Annual Madeira dinner

[Steve Shapiro]

GUYS NIGHT OUT – ANNUAL MADEIRA DINNER 1/19/2010

The eleventh annual Madeira tasting, and fifteenth such dinner since 1999, took place at Spezie Restaurant in Washington, DC. Chef Todd Gray of Equinox, a consistent genius at producing varied meals to match with madeiras, was scheduled to provide dinner at Equinox. The restaurant had a kitchen fire and was being refurbished. Chef Gray was kind enough to arrange for dinner at Spezie, coordinating the menu and sharing the cooking chores with his friend, Chef Caesare Lafranconi at Spezie. The resultant meal was terrific, with excellent Madeira-matched alternative choices for attendees with special dietary needs. Fifteen enthusiasts attended.
All wines were double decanted and remained in unstoppered bottles for one month prior to the tasting.

Apperitif:
1940 Borges Solera Riserva (Verdelho): Medium yellow-brown; slight green apple edge. Nose of nuts and caramel, bit of smoke. Similar flavors, medium body, perfect balancing acidity. Medium length finish. Not complex, but lovely balanced wine. 17.

Wines for courses 1 and 2:
1954 Miles Verdelho: Medium-dark brown, light green rim. Full, rich nose of toffee,caramel and hazelnuts. Nuts and caramel persist in the mouth, with nice hint of orange peel. Long finish, but could use a little more acidity for balance. 18.

1905 D’Oliveira Verdelho: Very dark with green edge that goes with significant age. Deep, full aromas of caramel, Benedictine and Brandy, coconut nuances; later a liitle salt and some date flavors. Long finish with plenty of acidity to balance the sugar. 19.

Wines for courses 3 and 4:
1971 Blandy Bual: Medium-dark amber with slightly green edge. Usual caramel, toffee, chocolate nose, with a little citrus peel. Caramel and toffee flavors with good depth, but little complexity; good acidity. Long, clean finish. Nice wine, but needs time to develop more nuanced flavors. 18-.

Henriques & Henriques W.S. Boal (circa 1820): Medium amber with medium green edge. Fabulous nose, the best of any Madeira in my memory. Cloves, allspice, dill, brandy, nice waft of volatile acidity and marzipan; all seem to harmoniously work together while being individually apparent. In mouth, herbs, citrus peel, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts plus touch of cloves. Medium body. Very long, balanced finish with good acidity. 19.5. Great wine!

Wines for dessert:
1971 Miles Malvasia: Very dark brown, but no green rim. Huge molasses nose, with some alcohol showing. Rich but relatively simple molasses flavors. Good acidity. Medium length finish. Needs more age. 17.

1886 Barbeito Malvasia: Very dark brown,green edge. Mild reduction initially, but blows off. Molasses and herbal flavors with moderate complexity. Good acidity. Medium length finish. 17.

In conclusion, dinner and the food-wine pairings were outstanding. The Henriques & Henriques W. S. Boal was the clear superstar of the evening, with the 1905 D’Oliveira Verdelho an excellent second. The other bual and the malvasias may have scored better if not in the shadow of the old H & H wine.

Dinner Menu

Amuse-Bouche

Roasted Monkfish "Saltimbocca"
Prosciutto, fresh sage, Madeira sauce

Fresh Egg Fettuccine
Wild boar ragu and Parmesan Reggiano

Slow Cooked Scottish Pheasant
Grilled forest mushrooms and Alsatian red cabbage

Tenderloin and Sweetbread of Marcho Farms Veal
Green lentils, winter vegetable mirepox, black truffle veal jus

Tom's Warm Date Cake
Toffee sauce, Armagnac dates, Mascarpone gelato

Cookies and truffles

For next year, we’re contemplating an all-bual dinner. At some point in time, an evening of malvasias with mixed desserts is likely. Past groupings of 4 buals or 4 malvasias have been well-received, with appropriate cheeses, fruits and nuts as complement.

Pictures to follow.

[Marco D.]

Very impressive... looking forward to the pics!

[Eric Ifune]

Excellent! Where did the 1940 Borges come from? I have two bottles only and hand carried them from the Island a couple of years ago. They were ridiculously inexpensive there.

[Steve Shapiro]

The 1940 Borges solera came from Patrick Grubb Selections in London. It was $70-75 in 1999. This was the penultimate bottle of 2 cases.

[Reidar Andersen]

A bit OT, but is Patrick Grubb still selling wine ? Wonderful guy, met him twice in London and picked up goodies..

[Steve Shapiro]

To the best of my knowledge, Patrick is still in business. My wife and I had a delightful dinner with the Grubbs at his club, The Oriental Club. Charming people. Last I knew he was still acting as auctioneer at the major South African wine auction each year.

[Roy Hersh]

Steve,

Thanks again for the invite and again, now even more so ... I am so sorry I was unable to join your friends this year. What a great lineup.

Actually, I wish I had thought to ask you to put this all into a guest corner article for the FTLOP newsletter. I know people are really looking forward to some more Madeira content.

Coincidentally, today I presented 8 bottles of Madeira to a group of young, but very wine savvy Sommeliers here in Seattle. I am sipping the remainders of the 1968 D'Oliveiras Boal as I type. Always a pleasure.

I look forward to drinking together later in the year.

[Andy Velebil]

To the best of my knowledge, Patrick is still in business. My wife and I had a delightful dinner with the Grubbs at his club, The Oriental Club. Charming people. Last I knew he was still acting as auctioneer at the major South African wine auction each year.

I've sent you a private message, if you could check it please. Thanks.