TN: 1905 D’Oliveira Verdelho

[Glenn E.]

2009 Port Gala
Friday, January 30th, Madeira tasting
Flight 2: 1907 D'Oliveiras Malvazia, 1905 D'Oliveiras Verdelho, 1952 Leacock's Verdelho

1905 D'Oliveiras Verdelho

Very nice. Tart and citrusy, but not in a way that makes me pucker. There is sufficient sweetness behind the citrus to mellow it out and make it palatable.

The most "sippable" Madeira of the evening for me, and one of the few Madeiras that I've tried that I might actually drink a glass if offered (as opposed to just a "tasting" serving).

Easily the Madeira of the Night for me, but still not something that'd I'd go out and buy for myself.

[Alan Gardner]

Agree - my favourite madeira of the night too!

Strong vanilla and coffee notes on the nose - almost too much for a Verdelho - and the colour was fairly dark too.
This seems to be evolving beautifully - the acid comes in layers, the initial lemon being followed by lime and a hint of tangerine. But the fruit still hasn't knit, being masked by the acidity, so I anticipate further improvement and more complexity will come with time. But that finish - goes on forever.

[Eric Menchen]

Another one too tart for me. I guess I'll stick with port

[Roy Hersh]

I have been very fortunate to have tried this on a number of ocassions and even have brought them to Road Show events. It is in my top 5 best Verdelhos I've ever tasted. Drinking beautifully and young, especially when decanted for 48-72 hours.

[Eric Ifune]

I'm going to agree with Roy. This was my favorite Madeira of the night. Very powerful. I hope D'Oliveira still has some in cask because it is sooooo young!

[Richard Beeken]

I founf this sharp, tart, acidic (lots of VA), beefy notes, good depth but not especially pleasurable 87 pts- is this a typical bottle?