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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 95 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 12 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Matt T on 2/10/2023 & rated 96 points: Enjoyed over the course of about four months. This is an excellent, ancient Madeira. This is very sweet, but balanced with very high acid. This bottle was bottled in the mid-1970s and appears to have held up perfectly. (921 views) | | | Tasted by Brent25 on 5/24/2017 & rated 93 points: Cola colour with yellow rim; nose of figs, raisins and balsamic with a little heat; incredible acidity - almost tangy; palate is stretched thin with nutty and dark rum notes; incredible experience - unlike anything that I've tried before - but not sure that I would order it again (4347 views) | | | Tasted by forceberry on 5/8/2017 & rated 98 points: Bottled in 1975, after 75 years of aging in casks.
Luminous dark mahogany brown color with a hint of haziness. Sweet nose that feels somewhat dominated by a volatile aroma of nail polish that persists, even though the wine has been decanted for some hours before the tasting - although a decanting period of one week would've been more appropriate for a wine like this. Apart from the sweet volatile lift, there are aromas of perfumed floral notes, some chocolate and mocha nuances, a little peanut butter and hints of raisins, prunes and poached pears. On the palate the wine feels very sweet, full-bodied and rich with oily, mouth-filling texture. There are incredibly complex, intense and remarkably concentrated flavors of syrup, molasses, peanut butter, apple jam, balsamico, some lemony tang, perfumed floral nuances, a little clove-driven christmas spices and hints of crushed peppercorns and roasted Moroccan spices. Underneath all these flavors runs a delicate undercurrent of sweet volatility. Although the wine feels sweet and a little sticky, it is remarkably lively and bright, all thanks to its noticeably high, racy acidity. The finish is incredibly long, rich and complex with moderate sweetness that becomes more dry and savory with time. There are layered flavors of coffee chocolate, burnt sugar, lemon pith, roasted almonds, toffee, caramel, peanut butter, some bruised apple, a little bit of sweet, balsamic volatile character, hints of cloves and a touch of roasted chestnuts in the aftertaste.
A really stunning Madeira with incredible complexity, lovely floral edge and wonderful touch of volatility that only added to the depth and richness of the wine. In a tasting of Madeiras from 1973 until 1895 this was a favorite of many, but for me, the wine of the night was Oliveiras Malvazia 1895 with its incredibly harmonious character, a bit lower sweetness and higher acidity. Yet, this was not only one of the most stunning wines of that night, but also one of the most remarkable wines I've ever had. A breathtaking wine, priced more or less according to its quality at 700€. (4969 views) | | | Tasted by faivre_eric on 12/24/2015 & rated 90 points: Very hard to comment and note as it was the first Madeira of that age tasted....
Drank over 2 days and the end of each meals with chocolate heavy desserts.
Was decanted 12 hours before the first dinner, but it feels it could have been a week earlier on ...
Strong nose of sweet plums, candied fruits and winter spices ...
Disappointing "medium" length finish.
What bothered me was the volatile acidity that was overwhelmingly present ...
Nevertheless interesting to drink such an historical wine and will be even more interesting to see how it tastes in a few weeks/ months. (4940 views) | | | Tasted by CO_Roots13 on 10/9/2015 & rated 97 points: This was the kind of experiance that confirms how short life is. Drinking an amazing bottle of wine that went to sleep before WWI and awoke when Greece nearly went out of business 115 years later. Marcona almond, meyer lemon zest, nougat, honey suckle and so many other things that I can't put works to. Incredible balance between sweetness, texture and acidity. The nose lends to a prediction of thick syrupy texture, but the reality is an amazingly light and clean low viscosity. The acidity completely accounts for the sweetness. Exceedingly long length on the finish.
9-19-10-9 (5357 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 5/20/2011 & rated 95 points: As it was being decanted before dinner, the fragrance of prunes and nuts traveled the distance to reach me and I reveled in it. Some 3 hours later, I was hit by an initial dose of sharp alcohol - as expected - followed by notes of ripe rock melon, pine needle, potpourri, raisins, prunes, Medjool dates and nuts. (6859 views) | | | Tasted by rosesandthorns on 12/20/2010 & rated 95 points: This is a Game changer wine. Opened this for a special birthday occasion. GAME ON from get go. Cork was so crumbly the corkscrew left just a small hole initially. Immediately the room was filled with the unbelievable nose of this madeira. We just stood there kind of in awe. Seductive mouthfeel. Armani not Versace. Ginger cake with candied lemon peel and just a touch of blood orange marmalade. Nutty black walnut and toasted almond with a roasted coffee bean nose. The flavors were well integrated and finish endless. Mouthfeel is less viscous than the bual. Beautiful acidity. Not a wall flower wine. This is a "show up and I'll show you" kind of wine with an elegance and poise that will never disappoint. (5251 views) | | | Tasted by RedLoverJim on 11/12/2010 & rated 94 points: Some friends and I had the opportunity to try this during a cellar tour at Pappas Bros. Very aromatic and flavorful. Honey, roasted nuts, some ginger. On the sweet side being all Moscatel, it was not cloying in the least. Very, very enjoyable experience. (5326 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 5/21/2010 & rated 96 points: 17 D'Oliveiras Vintage Madeiras with Luis D'Oliveira (D'Oliveiras Cellars, Funchal, Madeira): Medium dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; serious ginger, ginger cake, walnut nose; rich, wonderful, ginger cake, ginger honey, apricot honey, smoky, sweet roast coffee, almond palate; long finish (5105 views) | | | Tasted by AndrewSGHall on 5/18/2005: A bit of nosh at The Burgundy Room w/ Phil and Brian (Columbus, OH): Amazing. Delicate sweetness with a serious acidic core. Nutty notes, dried fruits and slight brine. Really intense. (6809 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 7/6/2001 & rated 96 points: A Madeira Tasting at Pereira d'Oliveira (Funchal): Over 70 years on oak. JNV label. Incredibly deep colour; deep and burnt bouquet, lots of oak but no real muscat character; on the palate it does show the soothing sweetness of the Moscatel, extremely concentrated but seamless and stylish; lovely acidity, great length. (4245 views) | | | Tasted by mdefreitas on 10/6/1999 & rated 95 points: Madeira @ Patroon (NYC): Yet another big, intense wine, with a killer nose that goes straight to the pleasure zone of the brain. A bit sweeter than the previous wine, but as usual, the acidity is there in spades to balance things out. An unctuous, rich, wine with a seemingly endless and ethereal finish. I’m running out of descriptors… this is damn good stuff. Outstanding. (5502 views) |
| By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jan/Feb 2014, Issue #49, Madeira- Timeless Island Wines From Just This Side of Paradise
(Pereira d’Oliveira Moscatel Reserva) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Roy Hersh
For The Love of Port, Issue #57 (5/21/2010)
(D’Oliveiras Moscatel Vintage Madeira) Subscribe to see review text. | By Roy Hersh
For The Love of Port, May 2009, Issue #42
(D’Oliveiras Moscatel Vintage) Subscribe to see review text. | By Roy Hersh
For The Love of Port
(D'Oliveiras Moscatel Madeira) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (5/21/2010)
(D'Oliveiras Madeira Moscatel Reserva) Medium dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; serious ginger, ginger cake, walnut nose; rich, wonderful, ginger cake, ginger honey, apricot honey, smoky, sweet roast coffee, almond palate; long finish 96 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of View From the Cellar and For The Love of Port and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| D'Oliveiras Producer website
D'Oliveiras wines are among the most cherished on the island as they simply have vast stocks of tasty old wines and great innovation. The Rare Wine Co Historic Series (of classic American Madeiras) was accurately well done by D'Oliveiras and the recent Verdelho/Bual blend portends tremendous flavor excitement as these two classics combine into something symphonic.
The 68 and 08 are most rewarding wines. Ricardo must have a near perfect career!ReservaStill Portuguese table wines of designated origin may also be labelled "reserva", indicating an alcohol content of at least 0.5% higher than the legal minimum established by the respective DOC or VR; however, stricter requirements in individual DOCs may supersede this standard.
(Court of Master Sommeliers)Portugal ViniPortugal (Associação Interprofissional para a Promoção dos Vinhos Portugueses/Portuguese Wine Trade Association)MadeiraThe Madeira Wine Guide and For The Love of Port are two essential sites on the wines of Madeira.MadeiraFrom Mannie Burk@ Rare Wine Co :
When served in 1950, the wine was 158 years old, but in fine condition, still boasting Madeira’s trademark rich, sweet, velvety taste and roomfilling aromas of butterscotch, cocoa and coffee. Sir Winston insisted on serving the guests himself, asking each in turn, “Do you realize that when this wine was vintaged Marie Antoinette was alive?”
Madeira’s longevity earns it a special place in the realm of old wine. What other wine requires over a half century to mature? And what other wine, when a century old, still benefits from several hours of breathing and can stand up to weeks in a decanter, without losing its complexity or its richness? And how many wines can live for two centuries and still offer not only the pleasure of their antiquity, but also the enjoyment of drinking?
The robustness and longevity of Madeira, even once opened, allows for endless experimentation with food pairings and drinking occasions.
Madeira’s Mountain Vineyards:
Madeira is produced on a breathtakingly beautiful volcanic island of the same name which surges from the sea at a point 360 miles west of Morocco and 700 miles south of Portugal, which governs it. The history of Madeira’s wine is nearly as old as that of the island. The island was first settled by Europeans—led by the Portuguese explorer Zarco—in 1419. By 1455 a visitor from Venice wrote that Madeira’s vineyards were the world's most beautiful. Within a century, the wine from these vineyards was well established in markets throughout Europe and by the 1600’s it had become the most popular wine in Britain’s North American colonies.
America’s First Wine:
The popularity of Madeira in the American colonies got a huge boost in 1665 when the British authorities banned the importation of products made or grown in Europe, unless shipped on British vessels from British ports. Products from Madeira were specifically exempted. British merchants in Madeira took full advantage of this by establishing close ties with merchants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston and Savannah. A steady trade developed in which wine from Madeira was traded for such American products as indigo, corn and cotton. This trade continued unabated until the early 1800’s, except when politics and war interfered in the 1770’s.
For two centuries, Madeira was the wine of choice for most affluent Americans. Francis Scott Keyes is said to have penned the Star Spangled Banner, sipping from a glass of Madeira. George Washington's inauguration was toasted with Madeira, as was the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Wealthy families from Boston to Savannah established extensive collections of Madeiras. Madeira became high fashion, and“Madeira parties” (a forerunner of today’s wine tasting) became major social events.
How Madeira is Made:
Madeira is produced from grapes grown on terraces cut into the island's steep mountainsides. Like Port, Madeira is a “fortified” wine to which brandy has been added. But unlike other fortified wines, Madeira is also heated for several months, either in special vats or in the attic lofts of the Madeira lodges.
This heating (called “estufagem”) had its origins in the days when merchant ships called at Madeira on their way to the East and West Indies. Beginning in the late 1600's, wines from Madeira's vineyards were frequent cargo on ships sailing to the Americas, as well as to mainland Portugal, England and India. According to legend, the value of a trip to the tropics was learned when an orphan cask, forgotten in a ship's hold, returned to Madeira from a trip across the Equator. The wine was found to be rich and velvety, far better than when it left, and a tropical cruise became part of the Madeira winemaking tradition.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, producers continued to send casks of their wines on long voyages, for no other reason than to develop greater character. The ocean traveling wines were called vina da roda (“wines of the round voyage”) and those that crossed the Equator twice were considered the best. Some Madeiras were named for the vessels with which they sailed (Constitution, Balthazar, Red jacket, Hurricane, Comet) or the places they had been (East Indies, West Indies, Japan, Argentina). Although this practice ended in the first decade of the 20th century, heating is still a critical step in the making of all Madeiras.
A Century of Change:
While the majority of Madeiras are blends of vintages and grape varieties, it is the vintage wines, and the now-vanishing soleras that are Madeira’s claim to greatness. Vintage and solera Madeiras are not simply a selection of the best wines from the best years, they are made from particular “noble” grape varieties after which the wines are named. These names—Malmsey, Bual, Verdelho, Sercial—not only describe a grape variety; they also describe a style, with Malmsey being the sweetest and richest (and therefore the most like Vintage Port) and Sercial being the lightest and the driest.
There are other grape varieties whose names you may stumble across on old bottles of Madeira. Terrantez and Bastardo, in particular, are grapes that were widely grown up to the late 1800's and whose old wines can still be found on occasion. The virtual extinction of Terrantez and Bastardo grapevines in the late 1800's coincided with the decline of the Madeira wine trade and resulted from the same causes: two diseases of the vine, Oidium and Phylloxera, both of which also struck the vineyards of Europe, but in Madeira caused much greater, and more lasting, destruction.
The Oidium crisis began in 1852 and lasted about a decade; during this time some 90 percent of the island's vines were destroyed by powdery mildew, and the number of firms producing wine decreased by over 75 percent. There was a brief period of replanting and rebuilding in the 1860's, but then Phylloxera struck in 1872, reducing the island's vine acreage to about 1,000 by the early 1880’s.
The Phylloxera crisis, too, passed, and by the turn of the century production had been restored throughout the island, albeit at somewhat lower levels. But the costs had been heavy. Madeira had largely lost its traditional markets—America, England and the British East Indian colonies. Relatively less of the classic grape varieties were now grown, as they gave way to more prolific, but less distinguished, varieties. And, of course, stocks of older wines had been largely depleted, after a half century during which little young wine was being produced.
Today, the world's supply of fine Madeira is negligible. However, those few examples that have survived from the 19th and early 20th centuries are among the world's most majestic wines, which no wine lover should fail to experience.
Over the past twenty years, our passion for these noble wines has grown with each passing month. We believe that they are among the greatest, most individual wines this planet has ever produced. They possess a richness and grandeur shared by only a few wines.
And their ability to age makes them absolutely unique. Most wines are dead and gone at age 100; and at best they are barely drinkable. But after a century, a Madeira can be just reaching its prime, possessing the depth of great age, but also the vigor of youth.
The gradual depletion of the world’s stocks of these irreplaceable wines has only encouraged us to try harder to find the wines that remain.
A Note on Prices and Quality:
As they have grown in rarity, and the sources of supply diminish, the price of Madeira on the world market has skyrocketed. Though many of the older wines arguably are worth whatever you may be asked to pay, the rising tide—combined with Madeira’s mystique—has also raised the prices of mediocrities to the levels of the greats. |
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