TN: Blandy's 5 Year old Bual

[Marco D.]

My expectations were low, given the youth of this blend, however, what this lacked in complexity that comes with age, it made up for it with its lovely balance. Not too sweet, perfect balancing grippy acidity, fine aftertaste. More on the fruity side, with raisins and dried oranges; some baking spices. Mouthwatering good. A pleasant drink... well chilled on a hot evening.

[Andy Dremeaux]

I had a taste of this recently as well and was very surprised at its quality given its age and price. This is an excellent every day madeira, and IMO puts the twice-as-expensive Boston Bual to shame, which I've found dull and lifeless and very lacking in acidity.

[Roy Hersh]

Andy,

Nice to have you join us again. Thanks for weighing in and I agree. In fact, I'm going to seek out a bottle of this fine bottling. Is there consensus that this is the best 5 year old bottling of Madeira. I thought the Broadbent 5 year old Reserve was pretty darn nice too for under $20 and seemingly in a Malmsey style.