• acidqueen wrote: 97 points

    March 16, 2024 - March 2024. Open for about 10 weeks now with a few inches of airspace and it is shining. Walnut skin, lemon peel, dark Hokkaido brown sugar but less bruisingly dense than it was at first open. The flavors wash across the palate and the complexity defies description. There are sweet spices here too - star anise, allspice and nutmeg. Light coffee too. There is a unique smokiness here as well. Still very tight and acidic on the finish. One of the greatest Madeiras of the early 20th century. I could probably drink half this bottle on my own. I have heard the earlier bottlings are even better and I have a few to try someday.

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  • Matt T wrote: 97 points

    January 12, 2024 - Consistent. This has amazing concentration and excellent acidic balance. Everything is big here: nose, acid, fruit, caramel, finish.

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  • acidqueen wrote: 97 points

    December 25, 2023 - 2014 bottling. Only opened for about two weeks and little air contact yet. Dark mahogany color with gold highlights. Superb acidity. Walnuts, molasses, lemon peel and Marmite. This is overwhelming right now and could use more oxygen to open it up, but I had to do a first taste. More to come.

    March 2024. Open for about 10 weeks now with a few inches of airspace and it is shining. Still walnuts, lemon peel, dark Hokkaido brown sugar but less bruisingly dense. The flavors wash across the palate and the complexity defies description. There are sweet spices here too - star anise, allspice and nutmeg. One of the greatest Madeiras out there. I could probably drink half this bottle on my own. I have heard the earlier bottlings are even better and I have a few to try someday.

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  • hsacks Likes this wine: 95 points

    February 19, 2022 - Toffee in color. Complex aromas of molasses, orange skin, fresh dates and minerals. Ripe, medium-bodied high acid fruit in the mouth with great depth and length. Complex and intense on the palate. This just opened bottle will almost certainly improve over the next few years.

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  • dream Likes this wine: 96 points

    September 29, 2021 - So dark in color yet still drinking so young. Deep and concentrated with great lift and freshness and deep flavors of dark molasses and spices. Such great intensity and grip on the finish with superb complexities. The Verdelho style seems just perfect to me - relatively dry but still loaded with flavor. Best probably sometime in the 22nd century. 96+

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  • Montesquieu Likes this wine: 97 points

    March 29, 2021 - "Bring your best" wine night (Ch. de Montesquieu): Goes on and on and on. The length was so much greater than its companions on this night of drinking (1945 Yquem, 1985 Sassicaia, 1988 Petrus, 1990 Dominus, Hill of Grace, 1997 Lafon Montrachet, etc.). Just when you think your palate has been indulged senseless, a great old Madeira shocks you back into the glorious present and puts a giant cherry on top of a great night of drinking. What a fine way to finish.

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  • BradE wrote:

    January 8, 2021 - Final glass from a bottle that's been open since last June. Loved it from first glass to last, and glad there's a couple more bottles in the cellar.

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  • NYC_Maenad wrote:

    October 31, 2020 - This bottle was decanted two days before serving and kept at cellar temp until an couple of hours before pouring. Our rule of thumb is a day for every decade in bottle. This was bottled in 2002, so close enough. Deep dark chocolate color, and a captivating nose of toffee and coffee and subtle meaty savoriness in the background. The mouthfeel was slippery and weighty, but not heavy, if that makes sense. A wine to be held in the mouth for a few moments before swallowing. Beautiful balancing acid kept it dancing and singing, while the savory notes became more pronounced. I can't sit in the sun very long, being a redhead, but I imagine those who worship the sun on their skin feel then as I did drinking the incredible wine. Went very nicely with our cheese selection - an added bonus. The four of us downed much more of the bottle than I would have expected, especially after a long boozy lunch. It was that good. Just marvelous.

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  • Matt T wrote: 97 points

    December 30, 2018 - This was brilliant. Drank over the course of four months. I was hoping it would last a year, but could not stay away. Damaged capsule, but cork showed no evidence of seepage. Bottled in the early 2000s. Incredible nose that filled the room with notes of maple, spice, and fig. Dark color with great acidic bite. This showed so much and so differently. At its best it showed spices, plum, maple, and vanilla on a finish that lasted for minutes. This infused anything it touched with its brilliant nose. I would walk by and sniff the cork every chance I got. Two more pours that need the sediment removed, so I am rating this now. A special experience.

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  • Bob H wrote:

    April 28, 2018 - From a bottle opened one year ago - and to be honest, this tastes as lively today as it did originally. Vibrant acidity, gig and citrus accents - in a word, delicious.

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