17 D’OLIVEIRAS VINTAGE MADEIRAS WITH LUIS D’OLIVEIRA – D’Oliveiras Cellars, Funchal, Madeira (5/21/2010)
Luis D’Oliveira
I wanted my 300th post to RJonWine.com to be a special one, and I can’t think of a better topic for it than my most memorable tasting this year, on the island of Madeira last month: 17 D’Oliveiras vintage Madeiras back to 1850, tasted with the proprietor of D’Oliveiras himself, Luis D’Oliveira.
Great vintage Madeira is my peak vinous pleasure. I think of these caramelized, rich, lemony, medium to high acid wines– with their fascinating complexity and incredibly long finishes–as being like liquid sunshine. Their effect is certainly like a burst of sunlight out of an otherwise grey day: generating warming, soul nourishing pleasure and contemplation. Because they require so much time in cask (and sometimes demijohn or bottle) to be so complex, concentrated and balanced, they inevitably make me reflect on the generations and history involved in bringing this great pleasure down through the years to me. In other words, great vintage Madeira is a high unlike any other.
D’Oliveiras is, in my view, the greatest of the remaining Madeira houses, with unusually large stocks of vintage Madeira still in cask going back to the mid-1800s. They were established in 1850 by Joao Pereira d’Oliveira as a partidista, a maintainer of stocks which they aged and sold to shippers. They have since absorbed four other firms, the oldest of which, Adegas do Torreao Ltd., dates all the way back to 1820. (The other three companies were Joao Joaquim Camacho and Sons; Julio Augusto Cunha and Sons; and Vasco Luis Pereira and Sons.) Their stocks, then, are an inheritance from the five legacy companies. It wasn’t until 1974 that they started bottling and labeling their wines on their own, as D’Oliveiras. By then they had built up the largest stock of old Madeira in the world which today consists of around 1.5 million liters. The family also has incredible Verdelhos from their own São Martinho vineyards.
D’Oliveiras vintage Madeiras have always stood out in comparative vintage Madeira tastings for me as being the most complex, with remarkable balancing acidity, even in the sweetest Boals and Malvazias. It was therefore pretty much worth my whole recent trip to Portugal to be able to taste these beautiful wines in the cellars of D’Oliveiras, with commentary from Luis.
We tasted in a building that was built in 1949 by the Loges family–Adegas do Torreao–specifically designed for being able to put a lot of weight on the second floor. D’Oliveiras purchased it in 2000 as a new cellar facility. The flooding in February this year got to the basement of their original building, built in 1618, where the cubas (casks) were “floating like boats,” according to Luis. The new wines, in sealed tanks with governmentally issued wax seals that can’t be opened for five years, are kept on the second floor. They only use estufa, heat treatment, for younger wines, blends containing Tinta Negra Mole. Those wines are heated day and night for about three months in estufas located about seven miles away. Conteiro is the alternative to estufagem. Conteiro is the natural process of maturing in vat or cask that takes many years. Luis told us that D’Oliveras doesn’t buy a lot of grapes anymore as they already have a large stock in barrel from the 1950s and ’60s, as well as younger wines absorbed from the Adegas do Torreao firm.
When we asked about the annual evaporation from the casks (as much as 5% per year in the early years), Luis told us they don’t top off the barrels with newer wine. D’Oliveiras leaves wine in wood as long as possible, and only bottles at the last minute, when needed for a major order (i.e., when Mannie Berk buys 100 cases or so for Rare Wine Co.). They also have some bottles in stock that were bottled in the ’70s and ’80s, but they’re not for export–they have more of the same wines in vats and Luis told us they’re usually better from vat with the additional evaporation and concentration. If bottled 25 or 30 years or more ago, a vintage Madeira will have some bottle stink and needs to be opened a week or so for airing out, with some cheesecloth placed over the top to keep out insects. If bottled more recently, in the last two or three years, it doesn’t need to be opened in advance, as there won’t be a problem with bottle stink.
Sercials
In our tasting of the 15 vintage Madeiras we were scheduled to taste as a group, we proceeded in the traditional order from dryest style (Sercial) to sweetest (usually Malvazia, also known as Malvasia and Malmsey). The complete progression is Sercial, Verdelho, Terrantez (if you’re lucky enough to have a sample of this rarer varietal, which we were), Boal, and ending with Malvazia.
This first flight was a knockout bunch of Sercials. The 1875 is, along with the 1885 Blandy, the greatest Sercial I’ve ever tasted, very complex and possessing an unusually long finish. The 1862 was also quite impressive. The 1937, while very good, is a baby yet by comparison. What a great way to start the morning (at about 10:45 am).
- 1862 D’Oliveiras Madeira Sercial Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium dark amber brown color with golden lights and clear meniscus; buttery, light rum butter, VA, almond nose; rich, toasty, light caramel, nuts, very tart apricot, roast coffee palate with lemon acidity; long finish (96 pts.)
- 1875 D’Oliveiras Madeira Sercial Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium dark amber brown color with light yellow meniscus; lemon tea, light coffee, roast coffee nose; rich, roast coffee, lemon peel, very tart orange, walnut palate with focused medium-plus lemon acidity; very long finish (98 pts.)
- 1937 D’Oliveiras Madeira Sercial Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium dark orange amber color with clear meniscus; VA, roasted walnut, smoky, nut butter, butter nose; robust, smoky, tart, almost bitter, roast coffee, lemon, luscious very tart apricot, tart orange palate with medium-plus acidity; very long finish 93+ pts. (15-20 years from being ready) (93 pts.)
Verdelhos
Verdelho is usually my favorite varietal/style for Madeira, as they typically don’t have the searing, high acidity of the Sercial, but are still quite dry compared to the sweeter styles. These three were stunning, which may be partly attributable to the fact that some or all may have derived from the family’s Verdelho vineyards in São Martinho, a suburb in the western portion of the City of Funchal. The 1850, which was elegant and complex, was our oldest wine of the tasting. All three of the wines had a family resemblance, including walnut notes and a roasted quality.
- 1850 D’Oliveiras Madeira Verdelho Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium dark brown color with brown garnet lights and light yellow meniscus; deep roast coffee, walnut, toffee nose; fabulous, tasty, elegant, orange marmalade, orange peel, walnut, tart lemon tea palate with medium acidity and a roasted quality on very long finish (97 pts.)
- 1890 D’Oliveiras Madeira Verdelho Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium dark brown color with medium yellow meniscus; some reduction, bottle stink, baked lemon, roast coffee, walnut, nut paste, toffee nose; rich, tart lemon tea, tart orange, lemon marmalade, nut skin palate with medium-plus acidity; long finish (95 pts.)
- 1905 D’Oliveiras Madeira Verdelho Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium dark orange brown color with golden lights and yellow to clear meniscus; lovely, baked lemon, light roasted coffee, walnut oil nose; poised, still quite youthful, tart lemon peel, baked lemon, light coffee, tangy, roast coffee, walnut palate with medium-plus acidity; very long finish 94+ pts. (94 pts.)
Terrantez
Terrantez is typically Roy’s favorite varietal/style of Madeira. It was a fairly rare varietal even before phylloxera, when the island was planted much more to the “noble” varietals–Sercial, Verdelho, Terrantez, Boal and Malvazia–than it is today. These were fairly high in acidity compared to other Terrantezes I’ve tried. The 1880 had some intriguing, unusual flavors, like beef bouillon. The 1988, the baby of our tasting, is a real value at only 45 Euros, and gives me a lot of hope for the quality of younger vintage Madeiras in the hands of great firms like D’Oliveiras.
- 1880 D’Oliveiras Madeira Terrantez Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Light medium brown color with yellow green meniscus; intriguing bouillon cube, vaguely earthy, smoke, almond oil nose; rich in flavor, relatively youthful, deep roasted coffee, beef bouillon, salt, walnut oil palate with searing lemon medium-plus acidity; long finish (94 pts.)
- 1977 D’Oliveiras Madeira Terrantez Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium orange brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; rich almond oil, almond pasty, cream, toffee nose; tasty, buttery textured, toffee, roasted nut, almond oil, rich coffee, dried orange palate with medium acidity; long finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.)
- 1988 D’Oliveiras Madeira Terrantez Colheita – Portugal, Madeira – Light medium orange amber color with yellow to clear meniscus and light orange lights; nice, nut oil, melted butter, lightly floral, toasted almond, rich toffee nose; tasty, youthful but poised and complex, toasty, almond, rich lemon, tart orange palate with depth; long finish 93+ pts. (excellent value) (93 pts.)
Boals
These Boals were all very tasty, but the 1908 was truly stunning, with everything one could wish for in a mature Boal, including zingy acidity. The 1968 is another fine example of how good young vintage Madeira can still be in the right hands.
- 1903 D’Oliveiras Madeira Boal Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium brown color with light yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; light toffee, walnut, dried fruit, almond, VA nose; tart for Boal, roast coffee, lemon, walnut, walnut skin, tart orange palate with medium-plus acidity; long finish 91+ pts. (91 pts.)
- 1908 D’Oliveiras Madeira Boal Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; damp earth, rich roasted coffee, baked walnut nose, rich and warming; tasty, rich, warming, orange pekoe, orange zest, coffee cake, dried fruit palate with medium, zingy acidity; very long finish (96 pts.)
- 1968 D’Oliveiras Madeira Boal Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Dark brown orange color with yellow meniscus and garnet lights; ginger cake, toasted almond, sweet butter, walnut oil nose; tasty, rich, deep, buttery textured, tart orange for days, nut oils, rich and gorgeous, will age beautifully; long finish (94 pts.)
Malvazias
In some comparative tastings, by the time one gets to the sweetest flight, the Malvazias, they are often something of a let down, without the necessary acidity to balance the intense sweetness. That was not a problem with these D’Oliveiras Malvazias, which all showed well. All of them had substantial acidity, much more so than most vintage Malvazias. The 1875 was truly great and complex. Toffee was a descriptor in common for all four.
Our planned tasting concluded with the 1907 Malvazia Reserva. Luis then generously offered that they would open anything else in the room that we were interested in trying. Keep in mind that we had just sampled 15 stunning vintage Madeiras, and that we knew we were heading over to Barbeito that afternoon for yet another intensive comparative tasting of these powerful, fortified wines. Nonetheless, Luis’s wonderful offer was one that I couldn’t possibly refuse, so I asked to taste their two 1900s, since that’s a vintage I’ve very much enjoyed from other producers. The 1900 Malvazia, from the year my beloved Irish grandmother was born, was nearly as great as the 1895 we’d just tried. Thank you again Luis!
- 1875 D’Oliveiras Madeira Malvazia Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Very dark brown color with yellow green meniscus; nutty, dry molasses, baked orange, crepe suzette, almond and walnut oil nose; buttery textured, rich ginger cake, deep toffee, tart orange honey, unctuous but with gorgeous orange acidity; very long finish 98+ pts. (98 pts.)
- 1895 D’Oliveiras Madeira Malvazia Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; roasted coffee, nutty, walnut, light toffee, vaguely salty nose; tasty, focused, tart roast coffee, walnut, tart lemon, lemon honey palate with medium acidity; long finish 95+ pts. (95 pts.)
- 1907 D’Oliveiras Madeira Malvazia Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; strong walnut, walnut oil, earthy, toffee, salted peanut, orange butter nose; nice, youthful, a little hot, tart lemon, tart orange, orange zest, orange marmalade, orange honey palate with medium acidity, should be great in 30-40 years; very long finish 93+ pts. (93 pts.)
- 1900 D’Oliveiras Madeira Malvazia Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Dark brown color with yellow meniscus and ruby lights; sweet coffee, fruit cake, walnut oil, toffee nose; rich toffee, coffee, almond, tart orange, tart apricot palate with depth and good acidity; very long finish (95 pts.)
Moscatel Finish
The final wine I tried, taking advantage of Luis’s offer to open anything we liked, was the very rare Moscatel, from that turn of the century vintage that I’ve so enjoyed in past tastings. This turned out to be a truly exceptional and unique tasting wine, with lots of ginger showing. This wine showed at least as well as the stunning and memorable 1900 Moscatel of Barbeito that I tasted when Barbeito’s Ricardo Freitas came to San Francisco for a special tasting in honor of his grandfather earlier this year. I would have been totally happy to end the day with this glorious wine. It was delightful too when paired with a slice of Madeira’s famous traditional treat, the bola de mel, or sugar cane cake, that Luis served to us at the end of our tasting.
- 1900 D’Oliveiras Madeira Moscatel Reserva – Portugal, Madeira – Medium dark brown color with yellow green meniscus and ruby lights; serious ginger, ginger cake, walnut nose; rich, wonderful, ginger cake, ginger honey, apricot honey, smoky, sweet roast coffee, almond palate; long finish (96 pts.)