For The Love Of Port

The bottle must have been opened and at least tasted in 2011. You need not keep this to just one selection, but which bottle(s) of Madeira have blown you away this year.

The Blandy's Bicentenary Celebration tasting had some of the most impressive wines I've tasted this year. If I had to pick one from that tasting it would be the 1920 Bual... celestial!

1977 D'Oliveiras Terrantez. I had a glass of it on my birthday at a local wine bar. It was my first time trying a Terrantez. I can only imagine what the legendary offerings of this grape are like.

A bottle of the 1795 Barbieto Terrantez with Roy and Sean in AZ.

I also came across, get this, Henriques Madeira Boal 2000 Single Harvest. How rare is this forumites?

Posted from another forum here.

Blandy's Bual 1920. Amazing wine.

Maybe you lot should check this list out!!

http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/blog/ ... -portugal/

The 1811 Blandy's Solera Bual and 1822 Blandy's "Grabham" Verdelho are right up there at the top along with the Blandy 1920 Bual. We'll see if that changes tonight. I doubt it though.

Barbeito 30 year malvasia. Very smooth and balanced. Perhaps blends like this could take the place of the old solera wines in complement to modern vintage madeira.

Gary, I think that is what the Colheita Madeiras are for. However some of the nice blends with an indication of age, are very nice indeed.

This one rated among my finest ever - I gave it 99 points.
1861 Bual Shortridge Lawson (botle 467 of 600).

Confirmed that Bual is my favorite style. Knife-edge balance of sweetness and acid with the caramel notes being tinged with almost a lime marmalade.
But it was the journey that fascinated. The wine exploded in the mouth and swooped between sweetness and acid in a continuous change. My notes described it as a 'roller coaster of a wine' - kept changing in the mouth. I must have sat for 10 minutes just revelling before I touched the food on my plate.

I opened an 1863 Barbeito Bual and a 1951 Barbeito Sercial. Frankly, they were fairly equal.

I would like to say how nice it is to have Richard Henderson back in our midst after an extended hiatus from .

back Richard!

As Elvis used to say, "Thank you very muuuch!"

1875 Barbeito Malvasia - Roy hates it but I thought it was great.

Richard:

The B 51 S is a very nice wine-just have one left.

I am definitely NOT a hater of the 1875 Barbeito Malvasia, but there is zero question in my mind that the 1875 D'Oliveiras Malvasia bottling is quite superior in comparison.

Sorry Eric. I forgot about that amazing bottle you brought to Sean's. That definitely was one of the finest showings of the 1795 Barbeito Terrantez, I've had.

The 1822 Blandy's Verdelho had at the bicentenary celebration with the Blandy's was 2nd best for me in 2011, not first.