Killer Madeira Tasting Event by Rare Wine Co June 7

[Heather Hathwell]

Just got wind of an historic lineup being put on by Rare Wine Co. June 7. See offline planner for more.

Absolutely unbelievable!!!!

[Andy Velebil]

A great tasting for sure...wish I could make that Thanks for posting it Heather.

[Roy Hersh]

Heather,

I have a spot reserved and look forward to seeing you there. I have one small conflict though and as long as I can get that settled, I'll fly down for sure.

[Jim Wagoner]

Roy, see you there. This is one I didn't even have to think about! This should be worth punishing my credit card.

[Roy Hersh]

For those that own 'em, please do wear your FTLOP shirts. Hopefully it will enable other BB members to pick you out, it'll show some solidarity (Mannie certainly won't mind at all!) and maybe even persuade others at the tastings to come visit this website.

[Eric Ifune]

Will do!

[Peter Reutter]

Pleeeeeease, Since this happend so far away from central Europe, I am anxiously waiting for TNs.
Peter

[Roy Hersh]

One thing I found fascinating at this tasting. There was an identical tasting from the day before with the same lineup. Mannie Berk commented many times during the event that a particular wine showed very differently the first and second days (exact same bottling, yet fresh bottles each day) and all bottles were decanted six days ahead.

I brought a camera and will be doing an article on this tasting that should be out within a week or less for subscribers to the newsletter.

Roy

[Eric Ifune]

Roy, I loved the event the day before. I'm interested in hearing what Manny said were the differences. He was mentioning possibly putting out an email reporting the differences between the two days.

[Roy Hersh]

Let's just say he knows I am interested in putting out my article later this week. He is also putting him impressions on his own website at the end of the week. So you'll read about the differences for sure.

[Eric Ifune]

Will your notes be in the June newsletter? If so, something else to look forward too!

[Roy Hersh]

I am working the article today.

Where is Jim Wagoner with his notes? Marco, Heather, Eric, Steve ... others? :joker: :help:

Come on folks :type:

[Steve Pollack]

My first big Madeira tasting, and I thought it was fantastic. I am looking forward to many more. Nice to meet Marco and Eric in the flesh, not to mention Mannie and Barry from Rare Wine Co.

My 3 favorites were the 1881 Terrantez, 1845 Quinta la Paz, and 1868 EBH very old Boal. The most disappointing wine to me was the A. G. Pacheco. My more detailed and unprofessional tasting notes will be posted soon.

[Roy Hersh]

Agreed Steve. In fact, I could not even drink the Pacheco and offered anyone who wanted my glass. For me, it was just plain bad.

IMO, I also had one corked bottle ... arguably ... as although it seemed like it to a few of us, others did not get it.

That Pacheco did have its followers which blew me away. There was also a NBA coach at our tasting which made it a ton of fun for sports fans. What a nice guy.

[Eric Ifune]

Well, I was waiting for your and Mannie's thoughts but since you asked:
Mannie stated that these were "bottle aged" Madeiras, i.e. they've spent much of their lives in glass, maybe 50-60 years; so they're different than wines freshly bottled. These were also decanted four times 6 days prior to the tasting!

Leacock "A"
Amber, copper, gold with a greenish rim. Has a lovely intense nose. Some VA, citrus and fudge/toffee. Quite intense. Full and rich but dry. Not bone dry and lacks the acid of Sercial. Don't think this is Sercial, Terrantez? It has the richness and the dry finish. Has a long rich toffee finish. I like this a lot.
Mannie thought this might be an Aguardenta. It lacks the heat however. The more I tasted it, I could see where he was coming from; perhaps one aged for a long time in a Maderia barrel, losing alcohol and gaining Madeira flavors along the way. Since I don't have Mannie's experience with old Aguardenta, let alone Madeira; I'll have to defer to him. I have my doubts however, it is so wine-like with no heat. Mannie said he was going to get the alcohol level analysed.

1825 Leacock Seco
Similar color to the A with a bit more green at the rim. Sharper nose. Much more Sercial-like. More caramel and toffee. Definitely Sercial on the palate. It has the acidity I associate with it. More citrus on the palate. Finish a bit clipped. OK.

1890 Leacock Sercial
Dark Bronze-mahogany color with greenish rim. Quite a bit of bottle stink, fudge and boiled cabbage. On the palate, this is very Sercial. Has razor sharp acidity; mouthwatering. Long-long citrus/lemon finish. I like this despite the bottle stink. Later I came back to it and the stink was just as bad. If the stink ever disappeared, this would be quite nice.

1928 Leacock Verdelho
Dark copper with greenish rim. Lots of acidity on the nose. A hint of VA. Very Verdelho-like but somewhat closed. On the palate, quite rich. Similar flavors to the nose. Citrus and dried nuts. Decent finish. This is pretty good, but not outstanding.

1934 Leacock "SJ"
Mannie thinks this might be from the famous Sao Joao vinyard. Coppery-green color. Lovely citrus aromas. Lovely, intense and rich Verdelho-like flavors. I'm convinced this is Verdelho. Bit of bitterness. Long, rich finish. Detracted by some heat at the end. I like this.

Leacock Malvasia "VMA"
Bronze gold-green. Some VA on the nose. Citrus and fudge as well. Sweet and rich on the palate; but not particularly sweet. Has boal-like weight and sweetness. Rich, citrus and caramel finish. Not a lot of acid, however. Decent but the lack of acidity makes it a bit soft.

1896 HFS "E"
Dark, bronze, mahogany colored with a green-gold rim. Bit closed on the nose. Hint of VA. Citrus, fudge. On the palate this has excellent acidity. Some sweetness. Sort of in between Sercial and Verdelho in sweetness. Quite rich. Nice long finish with just a bit of heat. I like this alot. I like the acidity.

1895 HFS "JPW"
Served with the "E" and you can see the similarities. Not quite as dark as the E. More open nose with citrus, fudge, and toffee. Nice palate. Good acidity. Sweeter than the E and richer as well. This is sort of in between Verdelho and Bual. Again a nice long finish with a bit of heat. I also like this a lot. Maybe the E a bit more because of the more mouthwatering acidity.

The next six wines were what Mannie said was the real reason to come to this tasting.

1881 Leacock Terrantez
Beautiful glowing green-gold copper color. Lovely aromas, citrus, dried fruit and nuts. Bit of bottle stink. Beautiful balance. Fabulous palate. Acid, richness, balance, complexity. Mandarins and lemons. Relatively sweet. Rich and long. Mannie was right, This is the stuff! I love this.

A.G. Pacheco
Apparently a famous bottling, but no one knows who AG Pacheco was. The grower? Copper, gold, green. Not as expressive a nose as the 1881 Terrantez, bit closed. Citrus, bit of VA, dried nuts on the nose. Opened with time. Softer, lacks the acidity of the 1881 but sweeter and richer. Verdelho/boal sweetness. Good length, finishes dry. This was good, but a bit disappointing given it's history.

1868 "EBH" Very Old Boal
Very dark mahogany with green gold rim. Fudge, toffee, dried nuts and fruits on the nose. Rich with excellent acidity. Proper Boal richness and sweetness. Beautiful balance. Excellent length. I like this really a lot.

1845 Lomelino "Quinta da Paz"
Quite dark bronze-mahogany with green rim. Citrus, dried fruits on the nose. Beautiful balance. Great acidity. Sweet and rich. Boal? Very nice, long finish. This is lovely stuff.

1836 Lomelino Bastardo
Mannie said this is the oldest Bastardo he's heard of and didn't know of it's existence before it came on sale in London. Dark, clowing mahogany green color. Some VA. Rich and sweet. Bit of bitterness. Nice length. I like this a lot. It's the best Bastardo I've had but I've only had three others. I still don't have a good handle on Bastardo. Mannie said the bitterness was a hallmark.

Borges "HMB" Terrantez
Glowing, mahogany-gold green. Bit of bottle stink. High acid. Rich with dry finish. Very Terrantez. Long and rich. Citrus/grapefruit and dried fruit flavors. Long acidic finish. Very Nice.

My favorite is probably the 1881 Leacocks Terrantez. Second is the 1845 Quinta da Paz followed by the 1868 EBH Very Old Boal. I also liked the HFS "E" and "JPW."

Hope I wasn't too verbose and boring.

[Reidar Andersen]

Thanks Eric for your notes... :idea:

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Eric for taking the time to do this. I am finishing my article which will be in the newsletter as promised.

Hey Mr. Andersen, nice to see you again. How come you never post much anymore? We need your brilliance here more often!

[Reidar Andersen]

He, he Roy , but recently I, unfortunately, have been busy with so many ( non wine matters )..

Monday I go for a seminar in Lofoten Islands and Midnight Sun here in Norway, and in my handcarry is my work-copy for notes of Alex Liddells book..

So I slowly return to what I love the most..

For you guys who don't know about Lofoten, very much OT... But tourist info..So excuse me..Tourist propaganda..

http://www.lofoten.info/index.jsp?SDP_C ... ageCode=EN

And this one, you dont know if it is 2 am or 2 pm...

http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Stories/N ... h/Lofoten/

My hotel:

http://www.rica-lofoten.no/rica/eng/index.htm

Reidar

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks for the links. It is truly great to see you back here. I know life gets busy ... but your friends always are glad to have you drop by and pay us a visit!

[Richard Jennings]

Roy,
I look forward to your TNs on the Sunday version of the tasting. Here's my CT report on the Saturday tasting:

LEACOCK FAMILY MADEIRA TASTING - RARE WINE COMPANY - Monaco Hotel, San Francisco, California (6/6/2009)



This past weekend, the Rare Wine Co. hosted two special tastings of wines they acquired at the December 11, 2008, Christie's auction of William Leacock's vintage Madeira collection. The lineup of wines was the same for both tastings. I attended the first of the two tastings, on Saturday, June 6. I am fortunate to live only 40 minutes away from the site of the tasting--many of the attendees, and Rare Wine Co. owner Manny Berk, had travelled long distances just for this tasting (e.g., three from Baton Rouge, two from Connecticut, one from Nebraska). We tasted 14 Leacock collection Madeiras at this tasting, all of which had been decanted and aired for at least a full day the previous week so as to eliminate or minimize the "bottle stink" that develops in many vintage Madeiras as a result of spending decades in bottle. (The wine from each of these bottles had been in bottle for at least sixty years.)

For a vintage Madeira lover like me, this was a unique opportunity to taste some truly legendary and exquisite Madeiras. All of them had historical interest, for those of us fascinated by Madeira wine business history--which has everything to do with long family histories. Several of the wines were unlikely to have ever been offered commercially, but were rather selected and bottled in honor of particular family members, for the family's own collections and use. Several of the bottles, like the 1868 "EBH" Very Old Bual and the A.G. Pacheco, are legendary bottles that came to the family by way of their controlling interest in the Madeira Wine Association.

My very favorite Madeiras in this tasting were the exquisite, powerful and balanced 1868 "EBH" Very Old Boal and the gorgeous, and relatively delicate, 1845 Lomelino "Quinta da Paz." In the comments that attendees shared at the tasting, these two wines seemed to rank either number one or two for most of us at the tasting.

The following background on the origin of the wines we tasted is summarized from Manny Berk's excellent pamphlet, A Taste of History: The Leacock Family Madeiras, which was provided to us at the tasting.

The wines at the tasting were all acquired by Rare Wine Co. at the unprecedented auction of dozens of bottles of vintage Madeira conducted by Christie's London on December 11, 2008. While individual Leacock and Blandy family members had, in the past, sold a few bottles at a time, there had never before been a modern auction of this size and scope.

Leacocks had been involved in the Madeira business since 1741. When the Blandy and Leacock families consolidated the Madeira trade under the Madeira Wine Association in 1913, John Milburne Leacock was a leading figure. His son Edmund eventually took over the family's leading role, and after he died in 1977, the Leacock family sold their shares in the MWA to Blandys. The bulk of the family's collection of old Madeiras passed, however, to Edmund's son William. This collection included wines originally made by the Leacock firm, wines purchased for the family's use, and famous rarities culled by the Leacocks from Madeira Wine Association stocks during the early 1900s.

Rare Wine Company's Manny Berk

Champagne welcome
This was the lovely Champagne that greeted participants as we arrived and settled into the large private dining room upstairs from the Grand Café at the Hotel Monaco.

• 1988 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Vintage Rare - France, Champagne
  Light medium yellow color; yeasty, mature, peach and apricot, mineral nose; tasty, youthful palate, tart peach, apricot and mineral palate with racy acidity and depth; long finish 94+ pts. (94 pts.)

1st Leacock Flight
Manny explained how he organized our flights, which was somewhat tricky for him given that he had never before tried several of the wines in the lineup, and because the exact varietal is not known for several as well. Our first flight of 3 was supposed to be the dryest wines, including a Sercial; a wine identified only as "Seco," or dry; and a wine that Michael Broadbent had identified as a possible Sercial when he conducted a pre-auction tasting in early December 2008.

• N.V. Leacock Madeira "A" (undated) - Portugal, Madeira
  Light medium orange color with red lights; nice nutty, pecan, pecan tart, dried orange, orange cream and ripe cantaloupe nose; delicate, tart orange, citrus, peach, cantaloupe, tangerine, spirity palate; long finish [Manny Berk guesses, from the spirity, brandy-like nose and palate, that this may be a Madeira style Aguardente, watered down a bit from the usual Aguardente strength, and then raised in cask for many years, or a blend of Madeira grapes and Aguardente. The island was also a big source of sugar cane. At any rate, that might explain the mysterious stenciled capital "A." Michael Broadbent, pre-auction, had guessed that it was Sercial, possibly of the 1860 vintage.] (92 pts.)
• 1825 Leacock Madeira Seco - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium peachy, rosy orange color with red lights; appealing, soft, creamy orange, orange sherbet nose; soft, tart orange, orange cream, papaya, palate with medium acicity, silky-creamy texture and a touch of brandy; long finish 93+ pts. [Manny Berk thinks it is probably Verdelho, or a blend, on the theory that Sercial was a prestige varietal in 1825, with limited amounts planted, so if it had been Sercial, they would likely have so indicated. It was not bottled until 1932--the wine spent 107 years in some combination of cask and demijohn.] (93 pts.)
• 1890 Leacock Madeira Sercial - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium dark orange color with yellow meniscus and red lights; earthy, reduction, VA, tea, roasted coffee and gingerbread nose; silky textured, tangy, roasted coffee, espresso, hazelnut, nutmeg, smoky palate, very complex, and dark flavored for a Sercial--I would have rated it higher but for the reduction which carried through to some extent on the palate as well; long finish [This wine had never before appeared at auction or in any records before the Dec. 11, 2008, Christie's Auction.] (93 pts.)

2nd Leacock Flight

Manny described this 2nd flight as a "mixed bag," incuding the two youngest wines of the tasting, from the 20th Century, and an undated Malvazia from the 19th Century.

• 1928 Leacock Madeira Verdelho "EEL" - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium orange tea colored with yellow meniscus; lifted, sweet tea, light caramel, grapefruit, pink grapefruit, baked bear and hazelnut nose; tart, tight, a little hot, baked apple and pear, tart unripe orange and coconut palate, with high acidity, very dry for a Verdelho; medium-plus finish [The EEL stands for Edmund Erskine Leacock.] (89 pts.)
• 1934 Leacock Madeira "SJ" - Portugal, Madeira
  Light medium orange color with several tiny red particles of sediment floating at the bottom of the glass; tight, baked orange, orange cake, tart orange nose; tight on palate too, tart orange, tart cherry, light medium acidity, likely a Verdelho [From the Leacock family vineyard St. John, or Sao Joao, on the outskirts of Funchal.] (90 pts.)
• N.V. Leacock Madeira Malvazia "VMA" (undated) - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium red orange color with gold lights; subtle tangerine nose with a touch of almond, begins to show apple after 1 hour in the glass; tasty, soft, tangerine, tart orange palate with richness, depth, relatively low acidity but not sweet; medium-plus finish [Believed to be a nineteenth-century Madeira bottled between 1910 and 1930. The meaning of the letters is unknown.] (92 pts.)

2 brother flight
The pair of wines from this flight were presumably laid down for the family's own collection for two of John Milburne Leacock's sons.

• 1896 Unknown Madeira HFS "E" - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium orange brown color with red lights and clear meniscus; subtle sweet coffee, citrus, reduction and VA nose; tasty, tart red grapefruit, quince, tart lemon tea, tart cherry palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish [From the Leacock Christie's 12/11/08 auction: Thought to have been laid down in the late 1890 for one of John Milburne Leacock's sons, Edmund Erskine, who was born in 1891.] (90 pts.)
• 1895 Unknown Madeira HFS "JPW" - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium orange color with red lights and tiny bits of sediment floating at the bottom of the glass; reduction, mature lemon, tart lemon and apricot nose; sweeter than the HFS "E," with palate of tart pear, tart orange, smoky tart apricot and a sense of chalk, delicate and reminiscent of a good, aged, tart Sauternes; medium-plus finish [From the Leacock Christie's 12/11/08 auction: Thought to have been laid down in the late 1890 for one of John Milburne Leacock's sons, Julian Philip, who was born in 1893.] (92 pts.)

4th Flight
Manny saved the greatest and most important wines of the tasting, the real jewels acquired at the auction, for the last two flights. This flight included the very rare--the 1881 Terrantez, which had never appeared at auction before--and the legendary 1868 EBH Very Old Boal and A.G. Pacheco.

• 1881 Leacock Madeira Terrantez - Portugal, Madeira
  Light medium orange brown color with red lights and clear meniscus; soft orange, orange marmalade, red grapefruit nose with a lime note; tasty, rich, tart marmalade, smoky, clementine mid-palate, lime, with delicacy; long finish [Not seen at auction prior to the 12/11/08 Christie's auction.] (94 pts.)
• N.V. Madeira Wine Association Ltd. Madeira A.G. Pacheco - Portugal, Madeira
  Light medium orange brown color with red and yellow lights and clear meniscus; lovely, hard to describe, cherries in brandy, raspberry, key lime, boysenberry and light caramel nose; focused, intense, tart apricot, lemon marmalade, orange marmalade, mineral palate, a little hot, with medium-plus acidity and earthy notes on finish; long finish [A rare bottling, prized by shippers, with only four bottles known to have been sold at auction since the late '70s prior to the 12/11/08 Christie's auction. From all the unusual red fruit notes on the nose, I'm wondering if there's a chance that it might be a Bastardo.] (93 pts.)
• 1868 Lomelino Madeira Very Old Boal E.B.H. - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium reddish brown color with red lights and clear meniscus and little bits of sediment; lovely, raspberry, smoky orange marmalade and baked apricot nose; delicious, deep, tart orange, orange marmalade, tart apricot and praline palate, powerful, with perfect balance; long finish [The initials are for Eugenia de Bianchi Henriques, granddaughter of both Tarquinio Torquato da Camara Lomelino, the founder of Lomelino, on her mother's side, and Carlo de Bianchi, who ran Lomelino after Tarquinio's death, on her father's side.] (100 pts.)

5th Flight
Our last flight, the last of the jewels, included the oldest known Bastardo and the legendary 1845 Quinta da Paz.

• 1845 Lomelino Madeira Quinta da Paz - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium orangish brown color with ruby lights and clear meniscus; rich orange, baked orange, tart raspberry and tart red fruit nose; soft, honeyed, apricot, raspberry, berry and cherry palate; long finish (WOTT or 2nd for many) [The wine was produced on the estate of Joseph Phelps, an early British shipper, and came into the possession of the Leacocks and Blandys when Lomelino joined the Madeira Wine Association.] (97 pts.)
• 1836 Lomelino Madeira Bastardo - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium red orange color with ruby lights and yellow meniscus; red grapefruit, blood orange and orange honey nose; rich, tasty, blood orange, orange honey, creamy orange, syrup, lime mandarin orange and praline palate, all in what I can only describe as a "lower register"; long finish with a bitter note [Manny Berk says that a bitter note on finish is typical of real Bastardo. This is the oldest vintage of Bastardo known to exist.] (95 pts.)
• N.V. Borges Madeira Terrantez HMB (undated) - Portugal, Madeira
  Medium orange red color with ruby lights and light green meniscus; deep caramel, lemon, baked orange, tart clementine and orange nose; tangerine and cherry palate, with intensity and focus, and a touch of bottle stink remaining; long finish [Speculation that it is from the great Borges Terrantez year 1862.] (96 pts.)

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