Vintage Madeira Tasting at Wine Watch

Friday, November 7, 2014 - 07:00 PM

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You can not call yourself a wine lover if you have never tried Madeira.  I remember the first time that I tasted a vertical selection of Madeira at the Great Wine Seminar and I was stunned at the wines complexity and the layers of flavors and aromas that continued to rise from the glass for hours.  These Madeiras were from the cellar of Dr. Bob Maliner, who is the world's foremost authority on the subject of this magical elixir.  

Join us as we experience wines back to the famous 1827 Quinta do Serrado Vintage Bual, one of the greatest Madeiras of all time!!  This wine is worth the price of admission by itself but we have 6 other famous old Madeira on the table this evening.  Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone will be making a special meal to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this tasting is $575 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

 

Tasting Line-up:

 

1870 Lomelino Sercial Solera  

1870 Solera Verdelho Blandy

1862 H.M. Borges Terrantez Bottled 1966

1934 Leacock Vintage Bual  

1827 Quinta Do Serrado Vintage Bual

Which is the greatest Madeira you’ve ever enjoyed?

It’s impossible to name just one. In the 1990s, two wines that never failed to excite me were 1827 Quinta do Serrado Bual and 1802 Acciaioli Terrantez.

1900 Barbeito Malvasia  

 

1952 Barbeito Vintage Moscatel

Moscatel is the white wine of the Moscatel of Alexandria grape, one of the lower quality varieties of the Muscat/Moscatel family, counted among the castas boas. It is apparently no longer grown in significant quantities, but you can still find it in some old vintages. Pereira D´Oliveira has a few different Moscatel vintages and some vintages of other producers are still around at auctions from time to time.

 

Menu

 

Spice rubbed Pork roulade stuffed with apples, pears served with a Madeira and organic honey crisp apple glaze

Orange and clove dust sorbet with Madeira walnut fig syrup

Curried Duck sue vie with rhubarb strawberry compote

Chocolate covered bacon, dark chocolate truffles, fig and nut cake served with epoisse.

Sweet Onion and Walnut crusted snapper with madeira butter

Chocolate dusted oxtail confit served in a napoleon with beemster Gouda Mash on top a nest of almond green beans

Bacon dipped with Dark chocolate, Chocolate hazelnut truffles

 

 

Madiera is an island off the coast of Morocco that belongs to Portugal. Historically, it was a popular port of call for ships on the trade routes between Africa, Asia and the Americas. The original Madeira wines were made as a powerful white wine, however to protect them during transport they were fortified - alcohol is added before fermentation is complete, which stops the process and leaves residual sugar in the wine. Sea Captains discovered that long ocean voyages actually improved casks of Madeira. Unlike other wines, heat and oxidation are essential to Madeira and so the wine is virtually indestructible.

During the 18th and 19th century, Madeira was America’s wine of choice and most fashionable drink amongst hi-society. When the Declaration of Independence was signed they toasted with Madeira, when Betsy Ross knitted the first flag she was sipping on a glass of Madeira, and when Ben Franklin was tinkering with his many inventions he indulged in a cup of this wonderful elixir.

Unfortunately though over the past 150 years, it has sank from its preeminence as America’s favorite wine for several reasons. In the 1850s, powdery mildew a fungal disease destroyed most of Madeira’s vineyards. It was not long after a treatment was discovered for powdery mildew when phylloxera struck devastating the remaining vineyards. By the 20th century, Madeira had recovered but at its American market had disappeared due to Prohibition. And lastly, Portugal’s 1974 popular revolution dealt yet another blow by dismantling the remaining large estates.