Leacock Family Madeiras With Mannie Berk
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 6:56 pm
Leacock Family Madeiras With Mannie Berk 10/17/2009
The tasting took place on a gray, cold, dreary mid-October day in New York City. Once we entered the J.P.Morgan Library and then the J.P.Morgan Mansion, the gloom disappeared. The setting was appropriate for the anticipated excellence of the madeiras. The room was beautiful, the table large enough for all the glasses, the setting quiet enough for discussion. The Madeira scent eventually filled the room. Mannie then lectured for an about hour about J.P.Morgan and his importance in the days before the Federal Reserve Bank, about the Leacock family, and about obtaining the wines. As the wine flights were tasted, Mannie spoke briefly about each of the wines.
The Rare Wine Company staff decanted the wine into decanters one week prior to the tasting. The decanters were left open to air.
The wines:
Flight 1
Leacock "A" (undated): Light yellow color. Initial nose of light Karo syrup, but with time became more floral with hint of cloves. Alcohol evident on nose, plus enough volatile acidity to be obvious. Medium weight. Mixed fruit and nut flavors with burnt caramel edge; excellent acidity. Not quite enough fruit to cover the alcohol, which I would guess is about 25%. Short finish. 16. Mannie believes this is partly distilled aguardente (brandy).
1825 Leacock Seco: Medium yellow with slightly green edge. Rich, fruity nose with vanilla, orange and coconut notes. Medium sweet, probably verdelho; too sweet for a sercial. Good depth of citrus flavors predominate, with some honey and a touch of caramel. However, lacking significant complexity. Moderately long finish, with citrus and chalk hanging on palate. 17.
1890 Leacock Sercial: Darker with distinctly green rim. Bottle stick with buttery nose overwhelmed the more interesting herbal components. Also petroleum smell intruding, plus clear volatile acidity. Herbal flavors and high acid, very low sugar flavors very appealing. Grapefruit peel, high acid, short finish. 14. I couldn't get beyond the nose, even with aggressive airing.
Flight 2
1928 Leacock Verdelho “EEL”: Medium amber with touch of green at edge. Lovely nose of vanilla and allspice evolving to mixed nuts and herbs. Mouthfilling herbal, citrus and nut flavors plus peach/apricot component, excellent acidity, just a touch bitter. Moderately long finish, but slightly bitter end. A little alcohol shows through. Plenty of life ahead. 17+.
1934 Leacock “SJ”: Medium yellow, darker green rim. Nose predominantly floral with clear violet and coffee components. Burnt sugar, caramel, toffee and coffee flavors. Seems rich and a little sweet for verdelho, but flavor profile is right. Moderately long and distinctly sweet finish. Improved with airing, becoming 17.
Leacock Malvazia “VMA” (Velissima – very old)(undated): Darker yellow/orange and much greener edge. Honey, Asian spices, herbs and vanilla make excellent nose. Sweeter and richer, with substantial mouthfeel. Distinctly raisined, with butterscotch adding interest, but deficient acid lowering the score. Sweetness more like boal. Moderately long finish. 17+.
Flight 3
1896 HFS “E”: Dark amber with green edge. Intensely woody with peach and burnt sugar flavors predominating. Clear turpentine component that faded with aggressive decanting the wine back and forth between 2 glasses, but never completely dissipated. Rich, nutty boal flavors. Moderately long finish. Initially 16, but after the aggressive airing the wine was 18-. I suspect that with a few more weeks to blow off the bottle stink, this would be sensational. I’d love to try it again.
1895 HFS “JWP”: Medium yellow/brown with slightly green rim. Orange peel, Benedictine and Brandy nose without excess alcohol. Medium body, good complexity, medium sweet – toward the sweeter end of the boal range. Peach flavors with a lemon twist. Marred only by a relatively short finish with caramel and citrus predominating. 18-. Certainly easier to drink than the 1896 above.
Flight 4
A.G.Pacheco (undated): Dark brown. Initial alcoholic nose blows off quickly. Wonderful light spice panoply; obvious long wood aging, smell of cedar; nose settles down to add clove and lanolin overtones. Very sweet with molasses and apricots predominating, plus cedar, spice and cognac highlights. Long finish with herbs, a little chalk and excellent acidity. 18+. Might have scored even higher if not paired with the 1868 Lomelino Very Old Boal EBH.
1868 Lomelino Very Old Boal EBH: Dark with clear green edge. Nose of hazelnuts, toffee, light cloves, a little banana and some burnt sugar; with time in glass coffee and a little orange peel appear. Moderate to deep intense flavors of mixed nuts and burnt sugar, still with coffee and citrus mixed in. Extremely long finish, with terrific balancing acidity. 19/19+. Not a wine to leave in the glass or spit out. I love boal, and this ranks just behind the 1860 Blandy/MWA and 1827 Quinta do Serrado wines in my personal boal hierarchy. I loved it before, and would love the chance to love it again, and again, and ….
1845 Lomelino “Quinta da Paz”: Medium dark amber with green rim. Butterscotch pudding, hazelnuts, peaches, wood nose evolving to cinnamon and French toast. Medium body. Very complex with appealing cinnamon flavor which remains after the caramel and citrus peel flavors fade. Excellent acidity. Long finish,but not quite as long as 1868 Lomelino Boal EBH. 18+/19. As with the A.G.Pacheco wine, this would score even higher if not paired with the 1868 Lomelino.
Flight 5
1836 Lomelino Bastardo: Dark brown with slightly green edge. Initial nose of caramel, apricots, prunes and mango evoled to add root beer, smoke, pecan and tobacco elements. Big mixed dried fruit flavors, good complexity, burnt sugar, fine acidity. Long finish, mostly of nuts; less bitter than usual bastardo. 19, viewed for what it is, a fabulous bastardo. Only a long-aired bottle of 1875 Cossart Gordon was at this level.
1808 Leacock Solera Malmsey: Very dark amber with slightly green edge. Slightly alcoholic nose, but with terrific licorice, toffee and burnt sugar depth. Moderately sweet malvasia with expected caramel, molasses and nut flavors, plus some milk chocolate to add complexity. Long finish. 18+/19. Others present had other MWA 1808 malmsey solera bottlings that they thought were deeper. This works just fine for me.
Borges “HMB” Terrantez (undated, but presumed to be 1862): Medium yellow/orange/brown with green edge. Excellent, complex, spicy nose with caramel, with citrus peel and vanilla adding to the appeal. Peach/apricot, mixed nuts, caramel flavors with excellent depth and perfect balancing acidity. Typical slightly bitter finish not at all reducing the score. Long finish. 19/19+. Far better than my previous experience with the 1862 Borges “HMB” terrantez, probably secondary to being decanted one week prior to the tasting vs. three days for my own bottle.
I believe that a number of the wines would have shown even better with more air time. My son David and I designed a research tasting to address this issue. More soon on the subject.
I would be remiss without saying a few words about Mannie Berk. Warm, soft spoken, successful businessman, fountain of knowledge about most things vinous, and avowed madeira nut. For those of us with an interest in and a taste for madeira, Mannie is a national treasure.
The tasting was fabulous. Exiting into the cold, drizzy evening seemed significantly more pleasant than the weather would have led one to expect. Thanks, Mannie.
The tasting took place on a gray, cold, dreary mid-October day in New York City. Once we entered the J.P.Morgan Library and then the J.P.Morgan Mansion, the gloom disappeared. The setting was appropriate for the anticipated excellence of the madeiras. The room was beautiful, the table large enough for all the glasses, the setting quiet enough for discussion. The Madeira scent eventually filled the room. Mannie then lectured for an about hour about J.P.Morgan and his importance in the days before the Federal Reserve Bank, about the Leacock family, and about obtaining the wines. As the wine flights were tasted, Mannie spoke briefly about each of the wines.
The Rare Wine Company staff decanted the wine into decanters one week prior to the tasting. The decanters were left open to air.
The wines:
Flight 1
Leacock "A" (undated): Light yellow color. Initial nose of light Karo syrup, but with time became more floral with hint of cloves. Alcohol evident on nose, plus enough volatile acidity to be obvious. Medium weight. Mixed fruit and nut flavors with burnt caramel edge; excellent acidity. Not quite enough fruit to cover the alcohol, which I would guess is about 25%. Short finish. 16. Mannie believes this is partly distilled aguardente (brandy).
1825 Leacock Seco: Medium yellow with slightly green edge. Rich, fruity nose with vanilla, orange and coconut notes. Medium sweet, probably verdelho; too sweet for a sercial. Good depth of citrus flavors predominate, with some honey and a touch of caramel. However, lacking significant complexity. Moderately long finish, with citrus and chalk hanging on palate. 17.
1890 Leacock Sercial: Darker with distinctly green rim. Bottle stick with buttery nose overwhelmed the more interesting herbal components. Also petroleum smell intruding, plus clear volatile acidity. Herbal flavors and high acid, very low sugar flavors very appealing. Grapefruit peel, high acid, short finish. 14. I couldn't get beyond the nose, even with aggressive airing.
Flight 2
1928 Leacock Verdelho “EEL”: Medium amber with touch of green at edge. Lovely nose of vanilla and allspice evolving to mixed nuts and herbs. Mouthfilling herbal, citrus and nut flavors plus peach/apricot component, excellent acidity, just a touch bitter. Moderately long finish, but slightly bitter end. A little alcohol shows through. Plenty of life ahead. 17+.
1934 Leacock “SJ”: Medium yellow, darker green rim. Nose predominantly floral with clear violet and coffee components. Burnt sugar, caramel, toffee and coffee flavors. Seems rich and a little sweet for verdelho, but flavor profile is right. Moderately long and distinctly sweet finish. Improved with airing, becoming 17.
Leacock Malvazia “VMA” (Velissima – very old)(undated): Darker yellow/orange and much greener edge. Honey, Asian spices, herbs and vanilla make excellent nose. Sweeter and richer, with substantial mouthfeel. Distinctly raisined, with butterscotch adding interest, but deficient acid lowering the score. Sweetness more like boal. Moderately long finish. 17+.
Flight 3
1896 HFS “E”: Dark amber with green edge. Intensely woody with peach and burnt sugar flavors predominating. Clear turpentine component that faded with aggressive decanting the wine back and forth between 2 glasses, but never completely dissipated. Rich, nutty boal flavors. Moderately long finish. Initially 16, but after the aggressive airing the wine was 18-. I suspect that with a few more weeks to blow off the bottle stink, this would be sensational. I’d love to try it again.
1895 HFS “JWP”: Medium yellow/brown with slightly green rim. Orange peel, Benedictine and Brandy nose without excess alcohol. Medium body, good complexity, medium sweet – toward the sweeter end of the boal range. Peach flavors with a lemon twist. Marred only by a relatively short finish with caramel and citrus predominating. 18-. Certainly easier to drink than the 1896 above.
Flight 4
A.G.Pacheco (undated): Dark brown. Initial alcoholic nose blows off quickly. Wonderful light spice panoply; obvious long wood aging, smell of cedar; nose settles down to add clove and lanolin overtones. Very sweet with molasses and apricots predominating, plus cedar, spice and cognac highlights. Long finish with herbs, a little chalk and excellent acidity. 18+. Might have scored even higher if not paired with the 1868 Lomelino Very Old Boal EBH.
1868 Lomelino Very Old Boal EBH: Dark with clear green edge. Nose of hazelnuts, toffee, light cloves, a little banana and some burnt sugar; with time in glass coffee and a little orange peel appear. Moderate to deep intense flavors of mixed nuts and burnt sugar, still with coffee and citrus mixed in. Extremely long finish, with terrific balancing acidity. 19/19+. Not a wine to leave in the glass or spit out. I love boal, and this ranks just behind the 1860 Blandy/MWA and 1827 Quinta do Serrado wines in my personal boal hierarchy. I loved it before, and would love the chance to love it again, and again, and ….
1845 Lomelino “Quinta da Paz”: Medium dark amber with green rim. Butterscotch pudding, hazelnuts, peaches, wood nose evolving to cinnamon and French toast. Medium body. Very complex with appealing cinnamon flavor which remains after the caramel and citrus peel flavors fade. Excellent acidity. Long finish,but not quite as long as 1868 Lomelino Boal EBH. 18+/19. As with the A.G.Pacheco wine, this would score even higher if not paired with the 1868 Lomelino.
Flight 5
1836 Lomelino Bastardo: Dark brown with slightly green edge. Initial nose of caramel, apricots, prunes and mango evoled to add root beer, smoke, pecan and tobacco elements. Big mixed dried fruit flavors, good complexity, burnt sugar, fine acidity. Long finish, mostly of nuts; less bitter than usual bastardo. 19, viewed for what it is, a fabulous bastardo. Only a long-aired bottle of 1875 Cossart Gordon was at this level.
1808 Leacock Solera Malmsey: Very dark amber with slightly green edge. Slightly alcoholic nose, but with terrific licorice, toffee and burnt sugar depth. Moderately sweet malvasia with expected caramel, molasses and nut flavors, plus some milk chocolate to add complexity. Long finish. 18+/19. Others present had other MWA 1808 malmsey solera bottlings that they thought were deeper. This works just fine for me.
Borges “HMB” Terrantez (undated, but presumed to be 1862): Medium yellow/orange/brown with green edge. Excellent, complex, spicy nose with caramel, with citrus peel and vanilla adding to the appeal. Peach/apricot, mixed nuts, caramel flavors with excellent depth and perfect balancing acidity. Typical slightly bitter finish not at all reducing the score. Long finish. 19/19+. Far better than my previous experience with the 1862 Borges “HMB” terrantez, probably secondary to being decanted one week prior to the tasting vs. three days for my own bottle.
I believe that a number of the wines would have shown even better with more air time. My son David and I designed a research tasting to address this issue. More soon on the subject.
I would be remiss without saying a few words about Mannie Berk. Warm, soft spoken, successful businessman, fountain of knowledge about most things vinous, and avowed madeira nut. For those of us with an interest in and a taste for madeira, Mannie is a national treasure.
The tasting was fabulous. Exiting into the cold, drizzy evening seemed significantly more pleasant than the weather would have led one to expect. Thanks, Mannie.