Drink Madeira before you die! Why?
In a Nutshell
In the 1700s, Madeira was one of the most popular wines in Britain and North America. It was even used to toast the Declaration of Independence in 1776. After the victory over the English, it was enjoyed at the signing of the US Constitution and the inauguration of George Washington.
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| Sunset from vineyards above Seixal, Madeira | © foto8tik / stock.adobe.com |
The fortified wine of Madeira is something of an accidental success, thanks to a mix of geography, politics, and good luck. The islands of Madeira lie off the northwest coast of Africa, in the old shipping lanes from Europe to North America. Ships heading from Britain to America would stop at the islands to pick up supplies, including barrels of local wine.
At the time, wines from Europe were heavily taxed by the Crown when taken to the colonies, making them more expensive. Madeira wines, however, were exempt from this tax as they were classified as part of Africa rather than Europe. As a result, Madeira became the staple wine of the American colonies.
Initially, the wine from Madeira was thin and acidic. However, merchants noticed that it tasted much better after the long, subtropical, and often rough sea voyage to America. They found it tasted even better after another voyage back to Britain. This combination of oxidation and heat, which would destroy most wines, actually improved Madeira and increased its commercial value. Records show that Madeira for sale in Britain was intentionally taken via the West Indies and even the East Indies for this purpose.
By the 1900s, steamships had become the norm, significantly shortening the long sea voyages needed for Madeira’s transformation. The ever-resourceful wine merchants developed a method to retain Madeira’s distinct flavor without the long sea voyage. They matured the barrels of wine on the island, but instead of storing them in cool underground cellars, they matured them in hot, breezy lofts. This method worked.
Today, the best Madeiras are still aged by this method, known as Canteiros. Cheaper, less complex Madeiras are aged via a quicker, more cost-effective method known as Estufagem. This involves heating the wine in a stainless steel tank for months, creating a similar smoky, caramelized, dried fruit character but without the complexity and elegance of the Canteiros method.
Types of Madeira
When it comes to Bucket List wines, your Madeira needs to have one of the noble grape varieties printed on the front label. There are only four main ones, so not too much to remember: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual (or Boal), and Malmsey (or Malvasia). Each of these varieties is made to a specific style, mainly driven by sweetness level and body weight.
Sercial: The driest style of Madeira, known for its light body, high acidity, and flavors of citrus, almonds, and a dry, searing finish with a hint of saltiness. Often enjoyed as an aperitif, it is grown in the highest, coolest parts of the island.
Verdelho: Planted in similar cool spots as Sercial but ripens more easily. It is slightly sweeter than Sercial with a medium-dry profile, flavors of dried fruit, honey, and spices, and tangy acidity. It can develop a lovely smoky complexity with age and maintains a good balance of acidity, making it versatile for various food pairings.
Bual (or Boal): A medium-rich style, Bual Madeira offers a darker color and more pronounced sweetness. Planted in warmer locations, it ripens to higher sugar levels than either Sercial or Verdelho. Its flavors often include toffee, raisins, and chocolate, making it a popular choice for dessert pairings.
Malmsey (or Malvasia): The sweetest and richest style, Malmsey Madeira is full-bodied with deep flavors of caramel, brown sugar, and sometimes tropical fruits. Despite high sugar levels, the wines are rarely cloying thanks to their high acidity. It is often enjoyed as a dessert wine or on its own as a rich, indulgent treat. Typically grown at the lowest, warmest sites of the island.
If you see a bottle of Madeira without a variety on the label, it is most likely made from Tinta Negra Mole. While it can make some very drinkable wines, it usually falls short in quality compared to the noble varieties.
Each of the styles made from the noble varieties also comes in different levels of quality, driven by the time spent in the barrel. In general, the longer, the better. This longer time in wood leads to greater concentration and complexity. Like Champagne, Madeira comes in Non-Vintage and Vintage wines.
For Non-Vintage Madeira, a bucket list wine should be a varietal Madeira labeled as 15 years or older. This is when you notice a marked step up in quality. The older, the better, but also the more expensive. The great thing about Madeira is that it’s fortified and already oxidized, so once you open it, there’s no rush to finish the bottle before it spoils. You can enjoy a glass here and there over weeks or even months.
There are two types of Vintage Madeira: Colheita (single harvest) and Frasqueira (vintage). Colheita wines must be made from grapes harvested in a single year and aged for a minimum of 5 years before bottling. Frasqueira wines, considered the highest quality classification for Madeira, must be aged for a minimum of 20 years in cask before bottling.
For a bucket list wine, a Frasqueira would be preferable, but budget matters. Either way, there’s something special about drinking a wine from a significant vintage. Madeira is renowned for being almost bulletproof—often still drinkable and enjoyable well past its 100th birthday. This is not something you can say for most wines. Part of the joy of enjoying Madeira is drinking something old—something older than yourself—and contemplating the events of that year and since.
On a 1950 visit to Madeira, Sir Winston Churchill was honored by the island's British community with a dinner party. As a special tribute, his hosts opened a rare 1792 Vintage Madeira bottled in 1840. When served in 1950, the wine was 158 years old but still in fine condition, boasting Madeira’s rich, sweet, velvety taste and aromas of butterscotch, cocoa, and coffee. It’s reported that Churchill insisted on serving the guests himself, asking each in turn, "Do you realize that when this wine was vintaged Marie Antoinette was alive?"
While matching Churchill's boast might be challenging, you can still find a bottle with historical significance. At the time of writing, from Old Liquors, you could procure a bottle of 1882 Verdelho for less than $1,800 and inform your guest as you pour, “Do you realize that when this wine was vintaged Charles Darwin was alive?”