Community Tasting Note

sweetstuff wrote:

Sunday, October 23, 2016 - N.V. Madeira Imperial Malmsey Old Reserve; Producer: Henriques & Henriques Vinhos S.A., Câmara de Lobos, Madeira, Portugal. WineBid, $120/750 ml (after BP); imported by Rare Wine Co, Vineburg, CA. 20% abv. These labels have no bar codes on them, so this one has been in bottle quite a while, most likely.

T-cork very dry; broke off at top while attempting to remove. The Durand cork-puller, delicately used, extracted the remainder successfully from the neck--another score for this handy item. Tasted from the Impitoyable first.

Somewhat cloudy, probably needing more time to settle after shipment, with a nearly blood-red semi-transparency. Sheeting with sparse tears.

Initial nose proclaims the style-smoky vivid cherries, lightly milked chocolate, earth, some varnish and a decided punch of volatility, taking some half--hour of swiring to tone down.

After it's been aired, a fruitcake complex emerges nicely, with citron peel, hard ground spices, and roasted-almond nuttiness, overlain by aged raw Yunnan pu-erh tea, the beef broth tailing off into a lovely clove note; very nice but still with plenty of room to grow. Still needs air. Has plenty of depth on the nose, the kind that has you scratching your head, saying, 'What's that I'm smelling?' A powerful and balanced mouthful of Madeira, with a lightly sweet, juicy, rubbed-varnish, very persistent finish and a very smooth and limpid mouth-feel. A nice balance of power and finesse.

Second day: More bricking, less red, and clearer appearance. Tangy caramel reaches out to the nose. Sweet beef broth and smelling of vibrant acidity, with an energetically-expressed veal-kidney note there somewhere, and a hint of shoe polish. Punchy acidity in the mouth with luscious fruit and sweetness to balance; a very pleasurable and persistent finish, with an almost chemical-like but pleasant and apporpriate flavor, and a fine stoniness. Prolonged juicy sensation in the corners of the mouth, as well.

This is the reddest-colored white wine I've ever seen, I think. Not a reason in the world to cellar it further; but will keep indefinitely as long as the cork holds, and a bottle or two stashed away might provide a nice surprise for an unexpected visitor.

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