Unknown vintage Madeira

[Alex Bridgeman]

An odd and very old bottle; by appearance probably from the second half of the nineteenth century.

A deep orange in colour, similar to the colour of Borges 1963; 5-10% opaque. Nosing of iodine and seaweed, not very attractive. Hollow entry, but which builds up to a very impressive volume of flavours; rich and very concentrated with perfect acidity to balance the sweetness (could this be a Bual?). Huge aftertaste, slightly bitter and of huge length. I'm glad I took the time to decant this 5 weeks ago. 93/100.

[DRT]

I'm glad I took the time to decant this 5 weeks ago. 93/100.

I thought the rule of thumb was 1 week for every 10 years in bottle? That means you need to leave that decanter alone for 3 years!

[Alex Bridgeman]

I stuck a label on the decanter saying something along the lines of "not to be drunk before August 8", which would have given it 12 weeks between decanting and consumption. Unfortunately my will-power couldn't wait that long.

Fortunately there is still quite a lot left, which might make it to August 8th...

[DRT]

I need to be in Bristol on Monday morning.