Amazing Madeira

March 2, 2015 – We’re familiar with Madeira and even visited the Portuguese island many moons ago but Lettie Teague’s article in The Wall Street Journal this past weekend taught us a thing or two.

Madeira never deteriorates.  Even a bottle that has been opened will last for years, even decades.  We didn’t know that.  A bottle dating back to 1715 sold at auction in New York last December for $26,950.

A favorite of the upper crust English, it was also very popular in colonial America often named for the cities where a particular style of Madeira was in vogue.  For example, Baltimore Rainwater was drier and lighter, a perfect aperitif, while Boston Bual was a rich dessert wine.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Betsy Ross all enjoyed their glass of Madeira.
Madeira is a fortified wine.  Some alcohol is added during fermentation and this was done to stabilize the wine for the long sea voyages of the 18^th century.  Amazingly, the long hot voyages improved the wine, so much so that producers sent their wine on sea voyages to improve aging.  The longer a cask was at sea, the more prized it became and some sailed around for years.  The idea of heat improving the wine is counter intuitive as regular table wine is protected from temperature variations and is aged at around 55 degrees.  The used barrels are sought after by Scotch whisky producers who tout Madeira cask aging on their labels.
If you can access Lettie Teague’s article you will enjoy it and also get her recommendations for Madeiras costing from $18 to $65.  It’s a fascinating wine that’s been ignored for too long.  Too bad we drank that bottle we bought in Funchal, the capital, decades ago.  It would still be drinkable.