Pre Phylloxera Madeira for sale - hurry

[Shawn Denkler]

The Rare Wine Company is selling a few bottles of Henriques & Henriques very very old Madeiras. The Malvasia Reserva is $1195 and has a ****+ rating from Alex Liddell (his super highest rating). The Grand Old Boal is $995 and rated ****. Most people will not see the newsletter untill Monday so people who call early have a chance to get some. Th prices are high but these are perfection in Madeira and probably are never to be seen again. The Rare Wine Co is probably limiting sales to one bottle per person.

Anybody on the west coast interested in doing a tasting, I will put in my share, but sadly can not afford to buy them myself.

[Andreas Platt]

I for one have recently been offered the WS and the Malvasia locally (Sacramento) for around $ 850. It was too much for my purse and understanding.

On the other hand, there will not be that much of this stuff be available on the market, so for anyone in "need" for wines of the "glorious four" this will be an opportunity.

[Andreas Platt]

also called "the heavenly quartet":

Grand Old Boal (bottled in 1927)
Malvasia (bottled in 1964)
Sercial (bottled in 1965)
WS Boal (bottled in 1927).

[Shawn Denkler]

I would be in heaven if I was able to drink them, but who has called them "glorious four" or the "heavenly quartet"?

[Andreas Platt]

Shawn,

see here:

http://www.madeirawineguide.com/2007/01 ... os_sa.html

[Shawn Denkler]

Thanks Andreas. I have looked over the madeirawneguide site before and enjoed it, I'll have to keep digging into it - lots of good info.

[Roy Hersh]

The Madeira Wine Guide is unquestionably the best place to find accurate and comprehensive information on Madeira. There is a plethora of great info there and the MWG's Peter Reutter is an astute student of the topic and has spent more time researching Madeira than just about anyone on the planet.

That said, the prices on those bottles seems pretty astronomical and I fear that a drink which has already been expensive in recent years, may soon be out of the reach of most normal Madeira collectors if prices keep rising so quickly.

[Shawn Denkler]

I'm sure many people saw the prices realized from the 4/23/08 Zachys Auction of Graham Lyons. The prices were very, very high. Madeira was never made in large quantity, and the few old bottles left are going up in price fast. Anybody into Madeira for over ten years has already seen large price increases. I am hoping to be a participant in a few more tastings before they are gone - drunk up or out of the price range of all but millionares.