What Madeira Have You Opened This Week?

[Mike K.]

D’Oliveiras Malvazia 2005
Literally a glass of Kahlua.

[Moses Botbol]

1988 D'Olvieiras Terrantez. Just opened on Saturday. Was hankering for Madeira. I hope our local B&M has a holiday buy on these; getting low.

[Mike K.]

1988 D'Olvieiras Terrantez. Just opened on Saturday. Was hankering for Madeira. I hope our local B&M has a holiday buy on these; getting low.

Please let me know if any local shop does a D’Oliveiras offering at good pricing. I see Kopke and H&H each fall, but not D’Oliveiras.

[Mike K.]

H&H 50yo Tinta Negra
Blandy's 50yo Malmsey

Got to taste these during the last Fortification Tour and brought home bottles of both.
Decanting both for a few days and will try them side-by-side this weekend.

[Glenn E.]

RWC Historic Series Porto Moniz Malvasia, 2011 bottling

I feel like I've liked this better in the past. This bottle was still really nice, but I'm not sure it's worth the price these days as the price climbs due to rarity.

[Eric Ifune]

1982 Barbeito Bual.

[Mike K.]

RWC Historic Series George Washington Special Reserve.
From RWC's press release, and to over simplify, half of the wine is 10-20yo, and the other half is a variety of old to ancient barrels and demijohns Ricardo blended together.
It definitely has that Barbeito / Ricardo house style. Very nice, medium sweet, great balance between sweet and acid. Medium richness and body. An intriguing array of spices in the background. I like it and am quite pleased I got two bottles from RWC. More time with the bottle will tell whether I need to seek out more.

[Jim S.]

1915 LMR Bual Colheita
1950 Welsh Bros Sercial
Both bottles opened in preparation for Xmas Eve oyster happy hour. Still picking out some more bottles.

[David Spriggs]

H&H 50yo Tinta Negra
Blandy's 50yo Malmsey

Got to taste these during the last Fortification Tour and brought home bottles of both.
Decanting both for a few days and will try them side-by-side this weekend.

I’m very interested in your thoughts about the H&H

[Mike K.]

H&H 50yo Tinta Negra
Blandy's 50yo Malmsey

Got to taste these during the last Fortification Tour and brought home bottles of both.
Decanting both for a few days and will try them side-by-side this weekend.

I’m very interested in your thoughts about the H&H

I enjoyed both the H&H and Blandy's during tastings at those houses in Madeira. Anytime you drop a 50yo blend into a tasting it's bound to grab your attention. But the next step is to taste them side by side to see if you have a strong preference. Since these were both sweeter wines, I added a third wine to the flight, the RWC Porto Moniz Malvasia which I understand is 40-50 year old wine.

Blandy's 50yo Malmsey (140€ at their shop, 180€ online)
This one had the most complex nose with polish, cocoa, coffee, and cinnamon. The palate backed it up with butterscotch and toffee in a nice thick mouthfeel. The acid balance was excellent. A very long finish of burnt caramel fading to tannins. Excellent!

H&H 50yo Tinta Negra (185€ at their shop $159 - $329 online)
The nose was subtle with not much going on. The palate had a nice richness with notes of caramel, butterscotch, and polished wood. The finish was short and turns bitter. A very enjoyable pour on its own, but suffers next to the Blandy's.

RWC Porto Moniz Malvasia ($100 - $175 online when you can find it)
The nose is lighter with varnish and oak. Great flavor, very rich and thick, gooey caramel and cocoa. Nice pleasant finish. Better than the H&H but not as interesting as the Blandy's.

My overall ranking:

1. Blandy's 50yo Malmsey
2. RWC Porto Moniz Malvasia
3. H&H 50yo Tinta Negra

[Eric Ifune]

1954 H&H Malvasia.

[David Spriggs]

My overall ranking:

1. Blandy's 50yo Malmsey
2. RWC Porto Moniz Malvasia
3. H&H 50yo Tinta Negra

Thanks for your thoughts on these!

[Jim S.]

1940 Justino's Sercial btl'd 2001

[David Spriggs]

Broadbent 10 Year Old Malmsey

[Glenn E.]

Borges 20 Year Old Malvasia

[Mike K.]

Had a Madeira themed get-together with some friends in the D.C. area last night. I brought along bottles of RWC Porto Moniz Verdelho and Malvasia. Other folks brought a variety of Barbeito and D’Oliveiras, including a Vo Vera 30yo. The highlight of the evening was the host breaking out a 1863 Miles Malvasia Solera. A great night with wine and friends.

[Eric Ifune]

Just opened a Joao Lomelino 1850 Bual for New Years.

[Gary Banker]

1971 D'Oliveira Terrantez
1969 D'Oliveira Sercial

[Eric Ifune]

Rare Wine Company New Orleans Reserve Tricentennial.
This was the third iteration with Bastardo. Not quite as good as the first with Terrantez, but much better than the second.

[David Spriggs]

Rare Wine Company New Orleans Reserve Tricentennial.
This was the third iteration with Bastardo. Not quite as good as the first with Terrantez, but much better than the second.

Nice! Loved the first version. Glad this is close to that first version.