For The Love Of Port

I'll be visiting Funchal in a couple of weeks, and would appreciate input on which Madeira wine(s) you think I should be on the lookout for. I plan on shopping at Diogos Wine Shop (bought four 1900 Barbeito Malvasias there the last time I visited), they seemed to have the best prices the last time I was there. My preference in Madeira wine leans towards the sweeter side, the Boal and Malvasia wines.

Thanks,

Bruce Allen

When you go to Diogo's ask the manager , Americo, what he recommends.
I know Barbeito has a few "new" vintages out now.

Also D'Oliveiras have a lot of fantastic wines, my favorite is 1900 Moscatel. Ask Luis for some tasting .

Some of your best deals will be in the gift shops and Lodge's of the family-owned Madeira companies.

The Madeira Wine Company has some older bottles for sale at the Blandy's Lodge. The prices are quite competitive too.

I just got forwarded by a friend of mine the latest pricelists ( will not myself be back before October ).

A few important things:

D'Oliveiras are out with two new wines. Superexciting Bastardo 1927 at EUR 160. A rarity, grab it. Rare...... I have one 1927 Bastardo from Adegas de Torreao. Henriques & Henriques has it still in cask. I have stared at the cask !! Licking my mouth.

Also a new 1969 Sercial at EUR 58.

Don't forget Cossart Gordon 1977 Terrantez at EUR 72 at Madeira Wine Company. Alex Liddell has told me it is excellent.

BUT GUYS, best investment af all still is the "Heavenly Quartet" from H&H:

Grand Old Boal, Mslvazia Reserva, Sercial and WS Boal. I have had them for some years and will buy more. Prices are either EUR 431, 46 or EUR 501, 30. It is worth it. Old wines when the company was founded in 1850. Guess now is from 1795-1800. Beautyful bottles, bottled long time ago , old stained labels and newly rcorked. GO FOR IT.....

Hi Reidar,

It's quite odd that there are four 1927 Bastardos (Leacock, d'Oliveira, AdT, H&H), and very little subsequently and before.

I understand that the d'Oliveira is from a purchase (approx 3 years ago???) of a warehouse of wine in Funchal (I'm not sure of the original source/owner). I think the 1969 Sercial may be from the same source with more "new" releases to follow.

Re H&H 1927, I understand there are two casks, one smaller than the other. John Cossart has never tasted it and isn't in a hurry to bottle it so I doubt we'll see it soon.

I opened a eight bottles of Bastardo for a tasting earlier this year. I quite liked the Adegas de Torreao 1927 (it is in the dry style - and a complete contrast to the sweeter, much darker Leacock's 1927). But the stars were the 1875 Cossart (out and out great) and (for value and sheer drinkability) a recent bottling of the Barros e Sousa Reserva Velha).

Re the Cossart T 1977, it was my favourite wine of the tasting put on at the Portuguese Embassy in London last year. It is in a more elegant style to the great Blandy's 1975 T.

I'm not so enamoured of the H&H heavenly quartet as you. Although the wines are impressively old, to my taste they can seem at times a little overconcentrated, drying out and dusty on the finish.

My recommendations for Island purchase:

Barbeito:
T 1950, recent colheita bottlings (if you don't have home market access to them they are a must)

MWC:
T 1977 (and 1975 if you can find it)

d'Oliveira:
Bastardo 1927 (if it tastes ok - they will let you try it), M 1875

H&H:
T 1954 (original bottling run, but quite expensive)
heavenly quartet (possibly, with reservations above)

Borges:
1995 Colheita

Barros e Sousa:
most things if you don't have access in your local market:
e.g., any T (I love the basic one), Bastardo Reserva Velha:
at approx €30, the Verdelho Reserva is simply great

Eugenio Fernandes:
any demi-seco Verdelho vintage you can find (or the 40yo)
[the seco is impossibly austere]

JH:
don't know of anything I would particularly recommend

Paul

Hi Paul

Thans for your reply. Interesting this with the 1927 B. Maybe it also can be Adegas de Torreao ? There might still bes tocks around. Will ask Luis or Anibal next time at D'Oliveiras in October. Will then post whatever news.

Reidar

Just got an e-mail from my friend who just were in Funchal. He had asked Anibal D'Oliveira where their 1927 Bastardo come from. Direct question: From Anibal, Adeagas de T or Leacock.

He did not get any answer . I will try the same question in October. Know Anibal and Luis quite well. It was not for sale yet due to some missing papers from IVM, but he was allowed to taste it.

Reidar

Paul & Reidar,

Thanks for the great tips. I think folks are going to get a lot out of your recommendations, even in the future.

Reidar,

I'm just back from Funchal and I can confirm that the 1927 Bastardo came from Adegas de Torreao. It is now bottled and is available for tasting at the winery and is very remiscent of the AdT bottle I opened earlier this year. (The Leacock 1927 is much darker and sweeter, btw, although not necessarily any finer.)

My understanding is that there were about 10 vintage wines left when d'Oliveira bought the old AdT warehouse a few years ago. This warehouse directly adjoins the MWC Merces plant: you can see the name from the main road. It is perhaps a little surprising that MWC didn't buy it. I understand that d'Oliveira really wanted the warehouse space rather than the few wines (which I assume were all in cask).

The bargain in Funchal currently is Blandy's 1975 Terrantez (€78 a bottle at the airport shop). It is simply great wine.

Best,

Paul

Paul

Then the big ???. Is the D'Oliveira repainted Torreao-bottles, or rebottled or bottled from cask ??

Reidar

Reidar,

My assumption is that this wine was bottled from cask, but perhaps you can check that out when you next go to Funchal. Certainly the bottles I saw looked new.

(Btw, one method favoured by Barbeito for rebottling old wines in bottle, or generally whenever bottle sickness is a problem is to open all the bottles and return the wine to cask for as while - maybe a couple of years - and give it a bit of air before rebottling afresh.)

Paul

I hope that Rare Wine Company will be able to get some of the D'Oliveira 1927 Bastardo, so we can get a chance at it here in North America. I wonder what the chances are.

Speaking of Bastardo, a friend has a bottle of 1875 or 1876 Blandy's Bastardo. Has anyone ever tried this wine?

Gary