1971 D'Oliveiras Madeira Terrantez

Community Tasting Notes (26) Avg Score: 92.8 points

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  3/25/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote: 95 Points

  Bottled in 2020 - 49 yrs in cask. Decanted 48 hrs.
  
  Dark burnished mahogany. Incredible nose of brandy soaked Christmas pudding, brown Antiqwax furniture polish and brand new rubber - like in a new bike tyre. Very concentrated as you'd expect after all this time in cask, the flavours of nuts and burnt caramel coating every corner of the palate. This is like liquid queijo de figo. Round and a hint of sweetness but then comes that acidity cutting through the figs and almonds to leave a dry, tingling finish. Great balance.
  
  To my mind, this is almost the complete Madeira. Rich, powerful, concentrated but cut through by decisive acidity leaving a tingling sweet and sour finish, that hint of residual sweetness lingering long after the wine is gone. The Blandy's 1978 Terrantez (bottled in 2022) is very good but this is another step up in my book. Slightly drier style than the Blandy's and for me, a more complete wine. Stunning.

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  9/5/2022 - forceberry wrote: 94 Points

  Consistent with my previous tasting note written a week ago - unsurprisingly.
  
  Great stuff.

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  8/31/2022 - forceberry wrote: 94 Points

  The wine is made with purchased Terrantez grapes. After 4-5 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 2022, after 51 years of aging in casks, labeled as "Medium Dry".
  
  Evolved bronze color with a somewhat reddish coppery hue. Slightly restrained but also wonderfully complex and attractively sweet nose with layered aromas of syrupy richness and white chocolate, even some sweet, volatile nail polish character, some dried-fruit aromas of raisins and dried dates, light caramel notes, a little bit of pipe tobacco, sweet hints of Christmas spices and dried flowers, a touch of cigar and a whiff of dried figs. The wine feels concentrated, very focused and just ridiculously racy on the palate with incredibly piercing, bracing acidity. There are slightly sweet flavors of lemony citrus fruits and key lime, bruised green apple tones, some rich notes of caramel and maple syrup intermingling with evolved creamy custard character, a little bit of dusty mahogany. light sweet nuances of cloudberry jam, a hint of steely minerality and a touch of crunchy quince. Although showing some oxidation, the wine shows relatively little oxidative character, emphasizing just some nutty and caramelized nuances. Although the acidity feels ridiculously high here, the wine still isn't austere or aggressively sharp, thanks to its balanced residual sugar and rich texture concentrated by the age. The finish is very long, zippy and remarkably fresh with intense, piercing flavors of lemony citrus fruits and Granny Smith apple, sweeter nuances of dried dates, some balsamic richness with a tiniest hint of acetic tang, a little bit of apple peel bitterness, light syrupy nuances, a woody hint of mahogany and a touch of crunchy quince.
  
  Just like the last time I tasted the wine five years ago (although that one was from a different lot bottled in 2017), this was just a stunning experience. The acidity here is through the roof, yet still the wine is wonderfully harmonious, rich and textural on the palate with simply exceptional flavor intensity. It's hard to compare these two wines because I have to rely just on my memory, but I felt this wine was even less oxidative than the wine I had tasted previously - and even that one wasn't particularly oxidative for a 46-yo Madeira. Outrageously good stuff. However, this kind of depth and intensity does not come cheap, as the wine costs 290€ today. However, seeing this is such singular stuff, it's nigh impossible to find this kind of wine at any lower prices today...

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  12/17/2021 - SouthernStateofMind wrote:

  Decanted (5) days and consumed over two (2) months. Can't say it much better than what "Forceberry" has already articulated. Beautiful wine. Dark amber in color with expressive aromas of dark sultana, fig, orange peel, treacle, and burnt caramel. Lithely on the palate w/razor sharp acidity that rewards with exceedingly long finish.

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  8/22/2021 - lesz wrote: 91 Points

  quite enjoyable over a four month drinking window.

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