For The Love Of Port

I was digging around my offsite for some Port last week and I could have sworn the far back corner had some Colheita's I wanted to pull to bring home. Apparently I was wrong. Instead in the farthest back corner I found a few bottles of Broadbent 10 Year Old Malmsey. I had to scratch my head as I had no recollection of when I bought them or that I even still had them. Did the wise thing and brought the bottles home. A little digging into my records and it turns out I bought them in 2006. Yup, a whole 12 years ago.

So here's the question, how do these age in bottle? Is it like Port where these more basic ones get a little "flatter" or do they improve a touch?

I think it is the same debate as for Port. Some like it, some don't with bottle age. But one thing is sure, as Madeira gets oxydize faster and more intensively than Port, these changes will appear slower.

Yes, I agree. Madeira seems to change more slowly in bottle than say, tawny Port. Some people actually like the changes. Glass aged Madeira, in demijohns, was actually an American thing with many of the great turn of the 20th century collections based on it. With lots of time, the wine becomes more delicate and less overtly fruity.

Oh, and if there is any bottle stink, give it a good multiday decant.

Thanks. Opened and no bottle stink. I'll try to follow it over a number of days and see if changes.

Madeira is almost indestructible. In bottle, evolution (likely for the better) will be glacial. In 2010, I wrote the following in this forum:

"Once I left an open bottle of Madeira, a Malmsey, for 5 years. It was about two-thirds full, stoppered, and left on the dining room buffet table. After returning home from a five year trip I happened to serve it to some friends who were over for dinner and wine. It was after we had finished dinner that someone noticed the bottle. I told everyone that it was an inexpensive bottle of Madeira that I had purchased many years ago and had been sitting there for over 5 years but they were willing to try it. We were stunned by how good it was. Rich, complex, and lingering long. A fabulous drink. My guests wanted to know if I had any more bottles of the stuff and if I would be willing to part with them.

I suspect that the air in the opened bottle contributed to the development of the wine, adding years to it's advancement. A fresh botlle, from the same period, might not taste as good without the contribution of the airing.

The moral of the story is, if you see a bottle of Madeira sitting in a shop window on a heat register, don't worry, it'll likely be okay. Madeira is almost indestructable."

In that thread Roy mentioned tasting madeira from the heel of a bottle that had been opened for nine years. To get the maximum enjoyment from your bottle, I suggest you drink half of it, stopper the bottle, and then set it aside for a number of years. Ha, ha.

Cheers ....................... Mahmoud.

PS: The thread was about Broadbent Madeira and how long an open bottle will last:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8484&hilit=malmsey

I bought a case of that a few years ago for a steal. I like the Broadbent blends better than the Justinho branded bottles.

That is correct, the two to three ounces left in the bottle from the early 19th century had remained in bottle for 9 years from when it had been first opened. It was at the home of the owner of the RWC, so all was legit. It was the strangest question on wine I had ever been asked at the time: "How long do you think this bottle has been open?" (it was in a paper bag to hide its identity and amount remaining).

Madeira of the likes of a Broadbent 10 year old is not going to get any better in bottle, regardless of a dozen years. It will change ... yes, but improve? Not likely.

Inspired by Roy's story when it was told to me in... I think 2008, I started my own bottle. Mine is a New York Malmsey, and there is probably about a glass and a half left. Maybe 4 ounces. The last time someone tasted it, they had no idea it had been open that long.

It has now been joined by an assortment of other bottles of Madeira, some from the Seattle Madeirathon, others from more recent events. Every once in a while when I feel like having a small sip of something, but don't feel like opening a full bottle of Port, I have a little bit of some random Madeira that's been open anywhere from 3 to 10 years.

They're all still delicious.