Off dry to medium, this was nutty rich and spicy with bitter lime marmalade flavours seasoned with pepper. Super bitter sweet character which eliminates any chance of cloying. I loved the balance and complexity. All in all very satisfying. 91pts
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The recent notes capture it well. And we agree with the most recent — there is some residual sugar/sweetness, and we would have preferred a bit less of that. Overall, however, it was very enjoyable over many nights — and it went especially well with rich soups.
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There's some residual sugar here. Loads of acid, yes, but still some sweetness. I'd think verdelho if tasting it blind, and I like sercial more austere. Still, it's got a nice nuttiness, and savory length too.
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Seattle Chaine Port and Madeira Tasting. Dried orange marmalade quality. Tasted next to a Leacock's Rainwater Madeira, this is darker, richer, and more acidic with a longer finish. This is more of a food wine for sure but the Leacock is more enjoyable on its own. This paired wonderfully with a mushroom tart.
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I love this Sercial. Lots of aromatic depth on the nose. Dried pit fruit, apricots, orange marmalade, and citrus pith atop toffee, caramel, and a whiff of coconut. The palate is clean, off dry, and tensile, and shows lovely texture and concentration. Sweet and salty flavors are balanced by racy acidity and a kiss of judiciously-applied oxidation. Closes with tea-like tannin and absolutely no trace of heat.
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Clean, full developed, medium plus aromatic intensity. Toasted almond, roasted hazelnut, strong scents of ocean spray and salinity, vanilla custard, butterscotch, dried pit fruit and dried florals.
Off-dry, medium plus alcohol, high acidity, medium plus body, medium minus tannin. Pronounced nuttiness and salinity, palate mimics the nose with the addition of candied citrus and more pronounced pit fruits than on the nose. Medium plus finish. This is a very good Sercial Madeira with concentration and balance of flavors, complexity, and length of finish. A pleasing mild bitterness and acidity on the finish to balance the slight sweetness.
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Blandy's masterclass with Chris Blandy (Chicago, IL): Very bright, with a lovely green tinge on the nose. The palate is quite sweet (perhaps surprisingly so given the grape), but this is for the most part very nicely balanced. There's a nice hint of salinity here as well -- definitely a wine with a lighter texture and a racier style. Quite delicious, though there's a slight hint of bitterness on the back end.
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Color - Pale amber Aromas - Roasted hazelnuts, dried apricot, ocean spray aromas stand out, but this wine is aromatically complex with hints of honey, almond brittle, toasted coconut, butterscotch and flowers make an appearance Body - Full-bodied, rich and fresh. It approached off-dry on the front palate but finishes dry on the back palate Taste - Dried apricot, roast hazelnut, ripe peach, coconut, and candied lemon peel flavors Finish - Long
Blandy’s 10 year old Sercial is a blend of wines with an average of 10 years in seasoned American oak casks. The wines were aged at the family’s Lodge in Funchal in the traditional ‘Canteiro’ system, whereby the wine is gradually transferred from the higher floors where the temperatures are higher, to the middle floors and eventually to the ground floor where temperatures are cooler. The process of transferring the barrels is absolutely critical to ensure the right balance of ullage and concentration. The process transforms primary fruit flavors of the wine into tertiary dried fruit notes that produce unique Madeira hallmark aromas.
100% Sercial| 19% abv |SRP - $30
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Golden/amber color. Aromas of sea salt, almonds, coconut shavings, ocean spray, along with quince paste and apricot jam. Rich textural depth on the palate but gorgeous acidity, honeyed but salty. Flavors of orange marmalade, apricot, sea salt, raw almond, ginger. Lovely depth on this wine, and a great introduction to serious Sercial at a very reasonable price.
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Medium golden colour; introverted nose, citrus, hints of wood and chamomile; the palate is off-dry and displays lovely ripe lemon and quince fruit balanced by tangy acidity, clean and fresh, civilised rather than austere, good flavour intensity; complete finish, hint of nutty evolution, woody notes, good length. Lovely wine, both as an aperitif and with cheese.
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Medium amber colour. Expressive nose showing aromas of caramel, dry figs, toasted almods, deliberate oxidation notes and hints of raisins.
It is off-dry in the mouth with a racy acidity and a warm alcohol. It is medium-bodied with pronounced intensity flavours and a long finish.
It is an outstanding quality wine, very concentrated, with a very persistent finish and the acidity provides balance to the alcohol and concentration. It also shows complexity provided by deliberate oxidation in canteiros.
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Madeira Pilgrimage; 2/1/2016-2/4/2016 (Madeira): Smells of hay and sea spray. Polished, smooth style with nice tartness but still plenty of richness and fullness on the palate. A more bold style, less of the tart, salty edge I look for in a Sercial (when compared with other producers), but still very nice.
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Blandy's 10 Year Madeira: Medium gold color. Smells of orange peel, apricot, shaved ginger, almond and a mix of floral and slight herbal notes. Full and rich on the palate, but like a good Sercial the acid cleans it all up and keeps the wine fresh despite the richness. Flavors of baked apple and orange peel, topped with raw almond, ginger, dried white flowers, sea salt. Bold but so refreshing. I love Sercials for the way the bright crunchy aspects are integrated well with the richer flavors.
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Over dinner, no formal notes. Walnut, dried figs, black tea, fruit cake on the nose. Very fresh, slightly off-dry with good balance and very decent length. 89-91
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Practice Tasting for WSET Diploma Unit 6 exam (Clerkenwell): Appearance: The wine is Clear with a Pale amber colour. Nose: The nose is Clean and Fully Developed, showing Medium intensity primary aromas of dried orange peel and tertiary aromas of caramel, hazelnut. Palate: The wine is Off-Dry in the mouth with a High level of acidity. It has a High level of alcohol for a fortified wine (19.00%). It has Medium body and Medium intensity primary flavours of dried orange peel and tertiary flavours of caramel, walnut. The finish is Medium(+). It has a slight chemical note, nail polish Overall: Good complexity, length and intensity. Good balance between acidity and sweetness. Good typicity. Conclusion: It is a Very Good quality wine. Drink Now; not suitable for Ageing or Further Ageing This will not further improve with bottle ageing but will keep.; High priced (£19.49) for 500ml
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On the nose vibrant rancio, mineral and orange zest aromas. Medium(+) bodied, very smooth, slightly oily texture, dry, balanced with good and firm acidity, delivering subtle orange zest, hints of nuts and dried fruit, slightly rancio flavors. Delicious stuff. So smooth and balanced. One of the best sercial madeiras I´ve tried.
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100% Sercial. As the wine is filtered before bottling, it will not improve any further in the bottle. 50 g/l RS.
Rather thin and pale ochre color with a hint of haziness. Complex and developed aromas of honeyed richness, oxidative nuttiness, some tangy aldehydic notes, a little bit of caramel sweetness, light dried yellow fruit tones, a hint of cedar and a touch of baked bread. Despite its residual sugar, the wine tastes dry-ish-to-off-dry on the palate - all thanks to the bracingly high acidity- along with tangy, almost piercing flavors of golden raisins, orange zest, maple syrup, some perfumed floral tones, a little bit of dried figs, light bitter orange notes, a hint of burnt sugar bitterness and an oxidative of roasted chestnuts. The racy acidity lends remarkable intensity and structure to the wine. The finish is long, somewhat warm and pretty racy with quite tangy flavors of saline sorrel character, roasted almonds, some salted nuts, a little bit of cedar, light golden raisin tones, hints of exotic spices and a touch of baked apple.
A terrific, intense and very tangy Sercial that is definitely a food Madeira, not a dessert Madeira. Vibrant and electric, the acidity here heels like it really needs some food to bite into. Although there is quite a lot of sugar here, you really don't taste it - but I can imagine it will help the wine to pair with a lot of different foods. Overall pretty terrific stuff, priced according to its quality at 26,40€ for a half-liter bottle.
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100% Sercial. As the wine is filtered before bottling, it will not improve any further in the bottle. 50 g/l RS.
Rather thin and pale ochre color with a hint of haziness. Surprisingly light and restrained nose with aromas of cedar, dried yellow fruits, some oxidative walnut notes and a hint of bread. Quite light but very intense and complex on the palate with bracingly high acidity. Despite its high-ish residual sugar, the wine tastes dry-to-off-dry, all thanks to the remakrably high acidity. Flavors of wild flowers, roasted spices, burnt sugar, some oxidative nuttiness and hints of bitter orange zest. The finish is very long, intense and acid-driven with layered flavors that continually seem to evolve over time; there are nuances of hazelnuts, exotic and toasted spices, dried yellow fruits, some caramel and a hint of bruised apple.
An elegant and sophisticated Madeira from the dry end. Although quite dry, the moderate amount of residual sugar keeps this wine very approachable and easily enjoyable. Great focus, energy and brightness with remarkable acidity. Probably a lovely wine with entrées like light fish-based dishes or creamy soups, although I can imagine this will pair wonderfully also with harder cheeses. Definitely a food Madeira, not a dessert Madeira. Good value at under 20€.
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Lovely complex wine with a nutty flavour and a little more sweetness than expected; gripping acidity. Delightful on its own though it went well with one type of manchego.
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Apricot, apple, caramel, spice and nuts. I liked it better the first night when it was still a little tight. One it opened up it is just too concentrated for me to enjoy now.
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Warm old gold colour shot with orange and some amber; light and dry nose, lively acidity, hard to define dried fruit and hints of spice and nuts; dry and stylish palate, flesh and sap provide an adequate counterpoint to the acidity, reminiscent of an old Amontillado, dried fruit and nuts; convincing finish, excellent length.
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5/30/2023 - robmatic wrote: 93 Points
Great juice. Never expected to finish the bottle in one sitting, but here we are. Excellent depth and persistence.
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11/14/2022 - platpeeps Likes this wine: 91 Points
Off dry to medium, this was nutty rich and spicy with bitter lime marmalade flavours seasoned with pepper. Super bitter sweet character which eliminates any chance of cloying. I loved the balance and complexity. All in all very satisfying. 91pts
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5/11/2021 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
The recent notes capture it well. And we agree with the most recent — there is some residual sugar/sweetness, and we would have preferred a bit less of that. Overall, however, it was very enjoyable over many nights — and it went especially well with rich soups.
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2/27/2021 - ocassiuso Likes this wine:
There's some residual sugar here. Loads of acid, yes, but still some sweetness. I'd think verdelho if tasting it blind, and I like sercial more austere. Still, it's got a nice nuttiness, and savory length too.
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2/20/2021 - SeattleKen wrote:
Seattle Chaine Port and Madeira Tasting. Dried orange marmalade quality. Tasted next to a Leacock's Rainwater Madeira, this is darker, richer, and more acidic with a longer finish. This is more of a food wine for sure but the Leacock is more enjoyable on its own. This paired wonderfully with a mushroom tart.
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2/18/2020 - Rune Schwartz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dry style with walnuts, some bitteres and nice fresh acid. A sweet touch of caramel/dried fruit adds good complexity ang lenght to this dry Sercial.
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8/11/2019 - Andrey DDT wrote: 86 Points
Not bad, but not interesting
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7/29/2019 - Baron Slick wrote: 91 Points
I love this Sercial. Lots of aromatic depth on the nose. Dried pit fruit, apricots, orange marmalade, and citrus pith atop toffee, caramel, and a whiff of coconut. The palate is clean, off dry, and tensile, and shows lovely texture and concentration. Sweet and salty flavors are balanced by racy acidity and a kiss of judiciously-applied oxidation. Closes with tea-like tannin and absolutely no trace of heat.
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10/17/2018 - WhiskySomm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Clear, bright, pale amber
Clean, full developed, medium plus aromatic intensity. Toasted almond, roasted hazelnut, strong scents of ocean spray and salinity, vanilla custard, butterscotch, dried pit fruit and dried florals.
Off-dry, medium plus alcohol, high acidity, medium plus body, medium minus tannin. Pronounced nuttiness and salinity, palate mimics the nose with the addition of candied citrus and more pronounced pit fruits than on the nose. Medium plus finish. This is a very good Sercial Madeira with concentration and balance of flavors, complexity, and length of finish. A pleasing mild bitterness and acidity on the finish to balance the slight sweetness.
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10/17/2018 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Blandy's masterclass with Chris Blandy (Chicago, IL): Very bright, with a lovely green tinge on the nose. The palate is quite sweet (perhaps surprisingly so given the grape), but this is for the most part very nicely balanced. There's a nice hint of salinity here as well -- definitely a wine with a lighter texture and a racier style. Quite delicious, though there's a slight hint of bitterness on the back end.
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2/1/2018 - Martin Redmond Likes this wine: 91 Points
Color - Pale amber
Aromas - Roasted hazelnuts, dried apricot, ocean spray aromas stand out, but this wine is aromatically complex with hints of honey, almond brittle, toasted coconut, butterscotch and flowers make an appearance
Body - Full-bodied, rich and fresh. It approached off-dry on the front palate but finishes dry on the back palate
Taste - Dried apricot, roast hazelnut, ripe peach, coconut, and candied lemon peel flavors
Finish - Long
Blandy’s 10 year old Sercial is a blend of wines with an average of 10 years in seasoned American oak casks. The wines were aged at the family’s Lodge in Funchal in the traditional ‘Canteiro’ system, whereby the wine is gradually transferred from the higher floors where the temperatures are higher, to the middle floors and eventually to the ground floor where temperatures are cooler. The process of transferring the barrels is absolutely critical to ensure the right balance of ullage and concentration. The process transforms primary fruit flavors of the wine
into tertiary dried fruit notes that produce unique Madeira hallmark aromas.
100% Sercial| 19% abv |SRP - $30
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11/27/2017 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 90 Points
Golden/amber color. Aromas of sea salt, almonds, coconut shavings, ocean spray, along with quince paste and apricot jam. Rich textural depth on the palate but gorgeous acidity, honeyed but salty. Flavors of orange marmalade, apricot, sea salt, raw almond, ginger. Lovely depth on this wine, and a great introduction to serious Sercial at a very reasonable price.
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8/5/2017 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 90 Points
Medium golden colour; introverted nose, citrus, hints of wood and chamomile; the palate is off-dry and displays lovely ripe lemon and quince fruit balanced by tangy acidity, clean and fresh, civilised rather than austere, good flavour intensity; complete finish, hint of nutty evolution, woody notes, good length. Lovely wine, both as an aperitif and with cheese.
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5/17/2017 - Man in Black wrote:
Medium amber colour. Expressive nose showing aromas of caramel, dry figs, toasted almods, deliberate oxidation notes and hints of raisins.
It is off-dry in the mouth with a racy acidity and a warm alcohol. It is medium-bodied with pronounced intensity flavours and a long finish.
It is an outstanding quality wine, very concentrated, with a very persistent finish and the acidity provides balance to the alcohol and concentration. It also shows complexity provided by deliberate oxidation in canteiros.
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12/20/2016 - Zweder wrote: 89 Points
Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow" #014: Madeira (@ RW and by RW): Citrus peel, almonds, tangerine, toffee and oxidized impressions. No more notes.
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2/2/2016 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 88 Points
Madeira Pilgrimage; 2/1/2016-2/4/2016 (Madeira): Smells of hay and sea spray. Polished, smooth style with nice tartness but still plenty of richness and fullness on the palate. A more bold style, less of the tart, salty edge I look for in a Sercial (when compared with other producers), but still very nice.
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1/25/2016 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 90 Points
Blandy's 10 Year Madeira: Medium gold color. Smells of orange peel, apricot, shaved ginger, almond and a mix of floral and slight herbal notes. Full and rich on the palate, but like a good Sercial the acid cleans it all up and keeps the wine fresh despite the richness. Flavors of baked apple and orange peel, topped with raw almond, ginger, dried white flowers, sea salt. Bold but so refreshing. I love Sercials for the way the bright crunchy aspects are integrated well with the richer flavors.
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11/4/2015 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
Monthly Tasting Group EEE #044; Wine, but slightly different. (@ PV): Currants, raisins, caramel, tangerine and polishing wax in the bouquet. On the palate cane sugar, brown spiced biscuit, almonds, caramel, almonds, tangerine etc. etc. Enormous length. Beautiful wine.
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10/3/2015 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
Over dinner, no formal notes. Walnut, dried figs, black tea, fruit cake on the nose. Very fresh, slightly off-dry with good balance and very decent length. 89-91
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5/30/2015 - HStaal wrote: 90 Points
Practice Tasting for WSET Diploma Unit 6 exam (Clerkenwell): Appearance: The wine is Clear with a Pale amber colour.
Nose: The nose is Clean and Fully Developed, showing Medium intensity primary aromas of dried orange peel and tertiary aromas of caramel, hazelnut.
Palate: The wine is Off-Dry in the mouth with a High level of acidity. It has a High level of alcohol for a fortified wine (19.00%). It has Medium body and Medium intensity primary flavours of dried orange peel and tertiary flavours of caramel, walnut. The finish is Medium(+). It has a slight chemical note, nail polish
Overall: Good complexity, length and intensity. Good balance between acidity and sweetness. Good typicity.
Conclusion: It is a Very Good quality wine. Drink Now; not suitable for Ageing or Further Ageing This will not further improve with bottle ageing but will keep.; High priced (£19.49) for 500ml
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4/24/2015 - Henman Likes this wine: 91 Points
On the nose vibrant rancio, mineral and orange zest aromas. Medium(+) bodied, very smooth, slightly oily texture, dry, balanced with good and firm acidity, delivering subtle orange zest, hints of nuts and dried fruit, slightly rancio flavors. Delicious stuff. So smooth and balanced. One of the best sercial madeiras I´ve tried.
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3/31/2015 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points
100% Sercial. As the wine is filtered before bottling, it will not improve any further in the bottle. 50 g/l RS.
Rather thin and pale ochre color with a hint of haziness. Complex and developed aromas of honeyed richness, oxidative nuttiness, some tangy aldehydic notes, a little bit of caramel sweetness, light dried yellow fruit tones, a hint of cedar and a touch of baked bread. Despite its residual sugar, the wine tastes dry-ish-to-off-dry on the palate - all thanks to the bracingly high acidity- along with tangy, almost piercing flavors of golden raisins, orange zest, maple syrup, some perfumed floral tones, a little bit of dried figs, light bitter orange notes, a hint of burnt sugar bitterness and an oxidative of roasted chestnuts. The racy acidity lends remarkable intensity and structure to the wine. The finish is long, somewhat warm and pretty racy with quite tangy flavors of saline sorrel character, roasted almonds, some salted nuts, a little bit of cedar, light golden raisin tones, hints of exotic spices and a touch of baked apple.
A terrific, intense and very tangy Sercial that is definitely a food Madeira, not a dessert Madeira. Vibrant and electric, the acidity here heels like it really needs some food to bite into. Although there is quite a lot of sugar here, you really don't taste it - but I can imagine it will help the wine to pair with a lot of different foods. Overall pretty terrific stuff, priced according to its quality at 26,40€ for a half-liter bottle.
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3/16/2015 - PT insurgent wrote:
Dry. Vibrant, raisin, citrus zest - lemon/lime. Raging acidity, super fresh.
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11/10/2013 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
As before
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6/11/2013 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Solid dry Madiera, nutty and complex, good acidity nice finish. Very sound but not exciting.
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2/4/2013 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points
100% Sercial. As the wine is filtered before bottling, it will not improve any further in the bottle. 50 g/l RS.
Rather thin and pale ochre color with a hint of haziness. Surprisingly light and restrained nose with aromas of cedar, dried yellow fruits, some oxidative walnut notes and a hint of bread. Quite light but very intense and complex on the palate with bracingly high acidity. Despite its high-ish residual sugar, the wine tastes dry-to-off-dry, all thanks to the remakrably high acidity. Flavors of wild flowers, roasted spices, burnt sugar, some oxidative nuttiness and hints of bitter orange zest. The finish is very long, intense and acid-driven with layered flavors that continually seem to evolve over time; there are nuances of hazelnuts, exotic and toasted spices, dried yellow fruits, some caramel and a hint of bruised apple.
An elegant and sophisticated Madeira from the dry end. Although quite dry, the moderate amount of residual sugar keeps this wine very approachable and easily enjoyable. Great focus, energy and brightness with remarkable acidity. Probably a lovely wine with entrées like light fish-based dishes or creamy soups, although I can imagine this will pair wonderfully also with harder cheeses. Definitely a food Madeira, not a dessert Madeira. Good value at under 20€.
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1/2/2012 - nigelb wrote:
really does last superbly well when opened
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3/20/2011 - DK Amateur wrote:
Lovely complex wine with a nutty flavour and a little more sweetness than expected; gripping acidity. Delightful on its own though it went well with one type of manchego.
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4/27/2010 - jlgnml wrote: 91 Points
94th Meeting of the George H. Rezek Society (Kendall College Chicago IL): Smooth with some zing to it. Good caramel color and spice on the palate. Great with the consomme
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1/18/2009 - spo wrote:
Apricot, apple, caramel, spice and nuts. I liked it better the first night when it was still a little tight. One it opened up it is just too concentrated for me to enjoy now.
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3/23/2008 - charliesea wrote: 88 Points
E
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10/5/2007 - charliesea wrote: 92 Points
Bright acidity to contrast with complex desserts. Floral undertones contrast with post-prandial options. yum
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7/3/2007 - charliesea wrote: 89 Points
Pleasantly dry as a sercial should be. Beautiful golden color with a good finish. The nose is redolent of lightly toasted grains and malted barley.
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7/17/1999 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 91 Points
Warm old gold colour shot with orange and some amber; light and dry nose, lively acidity, hard to define dried fruit and hints of spice and nuts; dry and stylish palate, flesh and sap provide an adequate counterpoint to the acidity, reminiscent of an old Amontillado, dried fruit and nuts; convincing finish, excellent length.
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