A couple of questions

[Eric Ifune]

I recently was successful in a few mixed lots of Madeira at auction and would like to find out about a couple of bottles I recieved.
One is a bottle of Powers 1900 Moscatel. I am familiar with D'Oliveira's 1900 Moscatel. I know that Powers is a label of the Madeira Wine Company and that D'Oliveiras has sold some wines to the MWC in the past. Is this wine originally from the D'Oliveira stock?
The second question is a bottle of BGH 1850. Stenciled bottle. No other information on the bottle. The chunky wax capsule is indistinct. The only name I can make out on the capsule is Funchal. It is a relatively new looking bottle. Any hints?
Thanks for any information.

[Ray Barnes]

I checked BGH madeira on Google and the only thing that came up was Bovine Growth Hormone. If that's it, I'll never drink again.

[Reidar Andersen]

Just a guess, the bottles MWC bought had AO-SM on them and I guess this may be old stock from MWC..

[Eric Ifune]

I checked BGH madeira on Google and the only thing that came up was Bovine Growth Hormone. If that's it, I'll never drink again.

Don't think even the concept of hormones were known in 1850. The contents of the bottle sure look like Madeira!

Just a guess, the bottles MWC bought had AO-SM on them and I guess this may be old stock from MWC..

I checked the bottle again. No evidence of AO-SM on them. Only the stenciled side with 1900 Moscatel Powers; and the other side with a label stating that Powers was part of the Madeira Wine Company.

[Roy Hersh]

Eric,

I have had numerous experiences with Powers Drury Madeira and assume that is the same company. I have had old bottles, but not many were vintage dated. I can't remember a single instance in which I was impressed with the contents of the bottle, however these came to me for little more than a few dollars and I had very low expectations to begin with. Hopefully, your bottle(s) will be much better!

[Peter Reutter]

One is a bottle of Powers 1900 Moscatel. I am familiar with D'Oliveira's 1900 Moscatel. I know that Powers is a label of the Madeira Wine Company and that D'Oliveiras has sold some wines to the MWC in the past. Is this wine originally from the D'Oliveira stock?

Dear Eric,
I know of at least four different wines the D'Oliveiras sold to the MWC:
1882 Verdelho
1900 Moscatel
1908 Bual
1910 Malvasia
Of course the MWC could have had some stock of its own 1900 Moscatel, but I would go with the theory that you wine is originally from D'Oliveiras, even if the MWC guys removed the AO-SM stencils from the bottle. However, it is no use comparing the Powers 1900 Moscatel with the D'Oliveiras 1900 Moscatel, since the MWC bottled most of the wines from D'Oliveiras rather quickly, where as D'Oliveiras kept them in wood. So in general I guess that the D'Oliveira bottlings are more concentrated. This is certainly true for the 1908 Bual from D'Oliveiras which continues to amaze me...

[Roy Hersh]

Peter,

It is always great to have you join us and with the increased interest in Madeira Forum here as of late, it would be worthy if you would drop in more often, as we could surely utilize your Madeira brilliance! I certainly understand how busy you are though and appreciate whatever time you can spend here with us.

So, what is your experience with tasting Powers Drury Madeira?

[Gary Banker]

Eric,

I have Blandy's 1884 Sercial B. G. According to the back label, "B. G." stands for Baltazar Gonsalves, from whom Blandy's bought the wine at some unspecified time. This is a stretch, but perhaps there is a connection with "BGH".

[Reidar Andersen]

I have AO-SM 1910 Sercial bought at MWC in 1986,,,

[Peter Reutter]

Peter,
It is always great to have you join us and with the increased interest in Madeira Forum here as of late, it would be worthy if you would drop in more often, as we could surely utilize your Madeira brilliance! I certainly understand how busy you are though and appreciate whatever time you can spend here with us.
So, what is your experience with tasting Powers Drury Madeira?

dear Roy,
I'm afraid my experience with Powers Drury (or just Powers on the later bottlings) is limited to three or four occasions, but apart from a 1900 Solera (I think it was Sercial) which was quite good, I had the impression that the Powers Madeiras could not quite compete with the other MWC brands like Cossart or Blandys. Very similar to Shortridge Lawton in my opinion, whose wines also allways seem to be somewhat below the standard of the other MWC wines. May be that is one of the reasons why they dropped these brands and focused on the big four (Cossart, Blandy, Leacock and Miles).

I have AO-SM 1910 Sercial bought at MWC in 1986,,,

dear Reidar,
so there goes another one MWC-wine originating from D'Oliveiras... I am not surprised, and I would't be surprised if there are even more wines.

[Reidar Andersen]

Dear Peter

There was also a 1899 T AO-SM as far as i know. When I was there in January 2000 they told me that the last bottle went a few weeks earlier. If I am not mistaken it was repainted to Cossart Gordon. Unfortunately when I bought my two first madeiras in 1986 ( AO-SM 1882 V plus 1910 AO-SM S - still have them ) I knew nothing about madeiras. :?

Bought them just like tourists , as close as possible to my dad's year ( 1911 ) and grand-dad ( 1889 ).

Reidar

[Eric Ifune]

However, it is no use comparing the Powers 1900 Moscatel with the D'Oliveiras 1900 Moscatel, since the MWC bottled most of the wines from D'Oliveiras rather quickly, where as D'Oliveiras kept them in wood. So in general I guess that the D'Oliveira bottlings are more concentrated.

Peter, thank you for the information. Maybe I'll have to open the Powers alongside the D'Oliveiras side by side to compare.

I have Blandy's 1884 Sercial B. G. According to the back label, "B. G." stands for Baltazar Gonsalves, from whom Blandy's bought the wine at some unspecified time. This is a stretch, but perhaps there is a connection with "BGH".

Hummmm, I'll have to do more research. Gary, thanks for the lead.