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This month’s feature -
Madeira
 Madeira is a fortified wine with an 18% alcohol content and many may
think of it as a sweet tipple that granny used to drink with a piece of cake. In reality
is a fascinating wine with many varieties. Its keeping ability is legendary and the finer
wines can and are kept for more than 100 years. Madeira is so resilient that it is the
only wine that should be stored standing up. I recently fulfilled an ambition and visited
the wine lodges of Madeira. A wonderful experience and an eye opener to this classic wine.
The island of Madeira is about 400 miles off the west coast of Morocco. It is a
mountainous, volcanic island and grapes are grown in small terraced vineyards. The
vineyards are supplied with water by the Levadas - a complex network of irrigation
channels that traverse the island. The steepness of the terrain make mechanisation
difficult and despite its sub-tropical climate it is not an easy place for viticulture.
The origins of Madeira
 Because of its location Madeira was a stopping-off point for 17th century
sailing ships on passage for the East Indies and the Americas. Part of the cargo of these
ships were pipes of wine. ( Pipes were 400litre wooden casks and wholesalers, as with Port
still buy Madeira by the Pipe) Despite months of rolling about and being baked in the
holds of the ships as they crossed the tropics, amazingly, it was found the wine developed
a new character and actually tasted better when it reached its destination. These
wines became popular and there was even a fashion for "round trip" wines. It was
clearly an expensive process and so the Madeirans set about finding a way to create the
same result without having to ship the wine on a 10 month tropical cruise.
Making Madeira
The Madeirans achieved this effect by heating the wine in Estufas - rooms containing barrels that were heated by the sun. This method is
still used today for some of the finer wines. The barrels are stored in the sun heated
roof space of the wine lodges. These wines then spend at least 20 years in cask -
some as much as 100 years before bottling. The modern day alternative used for the
most of the wine is to store it in large tanks that are heated by a coil containing hot
water - much like a domestic hot water system. These wines may be stored in cask for 5 to
15 years prior to bottling
The different Styles of Madeira
Many will think of madeira as a sweet, fortified wine, maybe
similar in characteristics to port to be drunk after dinner. However there are, in fact 4
different styles of madeira, determined by the grape varieties
Sercial
Sercial is one of the classic madeira
grape varieties. It is a very acidic grape and produces a dry wine more similar in style
to a fino sherry. One would normally drink this as an aperitif.
Verdelho
The Verdehlo produces a medium dry wine.
This could be drunk as an aperitif or could accompany, fish or white meat.
Boal
Dark rich and luscious - definitely an
after dinner digestif
Malmesey
Made from the Malvasia grape and produces
the sweetest style. But the sweetness is balanced by the acidity.
Qualities
Having chosen the style the next decision is the quality level.
Even the lowest quality wine is aged for 18 months. This accounts for about 50% of
production. Fortunately most of the wine shipped to the UK is of the higher quality levels
.
Finest: A blended 3 year old wine.
Probably not aged in wood
Reserve: A blended 5 year old wine
some of which will have been aged in oak
Special Reserve: Blended but
with at least 10 years in oak casks
Vintage: Wine from one of the above
classic grapes from a single year. Unlike port vintage madeira is matured in cask for a
minimum of 20 years, followed by a further minimum of 2 years in bottle.
Buying Madeira
Good madeira is not cheap, but when you
consider the difficult growing conditions and the estufa ageing process it is not
surprising. You are unlikely to find quality madeira on the shelves of your local
supermarket or off license.You are better dealing with a wine merchant. Having said that
Waitrose Wine Direct offer a good selection and their Henriques 10 year old Sercial is a
good price at £11.99. They also offer a 15 year old Malmsey at £16.99. Berry Bros
& Rudd have a long tradition of bottling madeira and have an excellent
reputation. They offer a 10 year Boal for £22.95. The Imperial Wine Co in Suffolk offer,
amongst others a 1954 Verdelho at £39. You can contact Imperial at sales@imperialwine.co.uk. Not every day
drinking perhaps, but an excellent gift. Madeira is on my Christmas list!
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November 2003
Personalised
Champagne and Wines for celebrating laterlife events
