NYC

"Burgundy makes you think of silly things: Bordeaux makes you talk about them, and Champagne makes you do them."-Brillat-Savarin
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jdaw1
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by jdaw1 »

I recently attended a tasting with a great set of Madeiras, listed on this placemat. Which doesn’t help you.

My favourites before this tasting were the two extremal sweetnesses: Sercial (allegedly dry, typically medium-sweet) and Malmsey (typically a saturated sugar solution), and Terrantez (because I loved the H. M. Borges Terrantez of ’46). But my favourite at this tasting were the more complicated Welsh Brothers Bual, the Madeira Wine Association Boal, and the D’Oliveiras Verdelho.

The thing I really learnt was the recommended decanting time: one week for each decade it has been in bottle.
JohninNYC
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by JohninNYC »

Thank you. So far I have learned that in blind tasting Madeira against Sherry Oloroso and port is that aged Madeira has a slight green tinge at the edge of the glass which does not exist in the other 2.
John in NYC

"Burgundy makes you think of silly things: Bordeaux makes you talk about them, and Champagne makes you do them."-Brillat-Savarin
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mosesbotbol
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by mosesbotbol »

JohninNYC wrote:Thank you. So far I have learned that in blind tasting Madeira against Sherry Oloroso and port is that aged Madeira has a slight green tinge at the edge of the glass which does not exist in the other 2.
They should all taste quite different. That is a tri-fecta of fun right there.

As for Madeira, I like just about all of them from bone-dry to Malmsey sweet. The Verdelho, Bual, Malmsey, and Terrentez are my favorites. Actually, my favortie Madeira is the one being served :wink:
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Overtired and emotional
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by Overtired and emotional »

It is probably not a good idea to taste, say, a 5 year old against a vintage. The paralells with with different grades of port are obvious and just as valid.

If you can taste several vintages wines, then it is a great experience. The 10 and 15 year olds are pretty good, but, for me, the 5 year olds are just not worth it. Any reasonable sherry will be far better for less money.

The point about old vintage wines is that they are very singular. With some, your only clue to the grape may be the label. It seems a shame to broach a bottle less than 50 years old. The only justification I now find to broach a bottle is that I don't necessarily want my bottles to outlive me. My son may take a different view.
It may be drivel, but it's not meaningless.
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mosesbotbol
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by mosesbotbol »

Overtired and emotional wrote:It is probably not a good idea to taste, say, a 5 year old against a vintage. The paralells with with different grades of port are obvious and just as valid.

If you can taste several vintages wines, then it is a great experience. The 10 and 15 year olds are pretty good, but, for me, the 5 year olds are just not worth it. Any reasonable sherry will be far better for less money.

The point about old vintage wines is that they are very singular. With some, your only clue to the grape may be the label. It seems a shame to broach a bottle less than 50 years old. The only justification I now find to broach a bottle is that I don't necessarily want my bottles to outlive me. My son may take a different view.
Avoid the simple named "Rainwater", "Rich" or "Semi-Sweeet"; you'll be disappointed.

I think it's difficult to pinpoint the age on a bottle of Madeira. 60 or 100+ years old may taste very similarly, initially. One they breathe, they'll be different, but which one is older can sometimes be a mystery.

I do not think Madeira has be over 50 years old to drink. The Broadbent 10 year is a good example as is Madeiras from the 60's and 70's. Certainly a shame since they could age much longer, but not missing out by drinking them now.
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Roy Hersh
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by Roy Hersh »

That great lineup from NYC's tasting in October that Julian showed by way of his tasting mat, brought back fine memories of a truly outstanding lineup of Madeira.

This past Friday night after a dozen Colheitas from 1937-1974, we had a really fun pair of Madeira flights containing the following bottles:

1900 D'Oliveiras Moscatel
1905 D'Oliveiras Verdelho
1907 D'Oliveiras Malvazia
1908 D'Oliveiras Bual
1952 Leacock's Verdelho
1960 Leacock's Terrantez
Mystery Madeira - Manoel Eugenio Fernandes More 40 Years of Age Verdelho


Of course we went from dry to sweet as any diverse selection of Madeiras should be flighted properly. The bottles were decanted a minimum of 48 hours prior to the tasting and all showed beautifully, with the exception being the Terrantez, (my favorite grape of all ... from the island) which was good, but paled by comparison to this very strong lineup.

My suggestion is similar to Tired & Emotional's. Don't waste your time with 5 year olds. Start with 10 and 15 year olds and after you understand the various varietal characteristics, move on the younger vintages, like the 1968 Barbeito Bual, 1969 Barbeito Sercial, 1977 Broadbent Terrantez etc. Once you find which specific style meets your fancy, only then would I spend the big bucks investing in older vintages. They get expensive really quickly once you move earlier than the 1950s, $200 USD+ is about the least you'll pay ... so it really is worth discovering your "sweet spot" in Madeira before diving in the deep end.
Overtired and emotional
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by Overtired and emotional »

But if you killed of people who were in their 30's or 40's, what a treat we would all miss. Let your Madeiras achieve maturity; many live longer than most humans. An end to infanticide!
It may be drivel, but it's not meaningless.
Roy Hersh
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by Roy Hersh »

Mentioning killing people and Madeira in the same pair of sentences bring back a fond memory. :mrgreen:

I believe it was the Duke of Clarence who was given the chance to choose the way he wanted to perish from this earth, after committing some terrible infraction of the law. He chose drowning in a large vat of Malmsey. He literally spoke his last words and then walked the plank above the enormous tank of Madeira and drowned in it. Now that's the way to go!

For extra credit: does anyone here know from what producer and vintage it was that he croaked in?
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jdaw1
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by jdaw1 »

‟Take him over the costard with the hilts of thy sword, and then we will chop him in the malmsey-butt in the next room.” from Richard III.

But the story of the 1st Duke of Clarence is apocryphal. Eric Hobsbawm would be proud.
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angeleyes
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by angeleyes »

jdaw1 wrote:‟Take him over the costard with the hilts of thy sword, and then we will chop him in the malmsey-butt in the next room.” from Richard III.

But the story of the 1st Duke of Clarence is apocryphal. Eric Hobsbawm would be proud.
Can't remember the character, but one of Vincent Price's victims ends up in a vat of wine. Though Robert Morley's pie scene is better :twisted:
Mark
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KillerB
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by KillerB »

Well, Blandy's produce a Duke of Clarence Madeira, so that would be a good guess.
Port is basically a red drink
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angeleyes
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by angeleyes »

Mark
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KillerB
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Re: Madeira Wine

Post by KillerB »

Very saddened by the pictures that I've seen on the news. I hope that the floods subside and the island can recover quickly.
Port is basically a red drink
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