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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.5 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 22 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Tim Heaton on 2/19/2024: Bottled in the 80s and still plenty fresh. A vg Malmsey with deftly balanced sweetness, good drive and depth and a long, caressing finish. Fine indeed. Sadly, I did not get to try and day two or three - I think it was certain to have developed/improved even more. Beautiful effort that will live for many more years. highly recommended
https://www.ItalianWine.blog (407 views) | | | Tasted by Irish_Wine on 7/16/2023 & rated 90 points: Certainly an interesting wine. Sweetness and tannins mostly resolved. Like a boozy Christmas cake. Long finish.
WSET notes:
Medium brown.
Pronounced on the nose with prune, currant, beeswax, caramel, earth, wet leaves, walnut. Fully developed.
Pronounced on and medium dry on the palate. Medium plus body, high alcohol, medium mostly resolved tannins, long finish.
Can drink now but has potential for aging! (423 views) | | | Tasted by SouthernStateofMind on 6/7/2023: Mom & Dad’s birth year! Concerned initially on receipt as hard wax was partially crumbled, IVM seal slightly torn and signs of slight leakage. Forged ahead nonetheless and all was well in the end. Initially cloudy on decanting. This dissipated after a couple days revealing a rich dark mahogany color. Offers lovely aromas of sultana, fig, caramel, brown sugar, walnuts, and orange peel. Ethereal presence on the palate similar to light pancake syrup that is juxtaposed with well measured acidity. Winds effortlessly along to an incredibly long salty finish. Six days in and this just keeps getting better! Gorgeous Malmsey. (394 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 11/5/2022 & rated 96 points: A private lunch with friends (at home): Second bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2020. Stopper cork under a hard wax capsule. IVM seal. Decanted. Amber golden colour with green reflections. Immediately after opening the wine was very salty and quite tough, but it opened up pretty quickly to a very rewarding experience, and it continue to develop in the decanter on the second day. Wonderfully expressive Malmsey, sweet and honeyed and nutty, vanilla and orange marmalade, deep and rich but elegant and playful, tangy acidity is well integrated, sweet and complete finish with a nice salty kick, excellent length. A very fine Ma;lmsey. (1721 views) | | | Tasted by Seth Rosenberg on 9/16/2022 & rated 93 points: Same bottle as before. This had a lot of VA when this glass was first poured but it seems to have burned off. Nutty and rancio with some brown sugar notes and spicy. Palate shows the rancio and nuttiness as well and then a beautiful crisp sweetness drives into the finish. Not quite caramel with maybe hints of orange peel. Very spicy. Long nutty and sweet finish. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 16.5-17/20. (1016 views) | | | Tasted by Seth Rosenberg on 5/20/2022 & rated 94 points: Given the notes from others (including the very helpful Xavier A.), I decanted this and let it sit for days. Just trying the dregs from the bottle when popped. I think we are at day 4 now, so that would be about right if it was bottled in the 80's. The nose is good right now, not great - with some dark nuts, molasses or brown sugar, a hint of rancio. The palate is excellent, with similar flavors and maybe a bit of orange rind/peel, but the mouthfeel is just great - spherical and grippy but so resolved and calm. This feeling only builds into the finish which is light and almost explosive with waves of rancio, orange and orange peel, caramel/molasses. Really good now, and it might even improve a bit in the next few days/weeks. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 5-5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17-17.5/20. (977 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 12/17/2021 & rated 95 points: First bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2020. Stopper cork under a hard wax capsule. IVM seal. Decanted. Medium amber golden colour with a clear green rim. Quite dry and salty immediately after opnening. Needs 24 hours in the decanter to develop its complexity. Powerful and concentrated, tangy acidity, saddle leather and salty wood, vestiges of candied fruit, delicate silky sweetness, noticeable bitters, slightly austere finish but outstanding persistence. Impressive stuff. Even more harmonious and rounded on the third and fourth days. Really benefits from ample time in the decanter, the harmony on the palate and complexity of the aromatic expression are completely intact on the sixth day. (1695 views) | | | Tasted by Matthesen on 5/29/2021 & rated 90 points: Tasted at Bern's
Copper color, slightly murky
Nose of butterscotch, praline.
Palate shows nice sweetness with balancing bitterness. On the finish, the bitterness leads. Nice enough, but I expected a lot more based on Roy's notes. (883 views) | | | Tasted by theportguy on 3/24/2017 & rated 93 points: 20 Year Old Tawny Ports (Sammamish, Washington): Amber orange in color with some sediment. Sea salt and cedar notes on the nose. Full and rich palate. Great balance and very long finish. (550 views) | | | Tasted by tinybubbles on 12/11/2015 & rated 93 points: Fig and dried cherry, faint spice, clementine peel, faint chocolate, molasses. Lower acid than I expected. 93-94 (3694 views) | | | Tasted by humagne on 5/12/2013 & rated 95 points: The wine is somewhat cloudy. Was suspicious because of that but the wine is in great shape, complex nose of coffee, malt, dried figues. Very rich and powerful, quite sweet, but with a good acidity to balance. (5707 views) | | | Tasted by vindictive on 1/25/2013: another great bottle (5965 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 9/6/2012 & rated 94 points: Dark brown coffee color and not very clear. Beautiful bouquet with coffee, chocolate, earth and sweet spices. On the palate chocolate, coffee and caramel, some orange and soft bitterness. Beside the sweetness there is beautiful fresh acidity. Great length. A beauty! (3856 views) | | | Tasted by vindictive on 11/10/2011: Bottle was weathered, capsule/wax disitegrating, cork came out intact. This wine was a little cloudy and golden-brown in color. It has excellent acidity and fine notes of brown butterr, toffee, nuts and that tangy lime. Excellent. This madeira improved over several days gaining clarity and complexity. (6962 views) | | | Tasted by samer on 12/25/2007 & rated 93 points: Wonderful nose of honey, raisin, hints of chocolate, a little smoke...still great acidity and bite for a 73 yr old wine. Just enough tartness on the finish suggests that it could last 10-20 more yrs. (4817 views) | | | Tasted by psmith on 10/28/2006: Dry old coffee and rancio nose. Surprisingly concentrated given the nose but really nicely balanced old wine with a great limey tang and proper sweetness. Very good. (5249 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 1/16/1999 & rated 95 points: Labelled Kopke Madeira Malvazia Vintage 1933 Sweet, Wine Produced and Bottled by Vinhos Justino Henriques & Filhos Lda, Sta. Cruz for C.N. Kopke & Ca., Lda. Bottled 27 March 1998. Very intense colour, medium-deep, green rim; excellent depth on the nose, not very sweet, caramel and nuts, clean and powerful, burnt character, needs a lot of oxygen, rich but impenetrable; sublime playful acidity, good weight, wonderful sève, medium-sweet, harmonious, elegant, nutty flavours, floral and spicy topnotes; amazing length. (2459 views) |
| NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of View From the Cellar and For The Love of Port and The World of Fine Wine and Wine Library TV. (manage subscription channels) |
| Justino's Producer website
Justino’s is one of the oldest producers of Madeira, having been in existence since 1870, when it was known as Justino Henriques. Today, Justino’s is owned by the French company La Martiniquaise. Fruit is sourced from all over the island, with only the best areas and vineyards selected for the different grape varieties. A new winery, located in Cancela, Santa Cruz, was built in 1995.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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