The Great Families of Madeira
Hearth, NYC
Tasted Thursday, October 27, 2011 by mdefreitas with 1,050 views
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
One would be hard pressed to find a greater champion for the wines of Madeira than Mannie Berk and the Rare Wine Company. Their tastings are always enjoyable, enlightening and usually focus a particular theme. Their latest event took place in New York on October 27th, 2011 and featured the rare wines from the personal collections of some of the great families of Madeira. The wines came from the cellars of the late John Cossart, the late William Leacock, Manuela Vasconcelos Barbeito de Freitas and the D’Oliveira family. Note that these wines are not from their companies’ commercial inventory; in some cases, such as Manuela’s wines, the last remaining ounces were bottled from demijohn as a special favor to Mannie Berk.
It was a rainy, frigid night in New York – an ideal atmosphere for drinking a bit of Madeira. Upon entering the aptly named restaurant “Hearth”, in Manhattan’s East Village, the warm interior and exposed brick walls instantly provided relief from the damp, chilly weather outside. Chef Marco Canora prepared an expertly crafted five course meal which paired superbly with the wines being presented.
Flight 1 - FIRST COURSE (3 Notes)
Grilled Octopus (Potato, Celery, Smoked Black Olives, Aioli)
Flight 2 - SECOND COURSE (3 Notes)
Pappardelle (Wild Boar, Chestnuts, Soffrito, Rosemary)
Flight 3 - THIRD COURSE (3 Notes)
Roasted Lola Duck (Braised Leg, Fig, Onion Soubise, Escarole)
Flight 4 - CHEESE COURSE (2 Notes)
Selection of Farmstead Cheeses (Landaff (raw cow), Cobb Hill Ascutney Mountain (raw cow), Ewephoria Gouda (pasteurized sheep))
Flight 5 - DESSERT COURSE (2 Notes)
Milk Chocolate Tart (Orange Cream, Pistachio Ice Cream)
Closing
CONCLUSION
My six year old son likes to play games from a math workbook. He unwittingly learns basic arithmetic by, what to him, are fun activities. I was involved in a similar situation at this event. I was merely looking forward to a fun night of tasting great wines but ended up acquiring a basic education on the subtle attributes Madeira acquires based on their aging regimen under wood and glass.
Let start with the Leacock wines. They saw relatively little time in cask (~20-30 years) and an enormous amount of time in bottle (~60-90 years). These wines showed a dry, austere and high toned character. They possessed an interesting bottle bouquet of dried floral and antique wood notes, but were a bit lacking in concentration. I think these wines suffered in comparison to the other wines in the tasting and would have probably shown better on their own. I remember enjoying these wines a lot better when tasted alongside other Leacock family wines.
The Verdelho Velho and WS Boal from the John Cossart Collection also enjoyed a long time in bottle (~80 years), but they received a good amount of time in cask as well (~100 years). This extra time in wood provided more flesh and richness to the wines.
The D’Oliveira “Family Reserve” wines were brilliant and eye-opening. Although they also received abundant cask time (~50-120 years), they enjoyed about half the bottle time (~40 years). I wonder if this is the ideal combination, for they had power, weight and richness, but a regal finesse that I don’t recall recently bottled versions of these wines possessing.
I can’t say enough about the personal wines from Manuela Barbeito de Freitas; they speak volumes on her ability to choose and raise stunning wines. Spending ample time in cask (I’m not sure exactly how much), they seemed to have received just enough wood as needed – no more, no less. When deemed appropriate, they were placed in demijohn after which they almost enter a state of suspended animation, changing little yet remaining fresh and vibrant. Having been bottled straight from demijohn this year, these wines demonstrated a sparkling freshness with shimmering clarity. There was a deft touch about these wines, displaying more overt fruit and less torrefaction.
Overall, an immensely enjoyable evening; it’s always a thrill when pleasure and education collide.
1910 Leacock Madeira Sercial 88 Points
Portugal, Madeira
[Family: William Leacock] The Leacock family wines are a fascinating lot. Almost every generation of Leacocks tended to produce a single male heir, preventing ownership of these treasures from being excessively scattered. The last Leacock heir to which this pipeline of riches flowed to was William Leacock, the son of Edmond Erskine Leacock. Having less interest in Madeira than his ancestors, William sold his collection at auction back in 2008. This particular wine was bottled in 1931 and given a week of decanting. Light in color and highly perfumed, offering scents of sandalwood, dried flowers and tanned leather. Very high toned on the palate, with piercing lemony acidity. Dry and austere, with bitter nut skin and antique wood flavors appearing in the finish. Some dried fruit flavors peek out as it sits in the glass, but overall there is a lot more bones than flesh here. The short time in cask shows.
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1910 Barbeito Madeira Sercial 93 Points
Portugal, Madeira
[Family: Mario Barbeito]
Bottled in the early 2000s. Being a recent bottling, this was given less than a day’s worth of decanting. This was perhaps the darkest of the wines in this flight; generous, fresh and mouth filling. At first this comes across as a bit round, but the acids do kick in late and provide balance. Quite a bit more richness and torrefaction than the Leacock from the same year, but this has also seen about seventy more years in cask. Caramel, nuts and lime zest flavors coat the palate and echo on the superb finish. This is a bit on the sweeter side of the spectrum for Sercial but would be a great offering for those who find the varietal a bit screechy.
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1892 Barbeito Madeira Sercial 97 Points
Portugal, Madeira
[Family: Manuela V. Barbeito de Freitas] This wine was recently bottled from the remains of a single demijohn that belonged to Ricardo de Freitas’ mother. As a personal favor, Ricardo made this wine available to Mannie. Given less than a day in the decanter, this was flat out gorgeous, almost a blend of the previous two wines – displaying the structure of the 1910 Leacock with the richness of the 1910 Barbeito. The nose was kaleidoscopic: hints of cognac, butterscotch, tropical fruits, flowers, baking spices and citrus skin. This handily filled the cracks on the palate, but had such heroic lift and energy that it never felt ponderous. Fresh, precise, and clean as a whistle. Add in the almost interminable finish and this easily charmed itself into being one of the wines of the night for me. It was a true privilege to taste this rarity.
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