sattui madeira

[Richard Beeken]

Hope this isn't sacrilege, but I recently tasted (have the remaining half of the bottle sitting in front of me) a V. Sattui "Madeira" from California/St. Helena. Interesting notions about some old, old stuff in this solera. I found it pleasant, very madeira-ish, singed maple, brown sugar, nutty, not as intense or layered as one might have hoped but lovely stuff all the same - a little hard to evaluate since it was opened and poured without the benefit of any decanting, but I shall studiously keep working on the remaining juice and report back.
There is no date anywhere on this bottle (other than "est. 1885"). ??
Any experiences with this madeira or info re this producer?

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Richard,

Long before I ever tried the real stuff, I discovered this dessert wine from Napa. I used to buy it by the bottle until I actually visited V. Sattui and grabbed a case for the ridiculously low price of $22 or $23/bottle. I believe it now sells for around $36.

I have shared it with many a friend and given away bottles as gifts and still buy it whenever I come across it which is typically when I am down in wine country. IMO, this is the finest dessert wine made in North America. It is tasty, smooth, balanced, viscous, elegant and moderately complex.

I may have on occasion tried a finer dessert wine from the continent, such as when Inniskillin makes a great Riesling Icewine that happens to have enough acidity, but none are as consistently good as the V. Sattui "Madeira." Personally, I hope they are made to change the name to something not related to the island, even though it is the closest resemblance of any version NOT made on the island itself.

[Eric Ifune]

Roy,
I love the Sattui madeira as well, but now I think my favorite North American fortified is the Ficklin 20 Year Old Tawny that I tried this past weekend. It was first released this past October. Unfortunately, the production is limited. I was told that they want to hold onto their old stocks hopefully to produce a 30 year old and maybe a 40! Perhaps not the complexity of the best Portugese tawnies but still nice stuff. One great thing about the Sattui is that there is enough of it around.

[Roy Hersh]

Eric,

Yep, plenty of the V. Sattui but I have ONLY seen it at the winery and at least up until a few years ago, they had no outside distribution (intentionally). So although not rare, not necessarily easy to come by.

Honestly, I have only had the 10 year tawny and lots of the 1991 Vintage. The 10 year tawny was always a very solid offering and the 1991 was about the best vintage port style of wine I've had in the USA. Quady and many other pretenders don't come close to emulating the real deal, albeit that is not easy to do.

I had one or two nice efforts from Denis Horton in VA, one or two ports from WA which are worth swallowing (the best that comes to mind is John's Port, from Yakima River Winery). In CA, I have had about 8 or 10 of the best producers and none have wowed me. The Prager 10 year old was decent but the price is stupid. I can go on ... with CA efforts but why? I will say the most memorable port style of wine I have had in the USA was from Hermanhof winery out of Missouri believe it or not. Really tasty and complex.

Anyway, the V. Sattui is the most consistent I have had of any dessert wine, however I would really like to get my hands on a bottle of the 20 year old Ficklin that you mentioned. Thanks!

[Eric Ifune]

Roy,
The 20 year old Ficklin comes in 375's. I have one with your name on it, but am afraid of shipping from Las Vegas in the summer.

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Eric, I am a patient man and can certainly wait until the cooler weather. Much appreciated. I'll probably be seeing you at a Madeira tasting before too long anyway. : )

[Mike K.]

I had the V. Sattui ‘Madeira’ last night. Considering the heresy, it was quite good. It had a great deal of depth and richness.

[Andy Velebil]

I had the V. Sattui ‘Madeira’ last night. Considering the heresy, it was quite good. It had a great deal of depth and richness.
]

I’ve had this many times over the years. A very good fortified wine.

And yes they only sell this at the winery last I knew.

[Glenn E.]

I've had it at the winery, too, and also purchased a couple of bottles to bring home. I think I still have one left.

Very nice, but reminds me more of a 20 Year Old Tawny than a Madeira.