TN: N.V. Henriques & Henriques Madeira Malvazia -- (acquired 1906)
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:55 am
- N.V. Henriques & Henriques Madeira Malvazia (acquired 1906) - Portugal, Madeira (5/31/2011)
Acquired by Henriques+Henriques as "old wine" in 1906, which would probably date this in the mid to late 1800s. Originally bottled in 1927; rebottled in 1955, 1969 and 1991. Upon opening, lots of butterscotch, prunes and raisins. A bit soft on the palate with a slight earthy/stinky note. This probably needs air; I will let this rest and bit. A bit better on day two, the prune flavors are turning more "figgy". After about five days of air this cleaned up quite a bit. Noticeable sweetness, caramel, figs and praline; definitely in the dessert wine category... BUT, what defines great Madeira is the acidity, and while I enjoyed this particular wine, this definitely lacked the electric level of acids to push it into the "great" category. Nice drink, but at the end of the day, a tad too soft for me. (91 pts.)