Blandy's 1864 Solera Gran Cama do Lobos

[John Trombley]

Are there any 'takes' on this item beside those relatively unenthusiastic notes already listed in the TN database? HDH is auctioning a lot currently.

[Matt K]

It sucks you definitely should not bid on it.....against me! :)

[John Trombley]

won't. However, Cama do Lobos is one of those never-to-be again vineyards,, right? So a rarity no matter how it comes off.

[Matt K]

Heh, thanks. That is my understanding; IIRC Roy has mentioned that it's now a residential area and of course aby wine 150+ years old is effectively pretty rare.

I'm pursuing despite the lackluster reviews because it's still interesting to me as a pre-phyl bottle of Blandy's (a lodge whose wine's I generally favor). Given that it's a solera, and the meh reviews, it should sell for a reasonable price. An 1822 Blandy's Solera just sold at Christies for $800 and a bottle of this exact wine hammered at Zachy's a few months ago for $600 (I have a record because I bid and lost) and I bought a bottle from Benchmark for $550 (no - haven't opened it yet, probably should as this auction closes next week and it would inform my bid). $550 for mid-19th c. seems downright reasonable these days when I see bottles from the 1920's going for the same money.

[John Trombley]

Sadly, even very good Madiera is now outside my price range, but I'm very happy that a little renewal has been taking place in that wine and island paradise. My sole exposure to great Madiera are the 1900 Barbieto Malmsey and the 1860 Heriques et Henriques Boal, and having been poured the 1952 Royal Coronation Verdelho (Cossart?) and the 1908 Boal from D'Olivera. A sad dribble in a great ocean of pleasure.

[John Trombley]

Heh, thanks. That is my understanding; IIRC Roy has mentioned that it's now a residential area and of course aby wine 150+ years old is effectively pretty rare.

I'm pursuing despite the lackluster reviews because it's still interesting to me as a pre-phyl bottle of Blandy's (a lodge whose wine's I generally favor). Given that it's a solera, and the meh reviews, it should sell for a reasonable price. An 1822 Blandy's Solera just sold at Christies for $800 and a bottle of this exact wine hammered at Zachy's a few months ago for $600 (I have a record because I bid and lost) and I bought a bottle from Benchmark for $550 (no - haven't opened it yet, probably should as this auction closes next week and it would inform my bid). $550 for mid-19th c. seems downright reasonable these days when I see bottles from the 1920's going for the same money.

I have a strong suspicion that the three reviews are from the same bottle, being posted probably by the same person. If I had the money to risk, I'd go for it too.

[Matt K]

I'm waffling on opening the bottle I have. I just checked it out with a high power light and it's a bit murky. I'm torn between wanting to know more for this auction and not wanting to muck up/rush this bottle. I might just pop it, try to pour off a few sips then decant it and if I can't get a worthwhile taste I'll just coffee filter that small portion.

[Matt K]

I opened it - results here: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... =2&t=38402

[Will H.]

I’m the proud owner of 6 of these bottles after recent auction success and am hoping you knowledgeable people can help me understand what I’ve bought.

I presume this is a blend of many vintages. Does the 1864 indicate it was bottled in 1864? Or that the oldest material is from 1864? Or something else?

Any other detail would be much appreciated.

[Glenn E.]

At that time, my understanding is that a solera consisted of wine from no more than 10 (consecutive?) vintages, and that the date on the label is the youngest vintage in the bottle.

So an 1864 solera could have wines from 1854-1864.

But I have heard many different "definitions" of soleras, so I would not be surprised if that is incorrect.

Edited to note that my understanding was incorrect. See later posts in this thread. I'm adding this note so that this post doesn't confuse anyone in the future.

[Eric Ifune]

These were bottled up prior to the current laws.
1864 is the vintage of the oldest wine. Back then not a lot of regulation on soleras so it was up to the shipper and their reputation. Most of these soleras were started after Phylloxera and the consolidation of the industry. Stocks had to be stretched. That said, the Madeira Wine Company had an excellent reputation for their solera wines and had a number of very famous ones. The 1808 Malmsey being perhaps the most famous, but the 1864 Gran Cama do Lobos is also well thought of. It is an excellent wine, likely Verdelho based. I think it better than the 1880 Verdelho Solera.

[Will H.]

Thanks Glenn and Erik, that’s helpful!

I wrote to Blandy’s last night and asked if they could provide any specifics. I’ll share any news I get from them here.

[Eric Ifune]

Photo of the label? Is it the dark paper label? Those were bottled in the 1950's-60's.

[Will H.]

Image attached. The labels on all 6 bottles are quite faded.

[Eric Ifune]

Yes, those are the ones. Bottled 50's-60's.

[Will H.]

A great response from Larissa at Blandys.


Dear William Henzell,

Thank you for your email and interesnt in our wines.

The 1864 Solera falls under the "Solera" category, which is defined by Madeira wine legislation. This means it is not a single vintage wine, like a "Frasqueira." Instead, it contains at least 10% of the wine from the original 1864 vintage, as stated on the label.

In line with traditional Solera production, the process allows for the addition of 10% of younger wine from the same grape variety after a period of 10 years. This can happen up to 10 times, after which the entire batch must be bottled. In the case of the 1864 Solera, the first wine would indeed have been from 1864, and over time it was refreshed with younger wine, always of the same variety, ensuring consistency in character.

As for aging, it did spend an incredibly long time in barrel—over 100 years. During this period, the wine was regularly "refreshed" with 10% of younger wine, until it was finally bottled in the 1980s.

I hope this clarifies things, but please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have more questions!

[Glenn E.]

Thanks Will, that's a great explanation!

[Eric Menchen]

In line with traditional Solera production, the process allows for the addition of 10% of younger wine from the same grape variety after a period of 10 years. This can happen up to 10 times, after which the entire batch must be bottled. ...

I have heard this definition, and I have also heard that as an alternative to the 10 years, there was also a period when it could be 10 vintages. So it might not be 10 years, but a few more if they skipped a few bad vintages. And after that, they just did away with the whole solera designation because of abuse.