For The Love Of Port

1925 H. M. Borges Boal
Color:
Dark tawny with greenish rim, strange color, nothing like I have ever seen before.
Nose:
Whiff of VA at the beginning, promising, then toffee and a caleidoscope of burnt aromas, beef bouillon, also roasted onions, very pleasant.
Palate:
Fierce and biting acidity, even a little spirity, mouthwatering, medium sweetness with lots of caramel, quite concentrated, lots of sweet toffee with a just a hint of coffee, so not cloying, then after some airing time gaining in complexity, showing candied orange peel, chestnut, racy but very harmonious, ending with a long finish with bitter almonds.
Footnote:
Tasted 1/2008. Wide, rounded bottle with wicker cover and cap, short stopper cork, leaking a little from the transport. The bottle neck showed a dark brown JNV seal of authenticity, so the wine must have been bottled in or before the 1970ies. Regarding the only 45 years in cask, the wine showed remarkable concentration. Another excellent wine from the H. M. Borges company.

Peter,

Thanks for this great TN. It is so rare to ever see an old H.M. Borges bottling of Madeira in the USA. Sad to say, I own not one, although I do have younger versions. It is great to know that their quality was so great in the old days too ... not that I am surprised at all. What a great company!

Hey, where is Reidar these days. He always chimes in on threads that include H.M. Borges, one of his passions when it comes to a Madeira producer.

For all of you interested in the mentioned JNV seal on the bottle, here is a picture:
http://www.madeirawineguide.com/pics/ab ... nd-pic.jpg
Also there has been a minor update in the MadeiraWineGuide about the JNV seals (JNV-REF rect., round seal 1 and round seal 2) at
http://www.madeirawineguide.com/10madei ... d_bottles/
(scroll down)

He , he , Roy ! Reidar just came back from two weeks in French Polynesia, Moorea+Tahiti ! Without PC, internet , FTLOP, and even TV ! Paradise

I have quite a few HMB bottles from 1720 Pather, 1780 Boal, 1846 T, 1877 T and 1899 T etc. and tasted a few. Just have to look in files for which ones

Reidar,

Good to see you back here and it sounds like you have had a pretty fantastic time.

We are planning a great Madeira tasting on Thursday the 3rd of April in San Francisco and one other tasting and dinner in NYC. It would be great if you could join us. Getting to meet you finally and share some unique Madeira would be a true pleasure.

Any chance of that?

Roy

Sorry again. At Apr. 3rd I have just arrived from Hawaii and trying hard to get my office running again

By the way, will be one night in NYC ( staying at EWR ) March 12th on the way to HNL with CO...

I am a love-vacation-least-as-possible-work-guy !!. But sooner or later it will work...

Chicago May 15th-May 19th and NYC Sept. 11th-15th.

Just a joke, though, Machu Pichu and Lima in October ........ :?

Thanks Roy

Reidar