1927 D'Oliveiras Madeira Bastardo

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 95.1 points

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  12/18/2022 - Grinner wrote: 97 Points

  Antica Terra Collective Tasting (Brick Hall, Dayton, OR): Coravin pour:
  
  WOTM! You can't help but think while you enjoy this. But you don't have to! You can just smell it when your SigO grabs the single glass and takes a sip on the other side of the table! The bouquet might make you think "sweet", but no. Toffee, burnt walnuts, dates, fig, old honey, dried orange peel, and spices zing around the palate on that sparky acidity. 97+ wow, wow, wow. I would bathe in this.

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  9/5/2022 - forceberry wrote: 94 Points

  The wine is made with purchased Bastardo grapes. 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 2014, after 87 years of aging in casks.
  
  Deep, dark syrupy-brown color with a reddish mahogany hue. The nose feels aged, dusty and more tertiary than fruity with brooding, developed aromas of syrupy treacle, some cedary notes, a little bit of honeysuckle, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and treacle, a lifted hint of sweet balsamic character, a volatile touch of nail polish and a whiff of old attic. The wine feels silky smooth yet surprisingly firm and robust at the same time on the palate with complex, medium-dry to medium-sweet flavors of lemony citrus fruits, some oxidative notes of nutty rancio and sorrel, a little bit of bruised green apple, light dried-fruit notes of dried dates and raisins, a hint of roasted malts and a touch of peppery spice. The rather high acidity keeps the wine structured and lends it good sense of freshness and structure. The finish is sharp, nutty and quite tangy with a bright streak of lemony acidity, complemented by evolved flavors of bruised green apple and raisins, some caramel, light rancio notes of hay, sorrel and chopped nuts, a little bit of tangy salinity, a hint of old leather and a touch of peppery spice.
  
  A bright, structured and relatively dry Bastardo Madeira that had a bit more fruit intensity and freshness than the bottle I had tasted before, which was from a lot bottled in 2017. I expect both these bottles were the same wine, only bottled at different points of time, but apparently just the wine being from a different lot can mean a lot, since this wine came across as more expressive and focused, whereas the wine I tasted five years ago came across duller and less vibrant. Even if this wine didn't show as much acidic zip as the Frasqueiras made from the "noble varieties" of Madeira, it still felt more than high enough to keep this wine fresh and structured, offsetting a good deal of sweetness from the residual sugar. A fantastic wine, but I'm not sure if this really is worth its money at 730€ - this is a unique experience, but quality-wise it doesn't seem to offer anything that the Frasqueiras only half as old but made from the noble white varieties wouldn't.

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  2/11/2022 - mattym19 Likes this wine: 94 Points

  By the glass (!) at The Morris in San Francisco. Hard to describe this wine, it’s just so stupendous. Subtle but persistent nose of caramel, stone fruit, citrus peel, bread dough, candied orange peel. Palate is smooth and round but with copious acidity. Slight apple notes lead into dried peaches and apricots with treacle and a hint of cocoa and bubblegum (!) on the finish. Just beautiful.

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  3/29/2019 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 97 Points

  Amazing stuff again. Words fail me.

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  5/8/2017 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  Bottled in 2017, after 90 years of cask aging.
  
  Very deep, luminous dark copper color. Sweet, but a little bit restrained nose with dark-toned, oxidative aromas of bruised apples, some toffee, a little bit of sweet volatilite lift, hints of vanilla pods and a touch of orange marmalade. Although quite nuanced, the nose feels somewhat less complex if compared to some other Madeiras of similar age. The wine is sweet and full-bodied on the palate with the mature age quite evident in the complex, although slightly stuffy taste. The flavors are dominated by peppery spice, sweet fig jam notes and some burnt sugar bitterness, with more complex nuances of pungent smoky character, old dried leather, fermented prunes, somewhat bitter old woody notes, hints of salted nuts and a touch or chokeberry underneath. Although full-bodied, the wine doesn't feel as rich, broad and round as one would expect it to. The acidity is moderately high, giving the wine good focus and intensity. The wine finishes with a dry, dark-toned and acid-driven aftertaste with long-lasting, powerful flavors of wood, peppery spice, burnt sugar, some oxidative nuttiness and earthiness, a little smoke and hints of lemon juice.
  
  Although very impressive and very much alive for a wine with 90 years of age, this was still a bit underwhelming an effort when compared to the best Madeiras of similar age. It is hard to say whether back then the wine was actually made from Bastardo, or if this was only an indication of the style, but this wine was somewhat more darker-toned and lower in acidity than many other Madeiras made from the "classic" white varieties. Definitely an interesting effort and very lovely for an old Madeira, but lacks the harmony and complexity to hit the top marks (and that is not to say that this wine isn't complex - I just know there are even more complex and impressive Madeiras out there). Probably not quite worth the 430€.

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