1/4/2022 - englishman's claret wrote: 98 points

1802. The Elgin marbles and Rosetta Stone make their way to the British museum. Jefferson is president. Napoleon becomes first consul of France. Moonlight sonata is played. And this wonderful wine, arguably the archetype of Madeira, is produced.

What makes this so singular? It’s not that the nose is lovely (which it is, filled with sultana, vanilla bean, macadamia nut, chestnut, toffee, orange, and leather) or that the palate is unctuously lush yet deftly cut by bright acid or that the wine seems to linger forever on the finish or that it’s 220 years old. It’s that it’s all of these things simultaneously, effortlessly, agelessly that make it great. A wine that not only defies age, but makes you come away thinking it’s still getting better with time. Further cellar potential for a 220 year old wine - consider that.

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