Solera or Vintage? How am I to know?

[Tom Chadwick]

Hi there, please could someone help me.

If a bottle of madeira mentions neither the word vintage nor solera how do you know what it is, particularly if it has been btld recently

i.e Blandy's Verdelho 1977 MWC btld 2004
Blandy's Terrantez 1975 MWC btld 2004
Cossart Gordon Bual 1969 MWC btld 2004

My understanding is that nowadays to be vintage it must have min. of 20 years in cask, all the above have been and must have the word 'vintage' on the label, which none do, implying solera? Why not say solera? Perhaps a marketing ploy to make you think it is a vintage? Slightly crafty or perhaps I'm making a mistake?

What sort of price should they be in GBP?

All the best

Tom

When I get round to it I will try and post some tasting notes from a tasting I went to last week. Being the second time I have tried amber nectar I'm not sure they'll be any good[/quote]

[Roy Hersh]

There is another category which you have not considered, but I am certain these bottles don't fall into it, as it is fairly new: Colheita. For more information go to my last article on Madeira which can be found in the ARTICLE ARCHIVE section.

I am pretty sure your bottles ARE Vintage Madeiras, as that 20 year in cask stipulation was made by the Instituto do Vinho da Madeira, which as you know wasn't established until 1979 (after all of your bottles were born).