For The Love Of Port

[Madeira @ Triomphe (NYC)]: A number of people in attendance mentioned having this wine several times before, and like them, I agreed that this was one of the best showings for this particular bottling. I will also mention that the gentleman contributing this bottle had vigorously and aggressively decanted it, periodically pouring it back and forth between two different decanters. This is always such a solid wine… dark caramel color with a light greenish tinge on the edge. Lovely aromas of prune, crème brulee, fig and walnut. Lovely intensity, vibrancy and balance. For me, this is textbook Malvasia. VERY (VERY) GOOD+. (94)
1/20/2007

Intense, caramel, molasses, toffee and coffee. Lots of dark flavors and fresh acids. Concentrated, sweet and lucious. A bit more citrus would be nice. Amazing. (94)
2/1/2004

[Madeira @ Patroon (NYC)]: Very dark chocolate color. One of the wines of the night for me. Thick, sweet, and explosive on the palate. Super long and super rich on the palate. A whirlwind of flavors that are hard to describe. A wine to drink in small sips… and I did, for I wanted it to last forever. How does one make something so rich and decadent? Profound. (98)
10/6/1999

This is such a great wine...
When I recently visited my brother in the U.S., I found the bottle that I had brought to Roy's Seattle Madeira Tasting in January 2007. I threw the bottle in my suitcase thinking it would look nice in the winecellar. Back at home I was surprised to see, that about 40ml of wine, mixed with some sediment, were still left in the bottle. So with 30 months decanting time and after having spent those 30 months in a cupboard at warm room temperature, I had exactly zero expectations. What can I say, the wine was perfect in every way. I remember it wasn't even that good back at the Seattle tasting, featuring a strange artificial "plastic" note, but now it was perfect Malvasia: rich, fudgy caramel with walnut, lots of acidity, raisins and figs in the finish. To bad Barbeitos have decided to no longer sell this wine. And what a perfect survival after 30 months, simply amazing!

Peter,
I guess I need to open a bottle now to drink in 3 years!
Cheers

Just bought 2 more of the 1834. A store in Northern California was blowing it out, $250 dollars below RWC prices. I picked up the two they had and they are in perfect order. I bought my first 2 from RWC and they came with paper labels. On a visit to RWC I saw one that was stenciled and bought it. Then these two newer purchases were also stenciled. Does anyone know why the difference? Bottles for difference markets?

Jim Wagoner wrote:Just bought 2 more of the 1834. A store in Northern California was blowing it out, $250 dollars below RWC prices. I picked up the two they had and they are in perfect order. I bought my first 2 from RWC and they came with paper labels. On a visit to RWC I saw one that was stenciled and bought it. Then these two newer purchases were also stenciled. Does anyone know why the difference? Bottles for difference markets?

If I remember correctly, Barbeito went from using stenciled labels to paper labels a while ago. They wanted to be more traditional, and although the stenciled labels (to me) look cooler and more traditional, it is the paper labels that were most often used way back. I believe Mannie Berk, from the Rare Wine Company, designed the paper labels that Barbeito uses.

So.... to make a long story short, I believe the stenciled labels are older bottlings.

All the bottles they sell in Europe are stencilled.. All my ( 14 ) 1834 are stencilled, all bought in Norway some years ago.

Also those ( before they were withdrawn ) in Funchal were stencilled.. There are two different designs of stencilling. I like best the
old ones like on the 1795.. Even the last bottled 1795's have the old design.. I have both designs on the 1834's..

I have two bottles left from a parcel from RWC with the paper labels. I bought another at Dorigo's in Funchal a couple of years ago with a stenciled label.