1977 D'Oliveiras Terrantez Vintage Madeira

This white, medium dry, sometimes rather sweet variety is hardly grown anymore. You can sometimes still find it in old vintages or soleras. Unfortunately the total harvest of Terrantez does not even fill a complete cask of wine, usually containing a little above 500 liters. Efforts are underway to replant this grape, but since it is difficult to work with and yields rather low quantities, the growers are not very enthusiastic about replanting it. The Terrantez vintage wines mainly come in two different styles. One style is on the rich and rather sweet side, as used by the Madeira Wine Company. The other style is very dry, still rich though, a little like a rich Sercial, but without the strong lemon flavor. A characteristic of Terrantez is a certain bitterness at the end of the finish that reminds me of burnt coffee and ashes. A Portuguese proverb says "As uvas de Terrantez, não as comas nem as dês, para vinho Deus as fez." meaning: The grapes of Terrantez are not for eating, nor to give them away, but for wine god created them.

The Terrantez grape is my favorite variety for Madeira wine, because with this particular grape, Madeira wine seems to be at its best. Examples like the Acciaioly 1802 or the Blandy 1846 show the enormous potential of the grape, the caleidoscope of aromas and the ability to gain in complexity over the centuries.