TN: 1875 Barbeito Malvasia

[Jay Hack]

It was my round number birthday. My last round number birthday was 9/15/2001 and no one was in a mood for celebrating that day, so why not pull out something slightly ridiculous to top off an evening of wine and red meat at Del Friscos in NYC (the do not allow BYO but we pulled strings). I bought 3 of these at the Internet AMC Auction and opened the first one at the end of dinner. I did not know what to do about a decant, so I gave it about an hour in the decanter. Served blind. Everyone who guessed said old Madeira. I decided to narrow it by Presidential term. Someone said Garfield, someone said Polk, and Josh Leder won with Grant. But he guessed first term, and it was his second term. Bracing acidity, as one might expect. Much of the sugar was gone, still sweet but not syrupy. The 1922 Boal I had 4 years ago was sweeter. Lots of roast nuts, tart orange, and caramel. There was a fair amount left over because we had already polished off 16 bottles, so I put it back in the bottle, brought it home, threw in in the refrigerastor, and opened it again today, 5 days later, for another taste. The nose is still wonderful, with smooth roasted nuts and caramel. The acidity seems to be growing in strength, with a bit of bitterness at the very end of a very long finish. I can still taste pecans in my mouth more than a minute after swallowing a small taste. All in, including premium and tax, I paid $376.34 per bottle. Seems like a lot, but when you consider that this is a 136 year old wine that is pre-phylloxera and you get a very nice taste of it for only about $25, I think it's actually cheap. Costs less than a shot of 21 year old Scotch at most restaurants.

[Andy Velebil]

Happy birthday Jay!!

[Roy Hersh]

Jay,

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that bottle is not pre-phylloxera as the root louse showed up in earnest on the island in 1872.

If you really liked the 1875 Barbeito version of the Malvasia you owe it to yourself to take a big step up qualitatively and try the D'Oliveiras version with the same date and grape. Cheers!

[Jay Hack]

Jay,
Sorry to burst your bubble, but that bottle is not pre-phylloxera as the root louse showed up in earnest on the island in 1872.
If you really liked the 1875 Barbeito version of the Malvasia you owe it to yourself to take a big step up qualitatively and try the D'Oliveiras version with the same date and grape. Cheers!

But Roy, if the louse attacked in 1872, there is no way that they could have regrafted, grown new vines, and produced an 1875 vintage. I'm thinking that this may be the last pre-phylloxera wine, or perhaps more accurately the last wine made from pre-phylloxera vines. In addition, there is some indication that they blended in older vintages to keep up quality as the louse destroyed vineyards.

And by the way - I have about 10 ounces left for reasons that I will ignore that have been sealed ion the refrigerator until this morning. We will be opening and finishing the bottle at Berserkerfest Day 1 tonight after some high end Barolos.

[Andy Velebil]

I'd have to agree with Jay. When talk of "An invading insect has arrived" typically refers to the first finding of it destroying vineyards on a wider scale. However, it takes time for any insect to migrate and then destroy a wide area. And insects don't always follow a specific road map of destruction. So while one vineyard may have been destroyed the one next door may have been spared for sometime longer, or not at all. So it is very possible this was one of the last vintages before the louse had done widespread or complete damage to whatever vineyard these grapes came from.

[Roy Hersh]

Barbeito wasn't even a company when this was vinified, not even close. They purchased this wine in barrel from another firm. More than likely the grapes that eventually went into this cuvee are from several hundred growers. Root louse aside, it is good to know you enjoyed this 1875 which saw quite a few bottlings that year in Madeira.

[Ray Barnes]

Congrats on your birthday Jay and I am pleased you observed it with something fitting and appropriate for the occasion. One can hardly do better than a 19th century madeira. Your notes are very fine as well. I hope you get to 2021 with even bigger and better things in store.