TNs from the Munich Madeira Tasting

[Peter Reutter]

Christmas was already here... I just uploaded a short article from the Munich Madeira Tasting - enjoy!

http://www.madeirawineguide.com/03event ... ting_2012/

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you!

Peter

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Peter, this is the first time I've heard of a 1794 bottling.

I look forward to seeing you again, in 2013!

[Mark L]

Thanks, Peter! Love reading tasting notes from organized tastings like that... even though they make me jealous and make my mouth water! But the benefit surely outweighs the cost. So thank you!

Quick question for you or anyone else with an opinion... I know madeiras - in a general sense - tend to be such hardy wines (in that they don't spoil easily from either heat or air exposure as compared to other types of wines)... I've also tasted some vintage madeiras that have been open (then stop-corked) for years (the owner forgot about them in the back of his cabinet) and they still tasted great.

... what are possible, if not probable, reasons why two of the bottles in the tasting were faulty?

(granted, I suppose there is also the possibility that ... well... things just don't go well for random, singular bottles and you happened to come across two)

I think one thing that makes us (i.e. collective "we" but definitely at least "me") feel pretty good about purchasing older madeira is "knowing" that they'll taste great, (despite their age or varying provenance). But two bottles out of 14 seems like a pretty high number to make me reconsider my confidence on the matter.

Thanks again!
Mark

[Peter Reutter]

Dear Roy,
I have serious doubts about the last wine beeing a vintage from 1794. It was lacking in concentration, individual character and the complexity also just wasn't there. I would think that it was a blend and the writing "Reserves from 1794" on the Label refers to the wine-portfolio of the Company. Just a guess of course, we know how insecure things are, when it Comes to old Madeiras

Dear Mark,
I never had two faulty bottles at one tasting, in fact with my (limited) experience I would say that faulty bottles are quite rare when it comes to Madeira wine. The Val Formosa bottle showed to much sulfur and this might not have been a wine-fault but to much sulfur when desinfecting the bottles and/or filling tools. Regarding the Maciera wine I am not sure what it was. Also both bottles had only been opened a few hours before the tasting. I would have loved to see how the wines develop after two or three days. I think there is a good chance that at least part of the faulty smell would have blown off, so the lesson learned (again) can only be: decant two or three days ahead. I will try to ask some of the other participants who took their samples home, if the wines benefited from more airing time.

[Roy Hersh]

Agreed. As Peter and I have seen over the years, the "bottle sickness" as it is called ... when Madeira is not just old on the label ... but has been in the bottle for many decades (instead of recent bottling, which is typically the case with producers like D'Oliveiras for example) really must sit in decanter, sometimes for even a full week. Understanding the decanting of Madeira is critical to its enjoyment and as soon as I began reading Peter's tasting notes and mention of the short decant, I was even more interested to see if/how that dynamic played out with the wines served.

[Eric Ifune]

Fascinating notes Peter!

[Mark L]

Indeed, regarding making sure old bottles are decanted, I was once told very old madeira bottles should be decanted (ideally) a week-per-decade-in-bottle, although a day-per-decade-in-bottle might suffice if given enough air.

I understand with some organized tastings (such as the one in May), this amount of time might not be possible .... but I wish there were a good way for each of us to decant the bottle for several days or weeks, and then be able to cork it back up securely enough to fly with it to the tasting... Has anyone done this successfully? (or at least safely enough to recommend?)

I'll be traveling, so a pre-emptive HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Cheers,
Mark

[Peter Reutter]

Dear Mark,

one of the participants of the tasting took home a few samples and so I asked him if the wines were able to get rid of the faulty smells. He told me they didn't, in fact they did not show much evolution at all, once they had been aired in the glass for a couple of hours during the tasting.

Peter

[Roy Hersh]

Peter,

I assume you got to meet Christopher Pfaff whilst there. Is he a serious Madeira palate? I know he really likes Port.

[Peter Reutter]

Roy,

I had the impression that he was seriously interested in tasting more Madeira, especially rare and old Madeiras. We had lots of fun and he was/is a great guy to taste with.

[Mark L]

Thanks for the update, Peter!

[Peter Reutter]

Christopher Pfaff has made a video about the 2013 Munich Madeira Tasting well worth watching. Christopher is the editor of http://www.passion-portwein.de a site dedicated to Portugals two great wines: Port & Madeira!

The Video can be watched at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1WgJ0NoLuQ

Enjoy
Peter