Madeira wines for Christmas
Heat plays an integral part in the array of styles, complexity and great longevity of the fortified wines produced on this small, sub-tropical island off the coast of northwest Africa. Richard Mayson picks several bottles to try...
If ever there was a wine to take to a desert island, it is Madeira. This is not because Madeira is an island (and it ceased to be deserted when it was discovered by the Portuguese in 1420) but because no other wine is so utterly resilient. Madeira survives heat, air and almost anything you can throw at it. Once the cork is removed, the wine comes to no harm, even if the bottle is left open and on ullage for months, even years on end. As a result you can taste an enthrallingly rich, deep and complex wine with repeated visits to the same bottle: just the wine for an island paradise.
Fortified with grape spirit at 96% abv (Port is fortified with spirit at 77%), Madeira needs age to taste the way it should; ‘maderised’ being the operative expression.
Keeping Madeira
Madeira will last almost indefinitely in bottle. All wines are bottled ready to drink. As a rule of thumb, blended wines bottled with stopper corks should be drunk within five years of bottling.
Colheita and vintage wines may be kept indefinitely. Bottles should be stored standing up. It is recommended that bottles with driven corks be re-corked roughly every 20 years. Wines should be served at cool room temperature unless otherwise indicated.
Richard’s pick of Madeira wines:
Richard Mayson’s book, Madeira, The Islands and their Wines, is published by Infinite Ideas. He is also the Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Chair for Port and Madeira.
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Henriques & Henriques, WS Boal, Madeira, Portugal
Although without a date on the label, this wine was thought to be 50 years old when inherited by the founder of H&H in 1850....
Henriques & Henriques
Henriques & Henriques, Verdelho 20 Year Old, Madeira, Portugal
A firm with a distinguished pedigree: Henriques & Henriques were founded in 1850 and from 1938 to 2008 were run by father and son, Peter...
Henriques & Henriques
Blandy’s, Bual, Madeira, Portugal, 1969
96
An outstanding year for Bual, this wine was bottled in 2013 having spent more than 40 years in cask. Shows toasted aromas, hazelnuts and dried fruit with a wisp of wood smoke; fine tawny marmalade palate, delicate initially with richness building, offset by a magnificent streak of lemon and lime acidity; long, linear and beautiful to behold. It is deeply reassuring that wines as great as this are still being bottled in Madeira.
1969
Blandy’s
Barbeito, Malvasia Lote 14050 20 Year Old, Madeira, Portugal
95
Bottled in tiny quantities, these lot-numbered wines are remarkable for their freshness and poise lovely smoky nose, a touch of bonfire and old flowers; vanilla and quince marmalade, very refined with wonderful depth, yet with a lightness of touch that comes from a blend.
Barbeito
Henriques & Henriques, Boal 15 Year Old, Madeira, Portugal
‘There are only two names in Madeira’, or so the local saying goes... These H&H blends are the best of the genre and regularly win...
Henriques & Henriques
HM Borges, Verdelho 20 Year Old, Madeira, Portugal
93
Wonderfully expressive, with slightly smoked, singed, gunflint aromas and a touch of leafiness. Toasty flavour with dried apricots and a touch of dried fig on the palate, rich yet off-dry, long and complex. An outstanding representation of this grape variety.
HM Borges
Blandy’s, Colheita Sercial 1998, Madeira, Portugal, 1998
91
One of the first of the new generation of colheitas, this is restrained on the nose, with aromas of orange peel and blossom. Initial honeyed sweetness on the palate gives way to a savoury, nutty, almost saline, off-dry finish. Not too austere. A thoroughly civilised aperitif.
1998
Blandy’s
D’Oliveiras, Terrantez, Madeira, Portugal, 1988
This grape is as rare as hen’s teeth, having been driven almost to extinction, but is still much sought-after. Fragrant and floral aromas of candied...
1988
D’Oliveiras
Blandy’s, Alvada 5 Year Old, Madeira, Portugal
90
<p>Launched in the early 2000s, this was a radical departure for Madeira, being a 50/50 blend of Malvasia and Bual, and intended as a dessert wine. Shows lifted aromas with a touch of balsamic and a hint of mocha; smooth, seductive, figgy fruit with a touch of coconut (from ageing in new oak) towards the finish.Will be perfect with Christmas pudding or a slice of fruit cake.</p>
Blandy’s
Barbeito, Rainwater Reserva 5 Year Old, Madeira, Portugal
Barbeito are relative newcomers to Madeira, having been founded in 1946. Representing the third-generation, winemaker Ricardo Diogo deliberately makes Madeira in a lighter style, inspired...
Barbeito
Justino’s, Colheita 1996, Portugal, 1996
86
Made from Tinta Negra but bottled prior to the rule change. Shows just how expressive this grape can be clean, toffee-apple character, gently rich in style, seemingly with a touch of salinity on the finish. A worthy Silver medal winner at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2014.
1996
Justino’s
