Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Wednesday, August 31, 2022 - The wine is made with purchased Verdelho. After 5-6 days of fermentation, the must is rectified to approx. 20% ABV with 96% ABV grape spirit to halt the fermentation. The fortified wine is transferred to old oak casks which are moved to age in Canteiros, ie. in warm warehouses in which the wines age in casks that are never topped up. 20% alcohol. Bottled in 2019, after 25 years of aging.

Deep, slightly reddish amber color with a chestnut-brown hue. The nose feels fascinating, at once having this kind of dusty, dry and vaguely woody patina to it, yet at the same time having quite rich, sweet-toned overtones. There are aromas of creamy custard and peanut butter, some orange marmalade, light smoky tones, a little bit of slivered almonds, a hint of dried dates, an oxidative touch of roasted chestnuts and a whiff of marzipan. The wine feels quite concentrated, firm and incredibly piercing on the palate with a moderately full body and incisive, bracing acidity. There are medium-dry to medium-sweet flavors of caramel, lemony citrus fruits, some bruised Granny Smith apple, light pithy notes of grapefruit bitterness, a little bit of grape juice, a hint of oxidative nuttiness and a concentrated touch of creamy custard character. The racy acidity lends exceptional sense of structure and electric energy to the wine. The finish is crisp, very intense and noticeably drier than compared to the midpalate with very lengthy flavors of lemony citrus fruits, some caramel tones, a little bit of crunchy green apple and apple peel bitterness, light nutty notes of almonds and marzipan, a hint of steely minerality and a sweet touch of dried dates.

An exceptional, precise and very tangy Frasqueira Verdelho that combines wonderfully rather modest levels of residual sugar sweetness and piercing, incisive acidity that is very typical of Madeira - even more so with Sercials and Verdelhos with some age! Although the wine says "Dry", technically it is far from it. However, it's stunning how that racy acidity offsets so much of that sweetness that the wine appears so much drier than it actually is - especially the aftertaste feels remarkably dry and palate-cleansing, even if this is a relatively sweet fortified wine. A beautiful wine where the brisk, lemony and appley qualities of a young Verdelho have not been completely overrun by the aged patina. Lovely stuff indeed and priced pretty much according to its quality at 110€.

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