Expert’s choice: Madeira

If ever there was a bottle of wine to take to a desert island, Madeira has to be the one.

The Portuguese island of Madeira, situated in the Atlantic, 700km off the coast of north Africa, is far from being a desert (or deserted) island itself, despite being on the same latitude as the northern Sahara. Because of its topography (rising to nearly 1,900m above sea level), the vegetation is lush and sub-tropical. Bananas and sugar cane flourish alongside grape varieties that curiously retain naturally high levels of acidity. The fertile volcanic soils, naturally high yields and mesoclimatic factors all contribute to this.

Scroll down for a selection of 18 Madeiras to try

All Madeira wine is fortified to between 17% and 22% alcohol with grape spirit that is 96% in strength.

The pale red Tinta Negra is the catch-all grape responsible for volume Madeira, much of which is artificially heated (a process called estufagem) to create that singular maderised taste. But there’s really no substitute for age, and the best Madeiras often spend decades in wooden casks (vinhos do canteiro), benefiting from the island’s warm temperatures. The resulting wines can be truly ethereal – heaven scent, if you pardon the pun!

Lasting pleasure

Sercial, Verdelho, Boal (Bual) and Malvasia (Malmsey) – all white grapes – are the names to know, their styles generally increasing in levels of sweetness from ‘dry’ (less than 50g/L residual sugar) to ‘rich’ or ‘sweet’ (more than 100g/L). But there are other grapes: Tinta Negra has been permitted as a variety on labels since 2015 and produces soft, easygoing wines in all style categories. Terrantez and Bastardo are rarities but worth seeking out for their individual character.

When it comes to age (and price) there is a clear hierarchy, from basic corrente (bottled at about three years old) through reserva (about five years old) to 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50-year-old blends. These blends are usually greater than the sum of their parts, benefiting from the expert fine-tuning that goes on in the tasting room, the nerve centre for each of the seven shippers that make up Madeira’s wine industry.

Understanding the different Madeira styles

But if you’re seeking a date on your label there’s nothing better than colheita and frasqueira. Sometimes bottled as ‘single harvest’, the former is effectively an early bottled vintage, which must have aged for at least five years in wood. Frasqueira wines (often termed ‘vintage’) must have aged for at least 20 years in wood and are often kept for considerably longer. They start life in the warmest wine stores (called armazéns) where evaporation is highest and are gradually moved to cooler stores, often ending their pre-bottled life in large glass demijohns.

For example, the remaining stock of Blandy’s Bual 1920 has only recently been transferred from cask to demijohn after spending a century in wood. The inherent streak of acidity and controlled exposure to the warm atmosphere gives these wines unshakeable stability, combining freshness with profound depth and complexity. It is by no means uncommon to find Madeiras well over a century old that still have the vibrancy of the day they were made.

And so back to that desert island. If you uncork a bottle of well-aged Madeira you can come back to it again and again for months, even years without it deteriorating. It is the world’s most thrillingly resilient wine.

NB: no drink dates have been given for the wines that follow, as they are all ready to drink at bottling and, unopened, can last for decades or even centuries…

Tasting notes and scores for 18 Madeiras to try

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