Fortunate circumstances led to trying my first delicious Madeira tonight

[Lindsay E.]

I took a date to Matt's in the Market tonight in Seattle. Luckily, she was enthusiastic to order the 17oz rib eye for two as a shared entree. (Unluckily, it was a $70.00 menu item) I was not going to buy a $70 steak without enjoying some wine. As my date is an ultra light drinker, I decided to order a wine by-the-glass. I sort of panicked when the wine list didn't include something that could match the steak. I remembered Roy's comment about port going nicely with steak so I asked for a dessert wine menu. I was about to order Kopke 20yr when I noticed that the dessert menu listed a 1950 Barbeito Bual Reserva Velha. At $45 a glass, the Madeira bumped my bill up by 35%...but it was DELICIOUS! I didn't get to take notes because I was with my date, so I'm going off of my memory from 3 hours ago. Dirty. It tasted like dirt, but in the most delicious way. It had some raisiny, oxidized notes and mild sweetness too but those were in the background. The Madeira also had phenomenal tannic structure and couldn't have matched the steak better.

Now I'm hooked! Has anyone had that 1950 Barbeito Bual Reserva Velha before? If so, could you recommend something that might enjoy almost as much that would be a bit more affordable and easier to find?

-Lindsay

[Julian D. A. Wiseman]

Now I'm hooked!

Hopefully the date doesn’t read , as she might be disappointed to learn that you were more hooked on the Madeira than on her.

[Miguel Simoes]

Great story!

I had a glass of 1968 D'Oliveiras Madeira Boal Reserva a few months back and enjoyed it. A bottle goes for about $150 retail.

[Lindsay E.]

Now I'm hooked!

Hopefully the date doesn’t read , as she might be disappointed to learn that you were more hooked on the Madeira than on her.

My date tasted the Madeira and enjoyed it just as much as I did and she doesn't have anything to worry about because I'm pretty hooked on her too.

So I went out in search of some Madeira today and it is surprisingly hard to find in stock at a store. Esquin in Seattle has a the 1983 D'Oliveiras Bual colheita madeira and their 1989 Malvazia. They also had Barbeito Boal 1978 and a 1980s. All were well over the $100 mark. I'm open to paying those prices as long as its for something particular that I know I would enjoy.

Which online retailers have the best prices/selections of Madeira?

[Lindsay E.]

Oh, I ended up just buying two of the Rare Wine Co. historic series, the Boston and the New York. I know the tasting notes on FTLOP were not flattering for the Boston, but the notes seemed to indicate that the Boston still manages to capture the general essence of a Bual so it seemed like a good place to start.

[Eric Ifune]

I happen to like the Boston Bual very much.

[Moses Botbol]

Broadbent 10 and D'Oliveira 10 Demi-Sec are my two favorites under $50

[Barry Sunderland]

I happen to like the Boston Bual very much.

Agree, but the verdelho is my favorite of the bunch.

[Lindsay E.]

Okay, I conducted a home tasting last night. The entrants were RWC New York malmsey, RWC Boston bual, Blandy's 10yr malmsey, 1985 Kopke Colheita port, and the 2005 Fonseca LBV port. I threw the ports in to give me some reference points since I don't have as much experience with Madeira.

I first tasted each entrant individually, and then afterwards did side by side comparison to determine my favorite.

Here are the quick individual notes:

RWC Malmsey- faint nose with notes I couldn't identify individually except for a bit of fig. Fig on the palate with a prominent acidity. Nothing remarkable on the finish in terms of flavor or length, with the exception that this did not finish as sweet I expected based on people telling me that Malmsey's are sweeter then Boal.

RWC Bual- Definite oak on the nose reminiscent of some aged specialty ryes and bourbons I've tasted recently along with a distinct-but faint-odor of POG (passionfruit, orange, guava) juice. On the palate, thick and syrupy, and the finish leaves something to be desired in the acidity/structure/length department.

Blandy's 10yr Malmsey- Dark, heavy, and musky, nose of gamey meats, butterscotch, and some specific nut that I can't recall...maybe walnut? Much less viscous on the tongue than the RWC bual, definite acidity in balance with the other elements. Sweet on the finish but again in balance with the other elements so as not to come across as "sweet."

1985 Kopke Colheita porto- I decanted this one and in the decanter the nose was all brown sugar. In the glass the nose was intensely floral and fresh with some mild cherry in the background. elegant mouthfeel but it left a strange numbing sensation down the center of my tongue afterward, like my tongue had been sprayed with a Novocaine/menthol mixture.

2005 Fonseca LBV porto- nose reminds me of a full bodied Italian red wine, bright, fresh, cherry/strawberry and this also had a slight sweet smell lingering in the background. On the palate, excellent acidity, light (and perhaps a bit thin) and only lightly sweet tasting. I'd love more structure and complexity but this was very nice at its relative price point compared with vintage port. Yet, like Fonseca VP, this was dry and austere enough that I could enjoy multiple glasses over the course of an evening.


For the comparison tasting I tasted two side-by-side retiring the loser and advancing the winner to the next round. Round 1 matched the two Malmseys. Blandy's beat the RWC hands down by delivering a richer drinking experience in every aspect. The Blandy's surprisingly matched the acidity of the RWC, and I realized that the RWC initially seem to have prominent acidity only because it lacked all the other elements in the Blandy's. Round 2 matched the Blandy's Malmsey against the RWC bual. Again, the Blandy's malmsey beat the RWC bual in complexity without seeming any sweeter. Round 3 matched the Blandy's malmsey against the 1985 Kopke Colheita port and the Blandy's finally met a worthy rival. Both wines were surprisingly similar except the Kopke had the added dimension of carpentry glue on the nose and the palate for better or worse-I'm thinking worse. The Kopke also had a more refreshing viscosity and a longer, more complex finish. However the glue smell/taste was a turn off and the Blandy's came across as a more decadent drinking experience. Blandy's moved to the final round where it faced the 2005 Fonseca LBV port. This comparison really highlighted that the Fonseca functions admirably on three dimensions: nose, palate, and finish. Fonseca's nose was aromatic and compelling in a fruit sense, yet still clean and fresh like a young Burgundy/Sangiovese/Sicilian red. Great grip and acidity on the tongue and a mild but lingering finish. Unfortunately, the Fonseca also tasted too reminiscent of Welch's purple grape juice. The Blandy's 10yr malmsey won because it most closely delivered the rich, decadent drinking experience I would expect from Madeira.


Would anyone care to respond with their thoughts?

-Lindsay

[Lindsay E.]

Broadbent 10 and D'Oliveira 10 Demi-Sec are my two favorites under $50

Moses, I'm guessing you don't live in the USA? I can't find any D'Oliveira 10 year for sale online in the U.S. If you know of a source, I'd love to try that.

-Lindsay

[Moses Botbol]

Broadbent 10 and D'Oliveira 10 Demi-Sec are my two favorites under $50

Moses, I'm guessing you don't live in the USA? I can't find any D'Oliveira 10 year for sale online in the U.S. If you know of a source, I'd love to try that.

-Lindsay

I live in the U.S. of A! Here's a link on wine-searcher. It's available at most fine wine stores in my locale: http://www.wine-searcher.com/redirect.l ... ine_no_F=2

[Mark L]

Hi Lindsay!

Thanks for the tasting notes and comparisons! Must have been fun and sounds delicious.

I will only note that my experiences with all Madeira and even the recent RWC bottlings have always improved with decent decanting. Often I'll open the bottle then leave it (of course I'll taste it every so often including immediately upon opening) for several days or a week or 10 days. Only after then do I find that is elements properly come together.

Of course it is all very much a matter of personal taste, but as you did not mention any decant (as you did with another bottle), I would be interested to see if your tasting notes might change for the RWCs over time if you left the bottles open.

Maybe (probably) the Blandy's would get even better with its own decant and still beat everything out !

[Lindsay E.]

Mark, thanks for the tip. I poured out my initial glasses of each madeira about 4-5 hours before I tasted, but I'm gonna do a quick double decant on each bottle based on your recommendation and then retaste.

-Lindsay

[Lindsay E.]

Broadbent 10 and D'Oliveira 10 Demi-Sec are my two favorites under $50

Moses, I'm guessing you don't live in the USA? I can't find any D'Oliveira 10 year for sale online in the U.S. If you know of a source, I'd love to try that.

-Lindsay

I live in the U.S. of A! Here's a link on wine-searcher. It's available at most fine wine stores in my locale: http://www.wine-searcher.com/redirect.l ... ine_no_F=2

Moses, that link you posted is to the "sweet" version of the 10yr. I believe that earlier you said you preferred the Demi-sec or medium sweet version. I see that there is indeed a medium sweet version for sale in the UK based websites, but can't find anything domestically. What area of the US do you live in?

[Moses Botbol]

Moses, that link you posted is to the "sweet" version of the 10yr. I believe that earlier you said you preferred the Demi-sec or medium sweet version. I see that there is indeed a medium sweet version for sale in the UK based websites, but can't find anything domestically. What area of the US do you live in?

Same bottle, different labels. Live in Boston. Many sites listed it as one thing or the other, but it's all the same Madeira.