Enjoyed over the course of about four months. This is an excellent, ancient Madeira. This is very sweet, but balanced with very high acid. This bottle was bottled in the mid-1970s and appears to have held up perfectly.
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Cola colour with yellow rim; nose of figs, raisins and balsamic with a little heat; incredible acidity - almost tangy; palate is stretched thin with nutty and dark rum notes; incredible experience - unlike anything that I've tried before - but not sure that I would order it again
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Bottled in 1975, after 75 years of aging in casks.
Luminous dark mahogany brown color with a hint of haziness. Sweet nose that feels somewhat dominated by a volatile aroma of nail polish that persists, even though the wine has been decanted for some hours before the tasting - although a decanting period of one week would've been more appropriate for a wine like this. Apart from the sweet volatile lift, there are aromas of perfumed floral notes, some chocolate and mocha nuances, a little peanut butter and hints of raisins, prunes and poached pears. On the palate the wine feels very sweet, full-bodied and rich with oily, mouth-filling texture. There are incredibly complex, intense and remarkably concentrated flavors of syrup, molasses, peanut butter, apple jam, balsamico, some lemony tang, perfumed floral nuances, a little clove-driven christmas spices and hints of crushed peppercorns and roasted Moroccan spices. Underneath all these flavors runs a delicate undercurrent of sweet volatility. Although the wine feels sweet and a little sticky, it is remarkably lively and bright, all thanks to its noticeably high, racy acidity. The finish is incredibly long, rich and complex with moderate sweetness that becomes more dry and savory with time. There are layered flavors of coffee chocolate, burnt sugar, lemon pith, roasted almonds, toffee, caramel, peanut butter, some bruised apple, a little bit of sweet, balsamic volatile character, hints of cloves and a touch of roasted chestnuts in the aftertaste.
A really stunning Madeira with incredible complexity, lovely floral edge and wonderful touch of volatility that only added to the depth and richness of the wine. In a tasting of Madeiras from 1973 until 1895 this was a favorite of many, but for me, the wine of the night was Oliveiras Malvazia 1895 with its incredibly harmonious character, a bit lower sweetness and higher acidity. Yet, this was not only one of the most stunning wines of that night, but also one of the most remarkable wines I've ever had. A breathtaking wine, priced more or less according to its quality at 700€.
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Very hard to comment and note as it was the first Madeira of that age tasted.... Drank over 2 days and the end of each meals with chocolate heavy desserts. Was decanted 12 hours before the first dinner, but it feels it could have been a week earlier on ... Strong nose of sweet plums, candied fruits and winter spices ... Disappointing "medium" length finish. What bothered me was the volatile acidity that was overwhelmingly present ... Nevertheless interesting to drink such an historical wine and will be even more interesting to see how it tastes in a few weeks/ months.
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This was the kind of experiance that confirms how short life is. Drinking an amazing bottle of wine that went to sleep before WWI and awoke when Greece nearly went out of business 115 years later. Marcona almond, meyer lemon zest, nougat, honey suckle and so many other things that I can't put works to. Incredible balance between sweetness, texture and acidity. The nose lends to a prediction of thick syrupy texture, but the reality is an amazingly light and clean low viscosity. The acidity completely accounts for the sweetness. Exceedingly long length on the finish. 9-19-10-9
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(D'Oliveiras Madeira Moscatel Reserva) Medium dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; serious ginger, ginger cake, walnut nose; rich, wonderful, ginger cake, ginger honey, apricot honey, smoky, sweet roast coffee, almond palate; long finish
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2/10/2023 - Matt T wrote: 96 Points
Enjoyed over the course of about four months. This is an excellent, ancient Madeira. This is very sweet, but balanced with very high acid. This bottle was bottled in the mid-1970s and appears to have held up perfectly.
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5/24/2017 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cola colour with yellow rim; nose of figs, raisins and balsamic with a little heat; incredible acidity - almost tangy; palate is stretched thin with nutty and dark rum notes; incredible experience - unlike anything that I've tried before - but not sure that I would order it again
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5/8/2017 - forceberry wrote: 98 Points
Bottled in 1975, after 75 years of aging in casks.
Luminous dark mahogany brown color with a hint of haziness. Sweet nose that feels somewhat dominated by a volatile aroma of nail polish that persists, even though the wine has been decanted for some hours before the tasting - although a decanting period of one week would've been more appropriate for a wine like this. Apart from the sweet volatile lift, there are aromas of perfumed floral notes, some chocolate and mocha nuances, a little peanut butter and hints of raisins, prunes and poached pears. On the palate the wine feels very sweet, full-bodied and rich with oily, mouth-filling texture. There are incredibly complex, intense and remarkably concentrated flavors of syrup, molasses, peanut butter, apple jam, balsamico, some lemony tang, perfumed floral nuances, a little clove-driven christmas spices and hints of crushed peppercorns and roasted Moroccan spices. Underneath all these flavors runs a delicate undercurrent of sweet volatility. Although the wine feels sweet and a little sticky, it is remarkably lively and bright, all thanks to its noticeably high, racy acidity. The finish is incredibly long, rich and complex with moderate sweetness that becomes more dry and savory with time. There are layered flavors of coffee chocolate, burnt sugar, lemon pith, roasted almonds, toffee, caramel, peanut butter, some bruised apple, a little bit of sweet, balsamic volatile character, hints of cloves and a touch of roasted chestnuts in the aftertaste.
A really stunning Madeira with incredible complexity, lovely floral edge and wonderful touch of volatility that only added to the depth and richness of the wine. In a tasting of Madeiras from 1973 until 1895 this was a favorite of many, but for me, the wine of the night was Oliveiras Malvazia 1895 with its incredibly harmonious character, a bit lower sweetness and higher acidity. Yet, this was not only one of the most stunning wines of that night, but also one of the most remarkable wines I've ever had. A breathtaking wine, priced more or less according to its quality at 700€.
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12/24/2015 - faivre_eric wrote: 90 Points
Very hard to comment and note as it was the first Madeira of that age tasted....
Drank over 2 days and the end of each meals with chocolate heavy desserts.
Was decanted 12 hours before the first dinner, but it feels it could have been a week earlier on ...
Strong nose of sweet plums, candied fruits and winter spices ...
Disappointing "medium" length finish.
What bothered me was the volatile acidity that was overwhelmingly present ...
Nevertheless interesting to drink such an historical wine and will be even more interesting to see how it tastes in a few weeks/ months.
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10/9/2015 - CO_Roots13 wrote: 97 Points
This was the kind of experiance that confirms how short life is. Drinking an amazing bottle of wine that went to sleep before WWI and awoke when Greece nearly went out of business 115 years later. Marcona almond, meyer lemon zest, nougat, honey suckle and so many other things that I can't put works to. Incredible balance between sweetness, texture and acidity. The nose lends to a prediction of thick syrupy texture, but the reality is an amazingly light and clean low viscosity. The acidity completely accounts for the sweetness. Exceedingly long length on the finish.
9-19-10-9
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