Blandy’s Madeira – Recent
Releases

BY NEAL MARTIN | MARCH 19, 2018

Growing up, I expected to fall in love with many things: girls, seven-inch
vinyl records, the coastal town of Brighton, Radiohead and New Balance trainers.
I never expected to fall in love with Madeira. That was not in the script. My
love affair began whilst holidaying on the namesake Atlantic volcanic island in
2003, at Blandy’s Lodge in Funchal, where in a pique of curiosity I ordered a
1927 Bual. I divide my life pre and post-sip. Like so many misguided people up
until that point, I had viewed Madeira with ignorant and unjust disdain – to
wit, the tipple granny used to swig after Christmas lunch. Madeira was for
fuddy-duddies. Afterwards I understood why those with good taste revere this
profound, time-buckling, ethereal and enigmatic wine. Madeira is so
unfashionable it is the epitome of cool.

I have been fortunate to taste many bottles from what is commonly
held up as Madeira’s golden age – the 19th century. They rank amongst the most
memorable wines to have ever passed my lips. Though it is easy to look back to
Madeira’s halcyon days of popularity, especially in England and the Eastern
Seaboard, it is just as important if not more so, to see what is happening
today. It would be exaggerating to describe Madeira as undergoing a revolution.
It has not suddenly come back into vogue like artisan gin or even sherry. However,
I do feel that Madeira is finally receiving credit for the joys it brings and
the heights it can achieve. My intention is, over time, to pen more
comprehensive articles and build up the Vinous database with Madeira reviews. I
will not go overboard for this first article, but I wanted to update readers on
recent releases from Blandy’s and Cossart Gordon, who together with Leacock’s, operate
under the “Madeira Wine Company” umbrella with Chris Blandy at the helm.

These recent releases are bottled to be consumed upon release,
but the very nature of Madeira means that they will easily give an estimated 15
to 20 years’ drinking pleasure. The drinking windows reflect this view, but
they may well last much longer.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1521464714528-madeira.jpg">

Blandy’s 1968 Sercial
(Bottled 2017) has a potent, oxidative nose replete with scents of grilled
walnut, smoke, dried orange peel and faint nougat aromas mucking about in the
background. The palate is well balanced with a sharp line of acidity. It is not
an overly complex Sercial, leaning towards the richer side of the category. It
fans out nicely towards the finish with clove, Chinese 5-spice and marmalade
notes. What it lacks in nuance this Bual compensates for with delineation and
focus. 91/Drink: 2018-2038. The 1957 Bual (Bottled 2017) has a strict
and linear bouquet for this category with scents of clove and hazelnut; an
antique mahogany bureau and slightly higher VA than other Buals of similar age.
The palate has a pleasant freshness and weight in the mouth with notes of
candied orange peel, white pepper, fennel, cloves and just enough VA to lend a nice
residual warmth in the mouth. It constitutes a more approachable Bual than
others that I have encountered. The 1957 does not assert heaviness in the mouth
and yet ninety seconds later I can still feel those lovely Christmas cake and
spice notes lingering in the mouth. 93/Drink:
2018-2038. The 2000 Verdelho Single
Harvest Colheita (Bottled 2017) sports quite deep burnished golden in color,
offering Manuka honey, marmalade and quince scents on the nose; much richer
than I was expecting. It becomes a little spirituous with aeration, but nothing
to get worried about. The palate is viscous on the entry, smooth in texture
with lovely honey, quince, cardamom, ginger and bitter orange. This is packed
with flavor, harmonious and almost unctuous on the finish. 90/Drink: 2018-2038.&nbsp;The 1987
Bual from Cossart Gordon (Bottled
2016) had a burnished amber color, perhaps a little deeper than I was expecting
given its age. It has a reasonably complex bouquet with marmalade, molasses,
toffee apple and a subtle seawater scent. The palate is clean and fresh, nimble
for a Bual thanks to the fine line of acidity. I actually discerned more
complexity in the mouth than on the nose as flavors of walnut, Chinese 5-spice,
smoke and marmalade lead the way on the focused and sustained finish. Leaving
the bottle aside for 24 hours, I did notice some improvement in the nose, which
my score reflects. 91/Drink:
2018-2038. The 2002 Sercial from Blandy’s (Bottled 2016) has a lifted
quince and marmalade scented bouquet that did not quite convey the same
delineation as the 2003 Bual. The palate is sharp and fresh on the entry. This
is quite a bitter, edgy Sercial but I mean that in a positive way. There is an
almost Amontillado-inspired tincture on the finish that lends this real
character. You can just manage sipping this with some grilled almonds before,
not after a dinner. 90/Drink:
2018-2038. The 2003 Bual from Blandy’s (bottled in 2016) has a
relatively light color for a Bual. The nose is fragrant and perfumed with
scents of quince, wood varnish and tangerine, well defined and gaining
intensity with aeration. The palate is clean and fresh, quite nutty and spicy
on the entry with walnut, marjoram, quince and tangy Seville orange marmalade.
This is an elegant Bual that feels long and tender in the mouth. It comes
highly recommended. 93/Drink:
2018-2038. 

To finish off, just an extra for Vinous readers, I add a note for
the 1860 Bual from Blandy’s that was the perfect way to
finish a splendid recent dinner in Hong Kong. This is a rare bottle of Madeira
since purportedly only three bottles have ever appeared at auction. According
to Richard Mayson, it is in fact a blend of various bottlings assembled to
celebrate the arrival of John Blandy onto the island. It has fragrant bouquet
that is less oxidative than coeval Bual’s that I have encountered over the
years, with scents of Seville orange marmalade, quince, smoke and the whiff of
an oak-paneled drawing room in a stately home. There was something intoxicating
about the bouquet, almost mesmerizing. The palate is sweet, surprisingly
candied in style and very smooth in texture, again, less oxidative than
presupposed with a viscous, marmalade, honeyed finish that manifest grilled
walnut and almond scents with aeration. It is just a glorious Bual that I could
have sat and polished off throughout the night! 97/Drink: 2018-2070.

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