Tutored Wine Tasting

MADEIRA

Speaker: Eric LAGRE Sommelier Madeira Wine History

15 th Century In 1419, at the beginning of the age discovery, Portuguese João Conçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo found an island in the middle of the Atlantic which they named Madeira Island. King João I of Portugal ordered the island to be divided up into captaincies. The three Donee Captains received their respective share of the island from Infante D. Henrique (Henry the Navigator) then leased the land to the early settlers for development. The island was soon cultivated with wheat, sugarcane... and vines.

The first colonisers were members of the Portuguese nobility who brought with them labourers and craftsmen from the north of Portugal to the island. Early on, European merchants would also settle in Madeira. Beyond the enticing privileges given to first settlers, what drove them was that they knew that the island had a strategic position on exploring routes to territories which could potentially become important export markets in a near future.

The island was originally so densely forested (hence the name “Madeira”, which translates as “wood”) that large areas of woodland had to be burnt down to clear land for planting and grazing. The resulting high potash content is still considered a unique fertility factor in a soil otherwise made of decomposed volcanic rock. Terraces supported by stone walls called poios were constructed to allow cultivation on steep slopes, while, up to 1461, the core of the system of water channels called lavadas was built in order to collect water from the higher regions and transport it throughout the island, thereby providing water for crops and drinking.

Sugarcane was the main focus of the island’s agricultural activity. Cane sugar was first exported to the domestic Portuguese market, the Gulf of Guinea and Africa. But from 1466, it started breaking into the Mediterranean and North European markets thereby establishing the sugar industry as the driving force of the Madeiran economy.

Although it remains impossible to pinpoint the exact time when the first vines were planted, it is thought that they were brought early on by the first settlers from the Minho in northern Portugal. What grape varieties were first planted? It is also hard to tell. However, historical records by the Venetian navigator Alvise da Mosto, known as Luís de Cadamosto, which date back to around 1450, state that “[...] of the various vine varieties, Infante D. Henrique ordered that land should be planted with Malmsey brought from Candia (the capital of Crete), and these vines (Malvasia Cândida) are growing very well [...]”. The navigator also praises the quality of the wines exported from the island, and goes as far as saying that “Madeira wines are the most beautiful wines in the world”. These precious documents show that as early as only 25 years after the first settlements established themselves on the island, the export of Madeira wines had already begun. But it is the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved out to be a real landmark in the history of the Madeiran wine industry, marking the starting point of intensive vine cultivation and wine exportation.

The story goes that, at the end of the 15 th century, the Duke of Clarence was drowned into a butt of Malmsey, as echoed in Richard III , the play by William Shakespeare, just over a century later. The event became material of legend, so did Madeira wines. Georges Plantagenet, first Duke of Clarence, was the third son of Richard Plantagenet and Cecily Neville, and the brother of kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the “Wars of the Roses”, a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought from 1455 to 1485 between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the House of Lancaster symbolised by the “red rose” and the House of York symbolised by the “white rose”. The final victory went to the relatively remote Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor, who defeated the last king of the House of York, Richard III, and married Edward IV’s daughter, Elizabeth of York, to unite the two houses once and for all (hence the bicoloured rose as the symbol of the House of Tudor which subsequently ruled England and Wales for 117 years). The Duke of Clarence had made the mistake of plotting against his brother Edward IV. He was arrested, imprisoned in the Tower of London then put on trial for treason. He was convicted and “privately executed” on 18 February 1478. An exhumed body believed to be that of the Duke of Clarence showed no sign of beheading, the traditional method of execution for people of noble birth in those days. This makes Georges’ drowning into Malmsey a possibility, though the story is more likely to be a joke, a way of making fun of the Duke’s renowned heavy drinking. Another possibility is that his remains might have been sent to the abbey in an empty barrel of Malmsey, the same way as the remains of Lord Nelson were brought back home in a barrel of Brandy.

16 th Century: In 1508, Funchal acquired the status of a city as the island was starting to flourish, its trade to intensify and its population to increase. But the sugarcane industry as the driving force of the island’s economy was doomed. At the beginning of the century, it was becoming difficult to find labour forces to harvest and process the overproduction of sugarcane. Eventually, by the end of the century, the competition of Brazilian sugar, far less expensive, forced farmers to convert their plantations into vineyards. It is in the middle of that shift in trade that Simão Acciaioly settled on the island, having brought along with him the Malvasia Babosa vine variety. Many visitors, such as Venetian Giulio Landi and Italian Pompeo Arditique would mention Malmsey in their diaries. According to Giulio Landi “the whole island produces great quantities of excellent wines, very similar to Candia Malmsey”. There is much speculation as to whether these wines were sweet or dry, but one thing is for certain, they were not fortified. Most of all, they were famously delicious, to the point that, in Henry IV , William Shakespeare has John Falstaff sell his soul to the devil in exchange of a chicken leg together with a goblet of Malmsey.

17 th Century: The seventeenth century saw wine production boom and wine exports treble. Although the major exporters were foreigners, the British influence in the sector will only become predominant with the development of colonial markets in America round the middle of the century. The development of the markets of North America and the Indies, now supplanting Brazil as the major markets for Madeira wines, put British merchants in a position of influence hence trading concessions were granted to them and their number increased. This is how the British-dominated triangular commerce came into being. The multiplication of trade routes induced tremendous growth for the Madeiran wine industry and contributed to the wider availability of Madeira wines, now endowed with fame and prestigious reputation.

In the second half of the 17 th century, ships en route to India, including many of the Dutch East India Company fleet, called regularly in Funchal, the capital city of the island, to pick up cargos of pipes . It was soon found that, somehow, Madeira wines tasted better after some time spent in the heat of the hull of a ship, pitching and rolling across the tropics. With this discovery came a fashion for Vinho da Roda . These Round Trip Wines were preferred to the wines traditionally matured in cask in the coolness of a cellar on the island. Wine would be sent to the colonies overseas, but instead of trading it for local goods, it would be kept in the holds of the ships to be returned from the Indies back to the European target market with enhanced quality and added value. This way, there was more money to be made, for Vinho da Roda was very sought after and sold at a very high price.

18 th entury: The 1703 Methuen Treaty between England and Portugal, which came about as war with France prevented merchants from importing French wines to England, opened the British market to Portuguese wines. One third less tax would be paid at English customs for Portuguese wines than for wines of other origins. In return, English textiles imported into Portugal would pay no duty at all. Port wines would benefit most from that arrangement, for it was to the Indies and North America that the bulk of Madeira was exported. But the treaty reinforced the privileged position of British merchants in Madeira regardless of how little wine was exported to continental Europe.

The bond between the Madeiran wine industry and the North American market is very tight. Today, having survived prohibition, the Madeira Club of Savannah continues to meet regularly over a quarter of a millennium after the first pipes of Madeira wine were landed on the coast of Georgia. It is with a glass of Madeira wine that George Washington toasted the Declaration of Independence on 4 th July 1776. Madeira wine would feature in pride place on the most refined tables of Europe, equally appreciated by Kings, Emperors and Statesmen, but Madeira was especially favoured by the Founding Fathers of America, notably Thomas Jefferson. By the end of the 18 th century, the newly independent America was buying a quarter of all the wines produced on the island. Booted out of America, colonial troops would bring their favourite tipple with them to Britain, thereby turning England into a significant market for Madeira wines. Nowadays, alongside the USA, England still stands as one of the strongest markets for premium Madeira wines.

The 18 th century was an era of great notoriety for Madeira wines, but increasing worldwide demand came hand in hand with fraudulent practices, from wine adulteration to wine of different origin passing for Madeira wine. Consequently, the 18 th century marked the beginning of the regulation of the wine industry and the defence of the indication of origin, the aim being to establish the “Madeira” name as some sort of a trademark.

But most of all, the 18 th century marked the beginning of winemaking as we know it today, for it is then that two techniques became common practice amongst most Madeira wine producers: fortification and estufagem . Like Port, Madeira wines seem to have started as unfortified wines, and many would deteriorate long before reaching their final destination. Spirit, probably distilled from cane sugar, was adopted as a stabilising additive to wines destined for export. The resulting shipping wines could thereby survive long sea voyages. But the spirit would only be added just before shipment. It is not before the middle of the 18 th century that Madeira would become a proper fortified wine, fortified in the course of its making process whether it was destined for export or not.

It is in the course of the 18 th century that the so-called estufagem process was also developed in order to reproduce the coveted Vinho da Roda style, but in the comfort of the winery, and at a fraction of the cost. By the end of the 18 th century, most shippers had turned to using estufas , rooms and tanks in which the wine would be artificially heated to simulate the rapid maturation brought about by long sea voyages through the tropics. The estufagem process involved steam and hot water, often running through a system of coils dipped directly into the wine, as still practiced today. Vinho da Roda eventually proved comparatively too unpractical and costly to make and its production stopped in the early 1900s. But since wines made by the estufagem process did not compare with Round Trip Wines in terms of quality, a more natural process had to be developed to produce a finer style of “modern” Madeira. Casks of wine would be subjected to the environmental heat in the winery lofts for a year or two before completing the maturation process in cooler recesses of the cellar. These casks would rest on supporting beams called canteiros hence wine made by this process is still known as Vinho Canteiro . The canteiro process is a gentler and more quality-preserving heating process than the estufagem process, but it takes far longer to complete. Indeed, the typical aromatic profile of a Madeira wine would only take a single sea voyage or three years by the estufagem process to develop, but would indeed necessitate at least 5 years on canteiros to be achieved.

19 th century: A boom in exports towards England was triggered by the Napoleonic Wars, which once again, prevented French wines, naturally favoured by the British, from entering the British market. For a short while, since Madeira wine became as popular in England as it was in the US and the Portuguese colonies in Africa and Brazil, demand began to outstrip supply.

In 1815, the British having won the war, Henry Veitch, English Council in Madeira, upon Napoleon Bonaparte’s calling in the island on his way to exile in the island of Saint Helena, presented the emperor with a barrel of Malmsey. The story goes that, owing to the Emperor’s refusal to drown his sorrows in Madeira wine, the precious barrel was returned to the island upon claim of the donor. In 1840, the wine was bottled and sold for the greatest delight of innumerable English nationals. When he visited Madeira in 1950, Sir Winston Churchill had the privilege of savouring it.

But, soon after the Napoleonic wars, bust followed. Export figures went down substantially as England recovered access to French and Spanish ports and French wines reignited fierce competition on the British market. This was only the beginning of the downward spiral for the Madeiran wine industry. Many factors will add to the decline of Madeira wines on the export market. Political instability brought about by the 1861 US Civil War proved very damaging. Had Madeira wines remained as much in demand in Europe as they were during the Napoleonic wars, it would have never been enough to make up for the contraction of the American market. The situation was made worst by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, for it meant that many ships no longer needed to call in the island. The only comfort was the expansion of the Russian market, which, from the middle of the century, rivalled with the British market.

The final blow to the Madeiran wine industry was struck by the devastating pandemic outbreaks of vine diseases of American origin: Oidium and Phylloxera. In 1851, Oidium reached the island in the same year as it was first identified in Bordeaux. It quickly spread throughout the dense vineyards, almost wiping out production in just three years. The industry bounced back after it was found that the powdery mildew could be controlled by dusting the vine leaves with sulphur. But shortly afterwards, in 1872, the phylloxera louse infested the vineyards, leaving the wine-based economy of the island in ruin. From the mid 1870s, many wine shippers abandoned Madeira and many vineyards were never to be replanted with vines. Vines were actually uprooted all over the island then replaced by sugarcane once again.

Phylloxera-resistant American vine species were introduced a decade or so later. On the continent, only the rootstocks of these vines were used. One would graft the more traditional Vitis vinifera varieties onto them. But in Madeira, many farmers, seeking a rapid return to prosperity, cultivated these Vitis labrusca, riparia, rupestris, and other hybrid vines as direct producers. Alongside the wine bulk made from these lesser grape varieties, wine was still produced from Vitis vinifera varieties, mostly Verdelho and Tinta Negra. Malmsey has always been synonymous with Madeira wine, to the point that Madeira wine was often labelled as Malmsey regardless of the grape used in its making. Quality Malmsey was still being produced, but the volume of production was so small that the cultivar was struggling to maintain its iconic status. American vine varieties and hybrids will only be made illegal in 1979.

20 th century: The Madeiran wine industry was only returning to some normality, with decent levels of production and volumes of sales on their traditional markets, when it was dealt another blow, first by the Russian revolution in 1917 then, immediately after, by the prohibition in the United States between 1920 and 1933.

By WWI, it is Germany that had become the leading market for Madeira wines. Between the two wars the situation was uncertain for the Madeira wine industry. During that period, the Scandinavian countries, especially Sweden and Denmark, took the pole position for premium Madeira wines. After WWII, the fashion changed and fortified wines became less popular. The sales of Madeira wine declined until the end of the 1980s, from which time they settled down to their current level. The face of the market has hardly changed since then, each traditional market retaining its share.

At the beginning of the 20 th century, the Madeiran wine industry counted a plethora of wine producers. The circumstances forced many of them to close down. Most of the remaining producers did not have the means to survive on their own, gradually merging into a handful of big firms. Today, the consolidated Madeira wine market is now driven by only eight producers licensed for export:

“Justino’s, Madeira Wines, SA” was founded in 1953 as the result of the merger of 6 companies with Justino Henriques , a company established in 1870 by Justino Henriques Freitas. In 1993, the company formed a partnership with the French group La Martiniquaise , the owner of Gran Cruz Porto , the biggest Port producer in the Douro. Since 2009, a year after the death of Sigfredo da Costa Campos who had bought the company in 1981, the company is totally French-owned. Justino’s is the biggest producer and uncontested market leader. Today, Juan Teixeira is winemaker and general manager.

“Madeira Wine Company, SA” was founded in 1981 by the Blandy Family, producers of Madeira wine since 1811. MWC derives from the Madeira Wine Association which, from the time it was founded in 1913, had gradually gathered 26 companies under its umbrella, out of which the Blandy family is the only founding family still involved in the business today. In 1989, MWC formed a partnership with Symington Family Estates, now the second largest Port producer in the Douro, though one must highlight the fact that symingtons is the largest producer of premium Port. The corporation still produces 4 British brands out of the 26 original Portuguese and British brands: Blandy’s (Est.1811), Cossart Gordon (Est. 1745), Leacock’s (Est. 1760) and Miles (Est. 1988). MWC is the biggest producer of island-bottled Madeira wine (indeed, all its wines are bottled for direct consumption; MWC does not sell wine in bulk to the food industry contrary to Justino’s and H&H ). Today, Francisco Albuquerque is winemaker.

“Henriques & Henriques, SA” was founded in 1913 by Francisco Eduardo Henriques and João Joaquim Henriques (hence the name), a year after they inherited Henriques , the company founded in 1850 by their father, João Gonçalves Henriques. The company started as a partidista , supplying wine to be sold under the buyer’s name, but then decided to commercialise its own brand from 1925. In 1981, H&H incorporated 4 companies previously associated with them. The company was praised as the largest remaining independent producer and shipper of Madeira wine on the island till La Martiniquaise eventually acquired a 60% stake in the business in 2010. Today, Dr Humberto Jardim is CEO of the company, while Luís Pereira is winemaker.

“Vinhos Barbeito (Madeira), Lda” was founded in 1946 by Marío Barbeito then formed a 50/50 joint venture with Kinoshita International Company, Ltd of Japan in 1991. Today, Marío’s grandson, Ricardo de Freitas, is CEO of the company and winemaker.

“Pereira d’Olivera (Vinhos), Lda” is the result of the amalgamation of 5 companies. The oldest was founded in the 1820s and the youngest, eventually amalgamated in 2002, as late as in 1947. The company founded in 1850 by João Pereira d’Olivera started as a partidista . It is only from the 1970s that the company decided to commercialise its wines under the D’Oliveras brand name. The past of the company as a partidista means that it still holds the largest stock of old and rare wines. The reputation of the company for high quality wines was only reinforced by the acquisition of Artur de Barros & Sousa, Lda at the end of 2013. The later, a family-run company established in 1922, was never licensed for export and, in the scheme of things, only made a near insignificant volume of wines, but these wines, made according to the purest traditional methods by the Olim brothers, had a cult following on the Island. Today, D’Oliveras is under the administration of Aníbal and Luís d’Olivera, the founder’s grandsons, while Filipe d’Olivera, the family’s 5 th generation, is winemaker.

“H.M. Borges, Sucrs, Lda” was established in 1877 by Henrique Menezes Borges, and merged with three other companies between 1925 and 1932. Today, the company is run by two cousins who are the family’s 4th generation: Isabela Borges Gonçalves and Helena Borges Fontes. Ivo Couto is winemaker.

“J. Faria & Filhos, Lda” was established in the 1950s as a producer of fruit punches, spirits and alcopops. The company only started commercialising Madeira wine in 1993 in association with P.E. Gonçalves , producer and exporter of modified Madeira wine till 2002. Luís Faria is the managing director.

“Madeira Vintners” was established as late as in the middle of the year 2013. This compact operation is run by Cooperativa Agr ícola do Funchal , with Paulo Mendes as Managing Director. The Company will focus on the production of small lots of terroir-driven single vineyard wines of high quality. It is still early days. Time will tell.

The top three producers, Justino’s , MWC and H&H , represent around 90% of the global Madeira wine market between them alone. Justino’s yields roughly 50% of the total production and it is the uncontested market leader, but paradoxically, it has got no agent to speak of here, in the UK, where MWC takes the lion share, as it claims nearly 75% of the market. MWC and H&H are shoulder to shoulder, the latter being slightly behind the former, with around 20% of the global market each. The remaining 10% or more of the market is divided between the last five exporters.

Between 2005 and 2010, an average of 4.15 million litres of wine with certified appellation was produced in Madeira from Vitis vinifera grapes. The near entirety of these grapes was sold to Madeira wine producers. Indeed, with 4 million litres produced, 96% of the total wine production was of fortified wines while, with a mere 0.15 million litres produced, the remaining 4% was of still light wines.

Over the same period, an annual average of 3.4 million litres of Madeira wine was commercialised. Since only 14% of these wines were sold on the Portuguese domestic market, mostly to tourists on the island itself, it appears that exports are crucial to the success of the Madeiran wine industry. In 2010, the global market for Madeira wines encompassed more than 38 countries worldwide, though only a few of them was driving the demand since the late 80s; France, Portugal, Germany, the UK, the Benelux, the Scandinavian countries, Japan and the US holding nearly 80% of the market between them. 70% of Madeira wines were sold on the EU market, with France alone taking a third of the global market. France (34%), Germany (10%) and the Benelux (8%) are the largest international markets for modern Madeira wine, although most of the wines destined to these markets are of very basic quality and bought as modified bulk wine for cooking by the food industry rather than as island- bottled wine for drinking. The UK (8%), the Scandinavian countries (7%), Japan (6.5%) and the US (4.5%) are the main markets for premium island-bottled Madeira wines.

Following the Carnation Revolution of 25 th April 1974, Portugal returned to democracy and Madeira was granted political Autonomy and became Região Autonoma da Madeira . Subsequently, Portugal joined the European Union in 1986, which brought about significant developments in the Madeiran wine industry. Substantial EU and governmental subsidies allowed the Madeiran wine industry to thrive and the wine quality to improve in a context of tighter regulations hinged around better quality control. It is a healthy and fully recovered industry thoroughly improved and modernised from vineyard planting to bottling lines that entered the 21 st century, proud to showcase some of the world’s most prestigious wines, the fame of which has managed to remain intact over a 500 year old history.

In line with EU standards and regulations, the vine and wine sector of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, from viticulture to commercialisation via production, is controlled by The Institute. In 1979, the Instituto do Vinho da Madeira (IVM) took over a branch of the Junta Nacional do Vinho (National Wine Council created by the Salazar regime in 1933 to replace the 1909 Comissão de Viticultura, the first ever governmental attempt to regulate the Portuguese wine industry). The IVM then merged with the IBTAM (Madeira Embroideries, Tapestries and Handcrafts Institute), as a result of which the Instituto do Vinho, do Bordado e do Artesanato da Madeira (IVBAM) was created in June 2006.

Viticultural practices in the vineyards are tightly regulated and supervised, so are winemaking, distilling and rectifying activities, as well as marketing endeavours on the global market. Every movement of stocks of grapes from vineyards to wineries or of wines from wineries to cellars then ultimately to any given market needs to be recorded into accounts at The Institute.

The Institute’s Laboratory is in charge of collecting samples and run laboratory assay and testing as well as organoleptic assessments by a tasting panel. Once the samples are approved, seals and certificates of origin are issued so that the wines can be bottled then labelled according to the requirements attached to every single style.

The Institute also acts as an intermediary between growers, producers and exporters on one side and governmental and EU authorities on the other. The industry applies for EU and governmental aid towards The Institute, the later redistributing it in turn to every eligible applicant. The industry has been benefiting from a flow of subsidies over the past two decades, but one must bear in mind that such financial incentives only acknowledge the tremendous efforts that the Madeiran wine industry has been putting into modernising its facilities and its approach to vine growing, winemaking and marketing. The Institute must also inform growers, producers and exporters of every change in the law and provide advice and support to help them comply.

Finally, The Institute has a PR purpose, helped in that by a Museum, a library and the Confraria do Vinho da Madeira (CVM), a Madeira wine association founded in 1985 and harboured within the premises of The Institute. Both the IVBAM and the CVM have the duty to promote and maintain the good reputation of Madeira wines around the world, hence The Institute runs media campaigns, an internet website, as well as regular tastings, exhibitions and workshops. A newsletter is produced twice a year, which provides information about different aspects of Madeira wine, from viticulture to winemaking and consumption. A DVD is also available.

The Institute’s PR machine particularly intensifies its activities on the occasion of three local events: - The Flower Festival in the spring. - Madeira on Ice, a campaign aimed at promoting Madeira wine as a long drink over ice in summer so has to attract female and younger consumers to Madeira wine. - Christmas and New Year –the period when Madeira wines are traditionally consumed.

Educational and promotional work also takes place at various International wine fairs (London International Wine Fair, Prowein, Vinexpo, Foodex...), and on the occasion of regular trade tastings such as the amazing Big Fortified Tasting in London.

IVBAM Instituto do Vinho, do Bordado e do Artesanato da Madeira, I.P. www.ivbam.gov-madeira.pt www.vinhomadeira.pt Rua Visconde do Anadia, 44 9050-020 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal Phone: 0035-1-291 211 600 Fax: 0035-1- 291 224 791 Email: [email protected]

Museum of the Madeira Wine Institute Rua 5 de Outubro, 78 9000-079 Funchal

Phone: 0035-1-291 204 600 Fax: 0035-1-291 228 685

Confraria Uniform:

- An ostrich-feathered hat as that worn by the early settling merchants - A wine-coloured cape - A tambuladeira (tasting vessel)

www.viniportugal.pt

Madeira Island

Jardim da Serra

MADEIRA APPELLATION

Location: Madeira, the island discovered in 1419 by João Conçalves Zarco, is part of the Archipelago of Madeira, which includes another inhabited island, Porto Santo, as well as uninhabited islands, the Desertas and the Selvagens. The Archipelago of Madeira counted a population of 247,161 inhabitants in 2008, to which number one can add approximately one million tourists every year. Now an autonomous region since 1974 and part of the EU since 1986, it is located in the north Atlantic Ocean, between latitude 35° and 45° north, at longitude 17° west, approximately 1,100km southwest of Lisbon on the coast of Portugal, the country to which it belongs, and 600km west of the Moroccan port of Casablanca on the North African coast. The island of Madeira is the largest and most important of the group and has an area of 732km 2, being 57km west to east and 23km north to south at the widest points. A mountain range divides the island in half, from Pico da Pedreira (1,093m) in the west to Pico Riuvo (1,862m) and Pico do Arieiro (1,818m) in the east, north of Funchal, the capital city of the island, and the place where all the winemaking process used to take place historically. The Island of Madeira is the result of volcanic activity and rises sheer out of the sea. There are no beaches and very little flat land. Steep- sided ravines cut by rivers over the millennia lace the hinterland.

Appellation System: Known in the whole world as a par excellence tourist destination, Madeira also owes its notoriety to the prestigious wine that bears its name; a wine with the name of an island and an island with the name of a wine. But mind, for the name Madeira , when used in the wine world, only refers to fortified wines, never to still light wines. Between 2005 and 2010, an average of 4.15 million litres of wine with a certified appellation was produced in Madeira from Vitis vinifera grapes. With 4 million litres produced, 96% of that total wine production was of fortified wine or DOP Madeira (vinho com Denominação de Origem Protegida “Madeira”) or DOC Madeira (Vinho com Denominação de Origem Controlada “Madeira”), which is labelled as Madeira Wine , or simply Madeira . With a mere 0.15 million litres produced, the remaining 4% was of still light wine. With 0.12 million litres produced, 80% of that still light wine production belonged to the DOP Madeirense or DOC Madeirense category , often labelled as VQPRD Madeirense (Vinho de Qualidade Produzido em Região Determinada “Madeirense”), while, with 0.03 million litres, the remaining 20% belonged to the IGP Terras Madeirenses category (Vinho com indicação Geográfica Protegida “Terras Madeirenses”), which can be labelled as Vinho Regional Terras Madeirenses since 2006.

The Madeiran wine industry is composed of eight Madeira wine producers licensed for export on the one hand and twelve producers of still light wines on the other hand. Amongst the former, two produce both Madeira and still light wines: Justino’s and MWC . The Institute produces 2,000 litres of Madeira every year, but this little volume of wine is used for PR purposes only (It is served during functions destined to promote either the island’s wine industry or tourism).

PRODUCERS OF MADEIRA WINE www.vinhomadeira.pt Abbreviation Company Appellation Brands Justino’s Justino’s, Madeira Wines, SA Madeira DOC Justino’s Madeira; East India Madeira; Colombo Madeira; Madère Cruz; Izidro Madeira; Broadbent Madeira (BOB) MWC Madeira Wine Company, SA Madeira DOC Blandy’s; Cossart Gordon; Leacock’s; Miles; Sainsbury’s (BOB) H&H Henriques e Henriques, SA Madeira DOC Henriques & Henriques; Casa dos Vinhos da Madeira; Carmo Vinhos; Antonio Edouardo Henriques; Veiga; Belém’s Madeira Wine Barbeito Vinhos Barbeito (Madeira), Lda Madeira DOC Madeira Barbeito; ACAM; New Madeira; Fortnum & Mason (BOB); The Rare Wine Company (BOB) D’Oliveras Pereira d’Olivera (Vinhos), Lta Madeira DOC D’Oliveras; (Will the use ABSL as they bought the company in 2013?) Borges H.M. Borges, Sucrs, Lda Madeira DOC H.M. Borges; Adega Exportadora da Madeira; J.H. Gonçalves; Araújo Henriques e Ca Faria J. Faria e Filhos, Lda Madeira DOC J. Faria & Filhos; Faria & Filhos; P.E. Gonçalves; Zarco; Pingo Doce ; Nau Santa Maria de Colombo Madeira Vintners Operation run by Madeira DOC (The wine operation was inaugurated in June 2013 hence it will take Cooperativa Agr ícola do Funchal some time before any brand becomes visible on the market)

Since there was no real still light wines from Vitis vinifera grapes available besides the Atlantis brand produced by MWC , tourists often drank wines from the Portuguese mainland instead. This resulted in an annual import of around 6 million litres of such wines. In 1999, it was therefore decided to create a delimited region for the production of still light wines. That same year, The Institute created a winery dedicated to the production of all the still light wines on the island: Adega São Vicente.

PRODUCERS OF STILL LIGHT WINE www.ivbam.gov-madeira.pt [T = Tinto; R = Rosado; B = Branco ] Abbreviation Company Appellation Brands Bottlers Wholesalers (Armazenistas Engarrafadores) MWC Madeira Wine Company, SA Madeirense DOC Atlantis ( R/B) Justino’s Justino’s, Madeira Wines, SA VR Terras Madeirenses Colombo ( T/B) Adriana Morgado (1) Adriana Eugénia Ponte da Silva Morgado Madeirense DOC Ponta do Tristão ( B) João Mendes João Mendes Unipessoal, Lda Madeirense DOC Rocha Branca ( B) Quinta do Moledo ( T) Beira da Quinta Duarte Caldeira Duarte caldeira & Filhos, Seixal Wines Lda Madeirense DOC Terras do Avô ( B) VR Terras Madeirenses Duarte Caldeira Octávio Ferraz Octávio Ascensão Ferraz Madeirense DOC Palmeira e Voltas ( B); Xavelha ( T) Barbusano (2) Quinta do Barbusano, Lda Madeirense DOC Ponta do Tristão ( B) VR Terras Madeirenses Reis da Cunha (3) Reis da Cunha- Vinhos Madeira Sociedade Unipessoal, Lda Madeirense DOC Reis da Cunha Ricardo França Ricardo França- Sociedade Unipessoal, Lda Madeirense DOC Enxurros ( T/B) VR Terras Madeirenses Corte do Norte Seiçal Seiçal- Sociedade de Produtores de Vinho do Seiçal, Lda Madeirense DOC Seiçal ( T/R), Latadas, Palheiros ( T) VR Terras Madeirenses Palheiros ( T) Torcaz Torcaz, produção e Comercialização de Vinhos, Lda Madeirense DOC Torcaz ( T) Bottlers Manufacturers (produtores Engarrafadores) Elsa Ferreira Elsa Maria da Silva Ferreira Madeirense DOC Pedra de Fogo ( T) Florinda Araújo Florinda Augusta Poça Gomes de Araújo Madeirense DOC Casa da vinha ( B) Luís Ferreira Luís Ferreira VR Terras Madeirenses Cabeço da Queimada ( T) (1) & (3) went out of business in July 2006 and January 2009 respectively while (2) took o ver Adriana Morgado’s labels.

Why is there no mention of “Primeira Paixão Verdelho”? The wine is produced by Francisco Albuquerque from MWC and Rui Reguinga, wine consultant at Adega São Vicente since 2010 and producer in his Alentejo home of “Terrenus” and, in a joint venture with the wine writer Richard Mason, “Quinta do Centro”. TERROIR

Climate: The Climate of the island of Madeira is subtropical, strongly influenced by the sea (needless to say): humid, with mild winters and hot summers moderated by altitude. This year-round clemency of the climate is induced in part by the warm, moist trade winds on the path of which the island sits. Consequently, rainfalls are high, especially at high altitude and, apart from the few days in the summer when the Sirocco blows and temperatures can reach 40°C, the island suffers no extreme heat. Annual mean temperature ranges from 9°C in the mountains to 17.5°C along the coast. Viticultural areas extend through a variety of microclimates depending on altitude and location; one may find sub-humid climatic conditions at the top- most limit of vine plantations on the north coast and sub-arid climatic conditions on the south coast at elevations below 150m of altitude.

Viticulture at this latitude is only made possible by altitude. Madeira rises to over 1,800m and the mountains are almost perpetually covered in cloud as moisture in the moist oceanic air is forced to condense. Annual rainfall on the island can be as high as 3,000mm at the top of the mountains, down to 500mm along the south coast at sea level. As the norm, 75% of the total annual rainfall falls in the autumn and in winter, while a bit more than 20% falls in spring and less than 5% in summer. Precipitations increase with altitude, especially on the southern part of the island. A complex system of water channels and aqueducts called lavadas, now extending over 2,150km, of which 40km are in tunnels, collects the rainwater from the summits and redistributes it to the 1,600 growers scattered around 482ha of piecemeal vineyards. Soil: The island is extremely fertile, its soil being of volcanic origin. Densely forested when first discovered in the early 15 th century, the first settlers had to burn down extensive areas of woodland to make space for planting and grazing. The resulting high potash content is still considered to be a special factor in a soil otherwise made of decomposed red and yellow tufa, sometimes with small round iron-rich basalt stones. This top soil covers a bed rock of grey and red basalt. Generally speaking, these basaltic soils have a clayey texture, and are, from a chemical perspective, acid, rich in organic matter, magnesium and iron, poor in potassium (which can prove detrimental to a successful ripening process), and suffice in phosphorous. Soils are often so acidic that alkaline additives like lime need to be worked into the ground to rebalance its PH. That excess acidity might also have growers limit their use of sulphur-based vine treatment sprays, for they contribute additional acidity to the soil, thereby impairing the micro-organic mineralization of organic matter upon which the nitrogen supply necessary to plant growth depends. Growers can seek technical advice on how to manage soil quality and apply for EU grants that cover 50% of the cost of the treatments necessary to rebalance soil PH towards The Institute.

VITICULTURE

Vineyards: The flatter regions of the island are situated in the urban and suburban areas of Funchal, or in areas where the climate and the altitude do not allow viticultural practice. The island is intensely cultivated. At sea level, tropical and sub-tropical fruits are grown, whilst at highest altitudes Douglas Firs abound. In between these two extremes, other fruits and crops vie for that land that is workable. Indeed, because of its topography, Madeira is a difficult place to grow crops, let alone grapes. Nearly all the vineyards on the island, mostly situated on the northern and southern coasts, are planted on Poios , tiny step- like terraces carved from the grey and red basalt bedrock and sustained by stone walling. Poios , the trademark of the agricultural landscape of Madeira, are reminiscent of steep staircases that seem to rise from the sea along 16 to 25% slopes up into the hills, like gardens embedded into the lush surrounding vegetation. Poios are as hard to access as they look and therefore impossible to mechanise. Consequently, cultivation comes at a cost, and many vineyards on the south of the island have fallen prey to property speculation.

The archipelago of Madeira counts around 494 ha under Vitis vinifera vines: 482 ha on the island of Madeira itself and 12ha on the neighbouring island of Porto Santo. The crop from Porto Santo is exclusively used for the making of still light wines. On Madeira island itself, 81% of the grapes are grown between three main viticultural councils: Câmara de Lobos on the south coast and São Vicente and Santana on the north coast. The agricultural landscape of Madeira might seem to be dominated by large areas of vineyard planting, but one must not be fooled, for it is a patchwork of small plots belonging to as many as 1,600 growers. Most growers do not earn a living out of growing grapes, and they only own a mere 0.3 ha each on average, often divided into more than one plot. With the exception of H&H, Madeira wine producers do not own vineyards but purchase grapes from a regular pool of growers. In 1995, H&H planted a 10ha vineyard with Verdelho and some Sercial and Terrantez around their winery in Quinta Grande (the single largest vineyard on the island to these day), plus 1ha with Tinta Negra round their headquarters in Câmara de Lobos. Both vineyards supply around 15% of the company’s annual grape requirement. Although there are longstanding agreements between growers and producers, they are not in the form of written contracts. This means that producers are free to buy from any of the growers and growers are free to sell to any of the producers. Some growers sell to more than one producer. Negotiations might be direct from grower to producer or via an agent. Agents not only buy the grapes on behalf of each company but act as quality controllers, monitoring the management of the vineyards all year long so that grapes are produced to the shipper’s standards. Since only less than 10% of the growers produce the bulk of grapes required annually, winemakers can afford to visit their largest growers as harvest time approaches.

Percentage of growers providing each bracket of quantity of grapes in 2009 kg of grapes % of growers kg of grapes % of growers kg of grapes % of growers 0-500 15.26% 3500-4000 3.60% 9000-10,000 1.46% 500-1000 17.94% 4000-4500 1.99% 10,000-15,000 2.91% 1000-1500 14.03% 4500-5000 1.92% 15,000-20,000 1.33% 1500-2000 9.28% 5000-6000 3.53% 20,000-25,000 0.69% 2000-2500 7.67% 6000-7000 2.91% 25,000-30,000 0.08% 2500-3000 5.90% 7000-8000 2.98% 30,000-35,000 0 3000-3500 4.60% 8000-9000 1.84% 35,000-40,000 0.08% 74.68% 18.77% 6.55% between 2005 and 2010, out of the annual 4.15 million kg of grapes harvested for the making of around 4 million litres of Madeira wine, growers provided producers with only 3,000kg each on average.

Grape Varieties: The Institute owns 3.7 ha planted between Estreito de Calheta, São Vicente, Câmara de Lobos and Arco de São Jorge. Mother vines are grown there in order to supply cuttings for The Institute’s nursery in Caniçal. These cuttings are grafted then maintained on three plots of approximately 0.5 ha each. Every vine destined to be grown for the making of Madeira wine has to be sourced from The Institute’s nursery. Some grafted rootlings for the production of table grapes are also available from The Institute’s nursery, but none for that of still light wines. Therefore, grafted rootlings for the production of still light wines need to be purchased from nurseries outside the island. The Institute also runs experiments with new varieties, rootstocks and clones, as well as with alternative trellising systems and pruning methods. Institute Staff is on hand to give advice to growers on grafting, pruning, canopy management, pest, disease control and other technical operations. Ultimately, The Institute also has a duty to help growers comply with new regulations and to provide them with information regarding any EU aid they are entitled to.

During the second half of the 19 th century, following the devastations caused by powdery mildew and phylloxera, which nearly destroyed the island’s wine trade, the vineyards were replanted with American vine species and hybrids (direct producers as opposed to grafted vines). If these varieties were still grown for the making of rustic local table wine, they were forbidden for the making of Madeira wine in 1979. As recently as 1982, 2/3 of the wine production on the island was still made from grapes yielded by direct producers. But the EU has been subsidising heavily the cost of uprooting these infamous varieties and planting grafted Vitis vinifera varieties instead. Tinta Negra, for it is versatile, high-yielding and disease-resistant, proved out to be the grape variety of choice. Today, the use of grapes yielded by direct producers is illegal for the making of wines with a certified appellation, still light wines and Madeira wines alike. These lesser grapes are exclusively used domestically by growers for the production of the so-called Vinho Seco for their private consumption. The Institute now issues licences to vineyards. The procedure gives it the opportunity to put together a register of every vine planted on the island (a monumental task considering the very small size of most plots, but a necessary one if The Institute wants to assume optimum control). Every vineyard counting more than 50 vines needs a licence. Licensing is only granted to the condition that the vines are Vitis vinifera varieties trained to either the traditional latada system or the more recent Espaldeira system according to their respective planting densities. Under EU regulations, and so until 2015, the region cannot extend its vineyard area beyond the present 494 ha, but it is allowed to have existing plantations replanted either in situ or in another location, either with the same Vitis vinifera varieties (restructuring) or with Vitis vinifera varieties instead of American vines or hybrids (reconversion). If a new plot is bought in view to be planted with vines, the owner needs to get the rights for planting.

EU Grants are available which cover 50% of the replanting cost (excluding irrigation cost, which is covered by a separate scheme). In 2009, such subsidies could add up to €56, 575.79 maximum. From the time the new vines are planted to the time they are old enough to produce grapes for winemaking, a compensation scheme of €3046 per hectare is available. 1/5 of the vineyard area has benefited from this subsidised restructuring and reconversion program over the first decade of this century, and a further 1/5 is predicted to be renewed by 2015.

The priority has long been to give cash incentives to growers so that they would take part into the replanting program that promotes grafted Vitis vinifera varieties over direct producers (American vines and hybrids) but an extra subsidy is now available that invites them to prioritise the planting of the more noble grape varieties over the lesser Tinta Negra and Complexa black grape varieties that dominate the vineyards. Growers get €500 per tonne of Sercial, Verdelho, Terrantez, Bastardo, Boal, Malvasia Cândida, Malvasia Roxa, Caracol and Listrão produced, and €81 only per tonne of other recommended and authorised varieties produced.

Average quantities of Vitis Vinifera grapes used for winemaking between 2005 and 2010 Still Light Wine Madeira Wine With Appellation Without Appellation* total 4,145,421 kg 210,732 kg 686,047 kg 5,042,200 kg 82.21% 4.18% 13.61% 100% * Growers blend these grapes from grafted Vitis vinifera vines with grapes from direct producers (American vines and hybrids) to make Vinho Seco for their private consumption.

Grape Varieties used for the making of DOC Madeira 4.15 million kg yielded 4 million litres of “DOC Madeira” wine between 2005 and 2010 Recommended Grape Varieties Authorised Grape Varieties Bastrado Red Caracol White Boal (Malvasia-Fina) White Carão-de-Moça White Malvasia-Cândida White Complexa Red Malvasia-Cândida Roxa Pink Deliciosa Red Sercial (Esgana Cão) White Listrão Pink Terrantez (Folgasão) White Malvasia Branca de São Jorge White Tinta Red Moscatel Graúdo White Tinta Negra Red Rio-Grande White Verdelho White Triunfo Red Verdelho-Tinto Red Valveirinho White The above list was taken from The Institute’s official latest The above list was taken from The Institute’s latest official official publication, but Trevor Elliot adds Malvasia Babosa & publication, but Trevor Elliot does not mention Tinta in the Tinto Negro to the list of Authorised Grape Varieties published list of Recommended Grape Varieties published in his book. in his book. Grape Varieties used for the making of DOC Madeirense 0.21 million kg yielded 0.15 million litres of still light wine between 2005 and 2010. 0.12 million litres of that production was “DOC Madeirense” wine. White Grape Varieties Red Grape Varieties ------Alvarinho Lilaz Arnsburger Aragonez Boal (Malvasia-Fina) Bastardo Carão de Moça Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay Complexa Chenin Blanc deliciosa Malvasia Bianca Malvasia-Cândida Roxa Malvasia Branca de São Jorge ------Maria Feld Malvasia Cândida Merlot Malvasia Cândida Branca Shiraz ------Rio Grande Tinta Barroca Sercial (Esgana Cão) Tinta Negra Sauvignon Blanc Touriga Franca Tália or Thalia (Ugni Blanc/Trebbiano) Touriga Nacional Terrantez Verdelho Grape Varieties used for the making of VR Terras Madeirenses 0.21 million kg made 0.15 million litres of still light wine between 2005 and 2010. 0.03 million litres of that production was “VR Terras Madeirenses” wine. The same white grape varieties apply The same red grape varieties apply minus Alvarinho Lilaz and Rio Grande minus Maria Feld plus Arinto

The question of varietal purity in Madeira wines: In a rather misleading fashion, Madeira wines have traditionally been labelled with the name of one of the four main noble white grape varieties, with the understanding that they were respectively made to a certain degree of richness: a Madeira wine labelled as Sercial meant that it was probably mostly made from Sercial, but more importantly, that is was made in a dry style. Similarly, a medium dry wine would be labelled as Verdelho, a medium rich one as Bual and a rich one as Malmsey. However, with the replanting programmes that immediately followed the phylloxera crisis, the labelling of Madeira wines under a varietal name became an indication of style more than a guaranty of varietal purity. Indeed, replanting programmes first saw American vines and hybrids then the high-yielding and versatile Tinta Negra black grape variety virtually take over the vineyards. In order to avoid confusion and abuse, the practice of labelling a wine style under the name of one noble white grape variety when made from a blend of lesser varieties was prohibited under EU regulation in 1993. Nowadays, Madeira wine is either labelled with the name of a single variety when made as a varietal wine from 100% of that one single noble grape variety (Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia mostly, but also Terrantez to a lesser extent, and Bastardo and Moscatel very marginally), or alternatively with a degree of richness when made as a blend from any of the authorised and recommended black and white grape varieties (Tinta Negra mostly, and Complexa to a lesser extent). Today, despite the amazing restructuring and reconversion programs conducted in the vineyards of the island, Madeira wines produced and sold are still Tinta Negra-based blends to an overwhelming majority, not varietal wines from noble white grape varieties.

The main grapes used for the making of Madeira Wine (2009 figures) Tinta Negra Complexa Sercial Verdelho Boal Malvasia Acreage 277.19ha 33.36ha 18.40ha 47.18ha 19.89ha 38.71ha (56.14% ) (6.76%) (3.73%) (9.56%) (4.03%) (7.84%) production 3,842,998 kg 101,502 kg 51,157 kg 73,838 kg 146,757 kg 181,226 kg yield 13,864 kg/ha 3,043 kg/ha 2,780 kg/ha 1,565 kg/ha 7,378 kg/ha 4,682 kg/ha Grape growing areas in 2010, with their respective distributions of varieties in hectolitres Concelho Vitis Vinifera Grape varieties Total Viticola Tinta Negra Complexa Other Red Sercial Verdelho Boal Malvasia Other White % ha % Câmara de 161.03 85.71 2.32 1.23 0.19 0.10 8.64 4.60 7.75 4.12 6.60 3.52 0.76 0.40 0.59 0.32 = 100% 187.88 38.05 Lobos 58.09 6.97 0.60 46.98 16.43 33.19 1.96 2.18 São Vincente 109.86 77.19 6.42 4.51 1.91 1.34 2.09 1.47 16.01 11.25 0.04 0.03 0.81 0.57 5.18 3.64 = 100% 142.32 29.83 39.63 19.23 6.00 11.35 33.93 0.02 2.10 19.11 Santana 0.13 0.18 17.24 24.51 3.55 5.05 0.79 1.12 6.27 8.91 0.07 0.10 35.02 49.79 7.27 10.34 = 100% 70.34 14.25 0.06 51.66 11.13 4.27 13.29 0.35 90.47 26.81 Porto Moniz 0.04 0.11 1.35 3.78 16.09 45.00 6.41 17.93 9.88 27.64 0.00 0.00 0.38 1.06 1.60 4.48 = 100% 35.75 7.24 0.01 4.03 50.48 34.86 20.94 0.00 0.97 5.90 Calheta 0.19 1.01 2.65 14.05 1.12 5.94 0.07 0.37 5.39 28.58 8.77 46.50 0.21 1.11 0.46 2.44 = 100% 18.86 3.82 0.07 7. 94 3.50 0.40 11.42 44.09 0.54 1.69 Porto Santo 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.30 2.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 11.46 97.45 = 100% 11.76 2.38 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.64 0.00 0.00 42.27 Ribeira Brava 5.44 47.93 0.41 3.60 0.28 2.47 0.29 2.56 0.48 4.23 3.70 32.60 0.75 6.61 0.00 0.00 = 100% 11.35 2.30 1.96 1.24 0.88 1.56 1.02 18.59 1.94 0.00 Machico 0.00 0.00 0.8 5 8.66 7.81 79.53 0.00 0.00 0.50 5.09 0.00 0.00 0.32 3.26 0.34 3.46 = 100% 9.82 1.99 0.00 2. 57 24.49 0.00 1.05 0.00 0.83 1.26 Funchal 0.13 4.50 1.30 44.98 0.15 5.19 0.11 3.81 0.41 14.19 0.22 7.61 0.46 15.92 0.11 3.80 = 100% 2.89 0.58 0.05 3. 91 0.47 0.58 0.87 1.10 1.19 0.41 Santa Cruz 0.12 6.12 0.78 39.80 0.74 37.75 0.00 0.00 0.03 1.53 0.29 14.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 = 100% 1.96 0.04 0.04 2.33 2.32 0.00 0.07 1.47 0.00 0.00 Ponta do Sol 0.2 5 31.65 0.04 5.06 0.04 5.06 0.00 0.00 0.16 20.25 0.20 25.32 0.00 0.00 0.10 12.66 = 100% 0.79 0.16 0.09 0. 12 0.13 0.00 0.34 1.01 0.00 0.37 % = 100% = 100% = 100% = 100% = 100% = 100% = 100% = 100% 342.43ha 151.29ha total ha 277.19 33.36 31.88 18.40 47.18 19.89 38.71 27.11 493.72ha 69.36% 30.64% % 56.14 6.76 6.46 3.73 9.56 4.03 7.84 5.48 100%

Wineries 1 Justino’s

2 MWC, D’Oliveras, Borges, Faria, ABSL 3 H&H

4 Barbeito (+ H&H headquarters)

Map of DOC Madeira Main vine-growing areas

Varietal expansion TN Tinta Negra OB Other Black C Complexa S Sercial OW Other White V Verdelho 70 % C (25 ha) 90 % M (35 ha) 68% V (32ha) 45% OW (12ha) B Boal 92% OR (30ha) M Malmsey 40 % S (8.5 ha)

98% B (19.5ha) 98% TN (270ha) 30% V (14ha) 20% C (7ha)

Jardim da Serra 47% S (8.5ha)

3 4 2 1

Tinta Negra was introduced in the eighteenth century. It is no longer called Tinta Negra Mole, which translates as “Soft Black”, to prevent confusion with the variety of the same name grown in the Algave. This hardy black grape variety, wrongly said to be a cross between Pinot Noir and Grenache, grows medium to large bunches, the small to medium-sized berries of which have very fine and soft skins. Since its introduction, the high-yielding and disease–resistant variety has adapted easily to the various microclimates of the island, making it the ideal choice for the second wave of replanting that followed the phylloxera crisis of 1872. With 277 ha, it now accounts for 56% of the planting area, of which 98% is cultivated between Câmara de Lobos in the south and São Vicente in the north. Between 2005 and 2010, blended with a small amount of other authorised and recommended varieties, it yielded an average of 88.4% of all Madeira wines produced and generated nearly 94% of the sales of Madeira. Tinta Negra gives an acidic juice of pale red colour with a potential alcohol of 9 to 12%abv, which can be made into wine to every degree of richness depending the stage of the fermentation process at which arguadente (96%abv grape spirit) is added. Tinta Negra has been denigrated somewhat unfairly for its versatility and chameleon-like ability to take on the shape of nearly every style of Madeira wine. If anything, it does not age as well as a noble white grape variety hence it is never used for the making of Frasqueiras (vintage Madeira wines).

Sercial is said to be related to Riesling, and it is the same variety as the Esgana Cão grown on Portuguese mainland. Esgana Cão, which translates as “Dog Strangler”, was named so because it displays ferocious astringency and very high acidity levels. Despite its characteristic small pinecone-shaped bunches of tightly compacted berries, Sercial is resistant to mildew and oidium. Its berries are very acidic and greenish yellow in colour. With 18.4 ha, Sercial only represents 3.73% of the planting area, which makes it the rarest among the four main noble white grape varieties. Between 2005 and 2010, it accounted for 1.35% of the grapes made into Madeira wine and generated 1.17% of sales. It thrives best on cooler sites, 40% being grown at 200m between Porto Moniz and São Vicente on the north coast, while a near 50% is grown in Jardim da Serra at 600- 700m, North West of the Câmara de Lobos viticultural council on the south coast. In such conditions, the grapes ripen with difficulty and yield a juice with a low potential alcohol of around 10 to 11%abv. Once fermented to dryness then fortified, it makes for the driest, palest, most acidic, tart and astringent Madeira wine when young, at which stage it is probably best enjoyed as a long drink. The wine won’t reach its best before it is at least 10 years old or more, from which stage it develops high- toned, almond-like aromas with a nervy character and a searing dry finish.

Verdelho is likely to have originated from Continental Portugal, the Azores or Italy. This variety is characterised by small to medium-sized bunches of grapes, the berries of which are thick-skinned and oblong in shape. With 47.18 ha, it is the most widely planted noble white grape variety, representing 9.56% of the planting area. But between 2005 and 2010, because the still light wine industry uses so much of it, it only yielded 0.94% of the grapes needed for the making of Madeira wines, and represented a mere 0.87% of sales. 68% of Verdelho grapes are grown along the north coast while most of the rest is grown along the south coast. Like Sercial, Verdelho thrives best on cooler sites, though at lower altitudes (400m in the south). It ripens earlier and achieves a higher potential alcohol of 10 to 12%abv compared to Sercial. Therefore, once fermented to dryness then fortified (and often slightly sweetened with RCGM), it makes for a slightly fuller-bodied wine than Sercial, medium dry in style, still high in acidity, but with richer, more stone-fruit-like aromas. With age, it develops an extraordinary smoky complexity while retaining its characteristic tang of acidity. Bual (spelt “Boal” in Portuguese) originates from Continental Portugal. Strangely, it has got hairy leaves and produces fairly large bunches of large thick- skinned berries, golden in colour when ripe. With 4.03 ha, 4% of the total planting area, it is half as rare as Malmsey and nearly as rare as Sercial. Prone to fungal infections, it grows best in the warmer and drier microclimates of the south coast, between Estreito da Calheta and Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, at altitudes varying between 100 to 300m. Between 2005 and 2010, this low-yielding variety managed nevertheless to produce 4.61% of the grapes needed for the making of Madeira wine and generated 1.64% of sales. Boal achieves higher potential alcohol than Sercial and Verdelho, from 11 to 13%abv. Once fortified in the middle of the fermentation process, it makes for a medium-bodied and medium- rich style of Madeira, dark in colour and raisiny in flavour, but still with high acidity and a rather dry finish.

Malmsey (spelt “Malvasia” in Portuguese) was the first varietal ever planted on the island of Madeira in the first half of the 15 th century. Malvasia is characterised by large conical bunches of big oblong grapes, golden in colour when ripe. With 38.71 ha, it represents 7.84% of the total planting area. 90% of the Malmsey is grown in Santana round São Jorge at altitudes of 100 to 200 metres. The rest is mostly grown round Câmara de Lobos relatively close to sea level. Since it is prone to fungal infections, it is site-sensitive and needs a great deal of warmth and direct sunlight. Between 2005 and 2010, Malvasia yielded 4.67% of the grapes needed for the making of Madeira wines and generated 2.63% of sales. Different sub-varieties of Malvasia are grown in Madeira. They can be blended an bear the “Malmsey” varietal label. That original Malvasia gape was imported from Crete: Malvasia Cândida. Malvasia-de-São-Jorge produces amongst the richest and smoothest of all Madeira wines, but Malvasia Cândida has always been the most revered and sought after of all Malmseys, fetching the most astronomical prices in auction. Malvasia ripens late and produces high yields of grapes with high acidity and high must weight, with a potential alcohol as high as 13%abv. Therefore, after fortification takes place in the course of the fermentation process, it yields the most intensely aromatic and rich, though perfectly balanced Madeira wine.

Terrantez, Bastardo, Moscatel and Complexa Data collected by The Institute between 2005 to 2010 shows that only 11.6% of the grapes picked for the making of Madeira wines were noble grape varieties. The resulting varietal wines wines are labelled with their respective names: Sercial, Verdelho, Terrantez, Bastardo, Boal, Moscatel and Malvasia. To be entitled to varietal labelling, the wine must now be made from 100% of the grape variety stated on the label. Terrantez, despite providing only 0.03% of these grapes, is making a comeback, yielding 5 times as much in 2010 as in 2005. Always made in a medium-dry style, it represented 0.03% of the sales over the period. As for Bastardo, it is not yielding large enough volumes to even be quantified. Nevertheless, the wines made from Bastardo, always in a medium-dry style, still managed 0.01% of the sales thanks to examples produced in the past century, notably by D’Oliveras. Moscatel is usually used to bring aromatics and sweetness to blends, but it can, on rare occasions, be made into a varietal wine in a rich style. ABSL was the last producer to be producing Bastardo and Moscatel Madeira wines in recent years, but since this artisanal producer, bought by D’Oliveras in 2013, was so insignificant in terms of volumes of production, the two styles are no longer anything but curiosities, especially when you consider that, at the end of the day, only 6.35% of the Madeira wines sold between 2005 and 2010 were varietal wines made from noble varieties.

88.4% of all grapes harvested are used for the making of Tinta Negra-based Madeira blends. The black grape variety Complexa, very similar to Tinta Negra, is the second most significant grape variety used in those blends. With 33.36 ha (70% planted between São Vicente and Santana and 20% along the south coast), Complexa represents 6.76% of the total vineyard area, more than most noble varieties. 93.65% of all Madeira wines sold between 2005 and 2010 were blends. Training systems and density of plantation: Although the second half of the 20 th century saw the introduction of the espaldeira or espalier trellis system (the vertical trellis system adopted by H&H in Quinta Grande), 80% of the vines are still traditionally trained along small pergolas, as in the Vinho Verde wine region of the Minho in northern Portugal, according to a trellis system locally known as latada . Training the vines high and horizontally that way permits the cultivation of other crops underneath and limits the high risk of fungal infections brought about by the warmth and dampness of the climate, especially powdery mildew and bunch rot. The height of the latadas is not regulated and varies between one and two metres, but the distance between vines and between rows of vines must be 2m so as to achieve a density of plantation between 2,500 and 4,000 vines per hectare. The espaldeira trellis system is now favoured, for it makes the tending of the vines much easier. With a minimum legal distance of 1.4m between vines and 1.8m between rows, it achieves a far greater density of plantation than the latada trellis system, between 4,000 and 5,000 vines per hectare. The only obstacle to converting to that new trellis system is that it is only viable on near flat ground.

Latada trellis system

50kg carrying boxes

Espaldeira trellis system

On the north coast, edges of heather and bracken are grown to act as wind breakers and protect vines from sea spray.

Maximum yield : The maximum permitted yield is 80hl/ha, but The Institute often grants permission to produce more grapes, as in 2008 and 2009, when yields were sometimes as high as 150hl/ha. Paradoxically, due to a complex system that forces producers to buy minimum volumes of grapes, this occurs in lesser years, when increased yields are most detrimental to wine quality. Viticultural cycle and Harvesting: Given the vertiginous nature of the topography, it is not surprising that all the viticultural cycle, from pruning to harvesting, via vine treatment spaying, notably against fungal infections and escoriose, is made by hand in the most challenging conditions. Indeed, the height of the pergolas is either so low that workers need to bend under the horizontal canopy or so high that ladders are needed, making the all process of tending the vine and harvesting the grapes a difficult job. From November, soon after harvesting, espoldra takes place, which is the elimination of the shoots that are not necessary for pruning. Pruning itself takes place at the end of February on the north coast and around the middle of March on the south coast. Harvest usually starts in the last week of August (two weeks later in vineyards with a more northerly aspect) and lasts until mid-October. Harvesting is subject to a declaration date, always starting on a Monday, which is decided by The Institute in consultation with growers and producers. If the condition of the crop dictates, special derogations are given to allow growers to pick ripe grapes early.

Hand-picking is often a family affair that sees men, women and youngsters gather for a necessary joint effort, for labour forces are scarce and costly. Family living abroad will often travel back to the island to give a hand at harvest time. Grapes are placed in 50kg boxes, in which they are painstakingly carried to a lorry along traitorous paths, sometimes 10 to 15mns away from the vineyard where the grapes were picked, one box at a time (you are welcome to join; fancy trying?). Once fully loaded, the lorry takes the grapes to the winery. Grapes cannot be picked under 9%abv potential alcohol, and the price awarded for them depends on condition, grape variety, potential alcohol and state of the market at the time of harvest.

VINIFICATION

Traditionally, shippers used to buy unfermented must direct from the growers, who trod the grapes under foot in lagares . Today, Producers buy in grapes rather than must in order to guarantee a better control of the quality of the final product. Transporting the grapes to the winery is subject to arrangements between the growers and the producers. Producers are in charge of delivery costs, but either the grower or the agent will deliver. Sometimes the producer will collect. To limit spoilage, the grapes are taken straight from the vineyard to one or more of the following wineries:

producer Town/City Concelho winemaker Vinicola Madeira Wine Justino’s Caniço Santa Cruz Juan Teixera MWC Funchal Funchal Frascisco Albuquerque H&H Quinta Grande Câmara de Lobos Luís Pereira Barbeito Câmara de Lobos Câmara de Lobos Ricardo de freitas D’Oliveras Funchal Funchal Filipe d’Olivera Borges Funchal Funchal Ivo Couto Faria Funchal Funchal ? Madeira Vintners Funchal Funchal ? Still Light wines Adega VitiVinicola de São Vicente São Vicente São Vicente The Institute’s Winemaker Adega São Vicente was built by The Institute in 1999 and extended in 2005. It holds a capacity of 300,000 litres and is equipped with temperature-controlled 200 to 15,500 litre stainless steel tanks to ferment or store wine, as well as two pneumatic presses (one with a 2.5 tonne capacity, the other with a 9 tonne capacity), a bottling line and a laboratory. A storage room accommodates ageing barrels that belong to each respective producer. The entire winemaking process is usually conducted by the staff of The Institute on behalf of the producer, though on some occasions, it is the winemaker of the producer who will process the wine at The Institute’s facilities. For economical reasons, no wine can be made if less than 2.5 tonnes of white grapes or 3.5 tonnes of red grapes are delivered. The wines are mostly cold-fermented or carbonic-macerated; mostly designed for early drinking. Alternatively, oak chips and staves are as commonly used as barrels. The Minimum alcohol levels are 10.5%abv for white and rosé wines labelled as DOC Madeirense, 11.5%abv for red wines labelled as DOC Madeirense, and 10%abv for all the wines that bear the Vinho Regional Terras Madeirenses appellation. Justino’s also has a grape reception facility in São Vicente, from where grapes are transported into large 1,200kg stainless steel containers down to Caniço. The grapes are refrigerated all the way, which helps keep their integrity of freshness while transported from one coast line to the other, but the norm is to deliver grapes into colour-coded boxes (one colour for each individual producer). Using 50kg boxes reduces the risk of damaging the grapes. As boxes need replacing, Justino’s switches to 25kg boxes for even greater care, if not to avoid penalties when boxes are overfilled. Madeira Vintners has also opted for 25kg boxes. The Grapes are delivered as quickly as possible after they are picked to minimise oxidation and spoilage. Potassium metabisulphite may be sprinkled over the grapes to minimise damage.

Minimum purchase level of grapes: Every year at harvest time, producers must purchase a minimum quantity of grapes, sufficient to make a volume of wine at least equal to 75% of that produced during the previous vintage. On the other hand, exporters must keep a reserve stock of wines called Normal Reserve (RN). This must be equal to half the total volume of export over the 3 years prior to July 31 st . If such exporters hold less RN than required, they must purchase additional grapes to make up for this deficit. But if they hold more RN than required, a reduction in the minimum purchase level of grapes is allowed. The reduction allowed is based on 1/12 of the average wine production over the past three vintages. For every 1/12 above the RN, a reduction of 1% is allowed, up to a maximum 13% reduction.

Grape Reception: Most companies process either their red grapes or their white grapes on one given day, and usually one noble white grape variety at a time. Only MWC is equipped to process both colours at the same time.

Two representatives of The Institute must be present at the winery when the grapes are delivered to make sure that they meet official standards so that the resulting wine qualifies for a certification of origin. In order to meet standards, these grapes must count amongst the recommended or authorised varieties. They must be grown on the island, contain a minimum 9%abv potential alcohol when destined to be made into Madeira wine (10%abv when destined to be made into still light wine), and be in good sanitary condition. Grapes that do not meet these legal requirements are promptly sent back to the grower.

These Institute representatives will record the date of reception on a form bearing their identification number as well as that of the producer, that of the place of reception and that of the grower. Once the grapes are weighed under their supervision, they will write down the quantity of grapes in kilograms, the name of the plot these grapes come from, and their potential alcohol. Any sample sent to the laboratory of The Institute for analysis will have to be recorded as well.

Since 2008, growers must join a Caderno de Vindima to their deliveries. This harvest book bears their personal details, and the size and potential production of the plots that constitute their respective vineyard holding. Each time some of their grapes are delivered to a producer, the name of that producer, as well as the name of the variety and quantity of grapes in kg, regardless of whether they are destined to be made into Madeira wine or still light wine, must be written down into the Caderno de Vindima . By 15 November following the harvest, the grower must declare their production for the year ( Manifesto de Produção ) and the Caderno de Vindima is now the legal document that provides the data.

In return to the Caderno de Vindima , in a rather time-consuming process (unless, like Barbeito , you computerised it), the producer will issue the grower with a receipt stating the quantity and price paid for the grapes that were delivered, a price that will be affected by the varietal type of these grapes.

This cross referencing of information helps The Institute keep a careful record of the Harvest.

Once the two representatives of the Institute have certified that the grapes meet all the legal requirements, these grapes can be triaged and assessed for their sanitary condition. Bad grapes are discarded and lots are selected according to potential alcohol levels worked out with the help of a refractometer then processed separately.

An EU wine processing aid of €50 per tonne of grapes (in 2009), regardless of whether these grapes are destined to be made into Madeira wine or still light wine, can be applied for towards The Institute between 15 th and 31 st January following the harvest.

De-stemming/Crushing: By using a single piece of equipment called a crusher-destemmer, every single producer de-stems their grapes to avoid bitter flavours then crush them gently between rollers so as not to extract bitter oils from the skins and pips. The discarded stems are used for the production of fertilisers. Traditionally, noble varieties are processed separately (as well as the odd lot of Tinta Negra destined to be made by the canteiro process), while all the remaining grapes destined to enter Tinta-Negra blends, black and white, recommended and authorised, are crushed together in one go as some sort of pre-fermentation blending.

Skin Contact/pressing: There is a great deal of individuality in the making of Madeira wines. But generally speaking, most producers use fermentation on the skins for the making of the sweeter styles from Tinta Negra. To achieve a degree of colour extraction, producers like Justino’s or H&H use “pumping over” while MWC uses autovinifiers. Barbeito vinifies 14% of its Tinta Negra in robotic lagares, which look more like the Port Toes used by The Fladgate Partnership than the robotic lagares used by the Symingtons in the Douro, as Ricardo de Freitas claims that, despite the cost of the technique, “it yields fuller- bodied wines that are much darker in colour and more intense in natural aromas”. These Tinta Negra- based blends are fermented then pressed the way red wines are traditionally made.

As for white grape varieties and Tinta Negra-based blends destined for the making of the dryer styles, cold maceration on the skins prior to fermentation is often used to maximise extraction of aromatics and dry extracts. These grapes are then pressed, as gently as possible for red grapes to minimise extraction of colour. The temperature of the grape must is then raised to 20°C to kick-start fermentation. These wines are made the same way as most white wines are “traditionally” made. MWC is the only producer to ferment a white grape variety (Malvasia) on its skins, for Francisco Albuquerque believes that it helps achieve a better extraction and aromatic intensity.

Most producers now use pneumatic presses, though the traditional vertical presses are still used.

Pectolitic enzymes are used by Justino’s , MWC , Barbeito and D’Oliveras , (not by H&H nor by Borges ) for they help extract colour pigments from red grapes and aromatics from white grapes when macerated on their skins. They also facilitate the pressing, clarification and filtration processes. Sulphur, mostly in the form of potassium metabisulphite, is added by every producer before fermentation to stun unwanted yeasts and bacteria.

Fermentation: The Portuguese government and the EU subsidised the modernisation of the winemaking facilities on the island, and round the turn of the century, Justino’s , H&H and Barbeito moved into brand new wineries outside Funchal, the capital city being where virtually all the winemaking processes used to take place in the past. Nowadays, wine if fermented into 2,000 to 55,000 litre temperature-controlled stainless steel vats rather than in the traditional lined concrete vats (still used by MWC ) or even wooden casks (as used by Artur Barros e Sousa Ltd. Or ABSL before it was bought by D’Oliveras ).

Madeira wine producers rely on natural yeasts to ferment the grape must, while cultured yeasts are favoured in the making of still light wines.

Temperatures of Fermentation for each Madeira Wine Producers Producer Red Grapes White Grapes Justino’s 28°C-32°C 16°C-20°C MWC 24°C-25°C 20°C-21°C H&H 30°C Max 25°C Barbeito 20°C-28.5°C 19°C-28.5°C D’Oliveras 20°C-24°C 20°C-24°C Borges 25°C-26°C 25°C-26°C

The fermentation process is temperature-controlled and the density of the fermenting must is checked regularly by using a hydrometer. As the grape must ferments, sugars are gradually converted into alcohol and residual-sugar levels decrease. Fermentation is partial or total (to dryness) depending on the degree of richness the winemaker wishes to achieve: dry, medium dry, medium rich or rich.

Fortification: Depending on the degree of richness winemakers want to achieve, arguadente , a 96%abv grape spirit, is added once the grape must has reached a level of residual sugar predetermined by them. All producers have their own standards of richness within the legal frame:

Standards of Residual Sugar levels for each company (gm/l) Producer Sercial Verdelho/Terrantez/ Bastardo Bual Malmsey/ Moscatel Dry Medium Dry Medium Rich Rich Justino’s ≤ 60 60-80 80-96 ≥96 MWC 30-45 60-80 80-100 110+ (up to 140) H&H 25-49 78 90 109 Barbeito 34-61 61-81 91-100 100-105 D’Oliveras 43 74 94 118 Borges 45-55 65-75 85-95 105-115

The sweeter styles are fortified in the middle of the fermentation process (usually between one to three days after the beginning of the fermentation process, up to five days maximum), while the dryer styles are fermented to total or near dryness then fortified (usually between one or four days after the beginning of the fermentation process, up to eight days maximum). Depending on the level of residual sugar in the must, the corresponding amount of arguadente added is as follow:

Average volume of arguadente added depending on the level of residual sugar Rich Medium Rich Medium Dry Dry 18-20% 14-16% 10-13% 8-11% The resulting wine will contain between 17% and 18%abv. It is the arguadente that is the main source of alcohol in a Madeira wine, not fermentation. The producer is free to purchase grape spirit from any supplier (mostly France, Spain or Portugal), but The Institute must be notified and be provided with samples for testing before authorisation is granted to use it.

The colour intensity of the fortified wine might need to be adjusted by the addition of darker press wine. Its sweetness level (especially in the case of Verdelhos) might also nee adjusting. Traditionally, either Vinho Surdo , an intensely sweet mistela fortified to 20%abv, or alternatively Abafado , more like a Vin Doux Naturel for it is partially fermented and therefore not as sweet, were used as sweeteners, but nowadays, RCGM is the sweetener of choice. Rectified Concentrate Grape Must needs to be tested and approved by The Institute before use and no more than 0.05% can be added to correct the richness level of a Madeira wine.

Clarification: Before aging, the wine is clarified or fined. Bentonite is the most common fining agent used, sometime in combination with gelatine. The wine might then be filtered by using two types of kieselguhr filters: either the rotary vacuum filter or the vertical filter.

Heating Process: The most individual part of the Madeira winemaking process is the heating process the wine is subjected to. This heating process replicates the effects of long sea voyages across the tropics in the ballasts of trading ships which made Vinhos da Roda or Round Trip wine famous between the second half of the 17 th century and the early 1900s. The process takes two forms, one artificial, in the shape of the speedy estufagem process , as direct heat is applied to the wine in 20,000 to 100,000 litre stainless steel tanks called estufa thanks, the other natural, in the shape of the long and gentle canteiro process , as casks are placed in the hot environment of the winery lofts. As a rule of thumb, the longer and the milder the heating process, the finer the resulting wine. After fortification and clarification, the wine will be separated into batches or lotes then undergo the first stage of its ageing process, either by the estufagem process or by the Canteiro process .

Estufagem process: Mainly Tinta Negra-based blends destined to be sold as 3 or 5 year old wines undergo the estufagem process . Estufa tanks are never filled to full capacity, to aid oxidation and make sure that there is enough room for the wine to expand when heated. A representative of The Institute will then seal the tank so that nothing can be added nor removed over the minimum legal period of 90 days the process necessitates.

Over that minimum period of three months, water heated to 40-50°C will run through serpentines dipped straight into the wine and heat it up. Legally speaking, temperatures in the tank must never exceed 50°C. The heating process is constant. Only Justino’s and MWC have opted for a more oxidative cyclic process, heating up then cooling down the wine, in turn, one week at a time.

Justino’s has invested into state-of-the-art estufa tanks with an external heating jacket and a pumping over system. This pumping over system further oxidises the wine (thoroughly though gently) and creates a constant flow that prevents the development of burnt flavours resulting from excess caramelisation of the wine along the hot internal surface of the tank. To prevent such burnt flavours from occurring around the serpentines, H&H has opted for estufa tanks fitted with paddles, while D’Oliveras simply heats up the wine to lower temperatures but for longer. Company Type of Heat Applied Heating Temperatures Length of Estufagem Justino’s cyclic 45-50°C 3 months MWC cyclic 40-45°C 3 months H&H constant 45°C 3 months Barbeito constant 50°C 3 months D’Oliveras constant 45°C 6 months Borges constant 35-45°C 3 months

Random inspections are carried out by members of The Institute to check temperatures and wheter seals have been tempered with. Once the estufagem process is complete, representatives of The Institute will remove each seal. Samples will be taken before and after the process by them. After the seal is removed, the wine is allowed to cool down over a period called estágio . The estágio can take three to four months. The wine will then be clarified and filtered again then left to rest for between six months and a year, for wines made by the estufagem process may not be bottled and sold before 31 st October of the second year following the harvest.

Canteiro Process: All wines from noble white grape varieties, as well as some rarer examples of Tinta-Negra varietal wines, are made by the canteiro process. Instead of being heated in tanks, wines made by that process are racked into casks then subjected for two years or so to the naturally hot environment of winery lofts. The casks are secured onto supporting beams called canteiros, hence the name of the process. Each cask can hold 300, 350, 500 or 650 litres, although they may be as large as 2,500 litres. Heated by direct sunshine, the lofts can reach temperatures ranging between 25°C and 40°C. For the making of the most basic wines, that heat can be enhanced by the proximity of the estufa tanks, as at MWC and H&H . Justino’s is thinking of installing solar panels to increase the temperature in its lodges. The humidity in the lofts can be quite high too, ranging between 70 and 90%, which does not prevent evaporation from occurring. The loss, in terms of volume of wine (or water mainly), ranges between 4% and 7% depending on conditions. After two years of that treatment, the casks are gradually moved to cooler corners of the lodges so as to minimise evaporation and gradually slow-down the oxidation process. Vinho Canteiro (wine made by the canteiro process ) may not be sold before at least three years have elapse from 1 st January of the year following the harvest.

Ageing: After having been subjected to a heating process, either in estufa tanks or casks, the wines can be finished then bottled for immediate consumption, providing that they have undergone the minimum legal maturation time required for their respective types: blends or Varietal wines.

The great majority of Madeira wines are sold before they reach three years of age hence the EU has come up with a cash incentive to help producers age their wines for longer before bottling: the EU POSEIMA grant. Producers must apply for the EU wine aging aid towards The Institute between 15 th and 31 st January following the harvest. Wines with ageing potential, made by either heating processes, estufagem or canteiro , are racked into casks ranging from 250 to 2,800 litres, or alternatively into stainless steel tanks. Having been granted the POSEIMA grant, producers will see a representative of The Institute come along, seal every container and attach a certificate to it. From that time onwards, the wine will have to be aged in that sealed container for a minimum of 5 years. During that 5 year period, producers may carry out processes to maintain the quality of the wine, as long as it does not impact on the volume of wine in terms of quantity. A representative will remove the seals then supervise the process, before resealing the container again. In 2010, €0.05 per day of ageing for every hectolitre (€91.25 per 500 litre cask per year) was given in return. After 5 years, a representative of The Institute removes the seals. The wines are checked and any necessary adjustment made. If the winemaker decides that some of the wines have a potential for further ageing, the POSEIMA process can be repeated for another five years.

The length of time a wine spends in cask is a matter of wine quality, style and market demand. A wine proves out to be good over time rather than from the start, which means that the evolution of the wine needs to be monitored constantly. At least one thorough and detailed annual check must be conducted in November (a time consuming task, especially for large producers). Necessary adjustments are made in the process: high alcohol is brought down to a level of around 22%abv by adding less alcoholic examples from the same vintage and the same variety; sweetness levels are increased by adding up to 0.05% RCGM tested and approved by The Institute; undesirable flavours can be removed by using carbon filters...

Blending/ Bottling: Most Madeira wines on the market are blends of different varieties and/or wines from different vintage years. Blending is therefore one of the most important aspects of the Madeira winemaking process. Each company keeps a stock book. On the occasion of the regular checks and adjustments conducted over the year, winemakers will record tasting notes for every single cask in their lodges. Strong of that knowledge, they select which casks are most suitable to be blended together so as to maintain the house style. Sometimes, they are inspired to invent new house blends or they isolate outstanding examples to be bottled as single cask Madeira wines.

Whatever the winemaker’s intention, samples need to be submitted to the company’s tasting panel. Once the panel has settled for blend, the required quantity is eventually blended together in a wine known as base wine . The colour, alcohol, richness or complexity of the base wine might need adjusting. A sample of the base wine is adjusted then submitted to the panel once again for approval. When approved, the adjustments are made to the entire base wine. Samples of the resulting wine are then sent to The Institute for approval while the wine is left to marry in tanks.

The Institute will have these samples chemically assayed and tested by their laboratory. They will extract data for each sample: - Percentage of alcohol per volume - Volatile acidity - Total acidity - PH - Residual sugar - Density - Total dry extract - 3.5 diglucoside of malvidine (a test that can detect any trace of hybrids).

If the samples meet the criteria for their respective styles, they will be then passed onto The Institute tasting panel for organoleptic assessment. The Institute tasting panel must count at least three members, up to five maximum. To make it onto the panel, despite being an experienced taster issued from either The Institute or the Madeiran wine industry, every applicant must undergo a special training program. The wines are tasted in partially specified tastings. The only pieces of information given to the tasters are the age and richness level of each wine. Every wine will be marked according to standards attached to its given category (see details for each category in the next chapter describing each type of Madeira wine). If a sample is rejected, the producer can request a retest, the result of which is final. Generally, producers will make adjustments to the wine then resubmit samples. Once a wine meets The Institute’s standards for its given category, a certificate of conformity is issued, from which time the producer can fine and/or filter the wine and, if younger than 5 years old, cold stabilised it, then bottle it. All companies have their own bottling lines (ABSL was the last company to bottle by hand).

The wine must be bottled within six months from certification or be retested. If that certification procedure usually takes place before bottling, it is not illegal to have the wine sampled after bottling. But needless to say that no one takes the chance, for, should issues with the wine arise, they would have to be dealt with at a cost of time and money; every bottle would have to be emptied and the certification procedure followed again from the start.

An individual numbered seal, or Selo de Garantia, will be issued by The Institute for each bottle. Seals can be purchased in advance by the producer and the numbers recorded in a special account at The Institute. After bottling, The Institute will check the conformity of the seals and make sure that the labels meet EU standards. Once the packaging is approved, the wine can be commercialised.

Prior to commercialisation, the producer must complete a final form called RCVM ( Request for Certification of the Madeira Wine ), so that permission can be granted to ship wines either to the domestic market (Portuguese mainland or Azores) or to the International market (EU or rest of the world). This form must state the name of the importer, the quantity (number of bottles and respective size of each bottle) and value of the purchase, plus some extra quality and labelling details. Since these wines are to be exported outside the Archipelago of Madeira, they will require a certificate of origin issued by The Institute, as well as an AAD, a customs document certified by The Institute.

An EU Madeira wine marketing aid is available to producers who sell their wines outside the Archipelago of Madeira, but within the EU. In 2009, the value of that aid was 10% of the value of the wine, plus 10% of the cost of transport to the first port or airport of the country of destination.

When wines are to be sold in the regional market, the producer must complete a form entitled Bottling Madeira Wine for the Regional Market . In return, a customs document of release for consumption (DIC) will be issued after excise duty is paid (IEC).

The institute keeps details at every stage of production and commercialisation of a Madeira wine, from the time when the grapes are harvested to the time when the wine is vinified, stored and eventually sold. A special account is kept for every producer, in which every category of wine has got its individual entry. A monthly report must be completed by each and every producer, which gives details of all stock movements over the previous months.

Madeira counts therefore amongst the most tightly regulated and controlled wines in the world. Types of Madeira Wines

SALES OF MADEIRA WINE IN HECTOLITRES Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Average Bulk 767 768 1,091 832 859 909 871 25.5% Bottled 2,631 2,589 2,687 2,583 2,414 2,369 2,546 74.5% Total 3,398 3,357 3,777 3,415 3,273 3,278 3,417 100 %

More often than not, in order to make sense of the average 3.4 million litres of Madeira wine sold every year, the label will help you identify the style in which the wine is made. Every specific style of Madeira wine will answer each and every single one of the following questions:

A- Is the wine a mono-varietal wine or a blend of different grape varieties? B- Is the wine made by the estufagem process or by the canteiro process? C- To which degree of richness is the wine made? D- Is the wine the product of one single vintage year or a blend of several vintages?

A- The wine is either mono-varietal or a blend of different varieties: When it comes to Madeira wine, the grape varieties from which it is made are easy to identify, for Madeira wine is traditionally made into two distinct styles: either as a mono-varietal wine or as a blend of varieties. When a wine is made from 100% of one single noble white grape variety, the label will always bear the name of that grape variety: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual or Malvasia (most commonly), but also Terrantez (to a lesser extent), and even Bastardo or Moscatel (very marginally. Indeed, prior to D’Oliveras acquiring the company in 2013, only ABSL was still producing 10 year old wines out of very small quantities of Bastardo, a black grape variety, and Moscatel). If the label does not bear the name of a grape variety, one can assume that the wine is a blend of any of the recommended and authorised wine grape varieties, black and/or white. Most certainly, the blend will be dominated to such an extent by the ubiquitous Tinta Negra black grape variety that there is no hesitation in saying that blends are Tinta Negra-based wines. Shortcuts are taken and blends are often referred to as Tinta Negra Madeira in the trade. Overwhelmingly, with 93.5% of the market, blends of grape varieties form the bulk of the Madeira wines sold every year:

Varietal type Blend Malvasia Bual Sercial Verdelho Terrantez Bastardo Total Volume of sales in hl* 3,200 90 56 40 29.77 1.21 0.02 3,417 percentage of sales 93.65% 2.63% 1.64% 1.17% 0.87% 0.03% 0.01% 100% *the figures are an average worked out from data collected between 2005 and 2010

Variety Vs Quality: Prior to Portugal joining the EU in 1986 then getting in line with EU regulations, a cask of sweet Madeira wine, for instance, regardless of what grape varieties the wine was made from, would be branded as Malmsey rather than Sweet Madeira , even at vintage level. Wines bottled before that practice was made illegal in 1993 can therefore not offer the consumer the guaranty that they are what it says on the tin. Interestingly, it has been popular practice for some shippers and wine writers to downplay the quality of the wines made from Tinta Negra, and some Madeira wine Connoisseurs would dismiss blends while praising old frasqueiras (Vintage wines), blissfully unaware that frasqueiras made prior to 1993 might well have been made from Tinta Negra in part, if not from American grape varieties or hybrids, as direct producers were only made illegal for the making of Madeira wine in 1979. Consumers should be grateful for the flow of EU subsidies that enticed growers to uproot American vines and hybrids and replace them with grafted Vitis vinifera varieties instead. If Tinta Negra seems to have taken over the vineyards, one cannot but admit that quality wines are made from the infamous black grape, from entry level to colheita and extra reserve levels. D’Oliveras actually wan a gold medal for its 15 Year Old Sweet Madeira , a Tinta Negra-based wine made by the estufagem process, and H&H produces a varietal colheita wine from 100% Tinta Negra by the canteiro process and bottles it in excess of 10 years of age. The latter, as exemplified by a wine I tasted, H&H Medium Rich Single Harvest 1998 , does not indicate the name of the single black grape variety despite being a varietal wine. Indeed, only the name of noble white grape varieties can legally appear on labels and Tinta Negra isn’t one of them.

At the end of the day, the truth of the pudding is in the eating, and it is in the glass that the quality of a Madeira wine lies. Is the wine good? That is what matters. Trust me when I say that both the wines mentioned above are fine!

Blends of Noble White Grape Varieties: The only exceptions to the varietal rule are some innovative blends of noble white grape varieties. These blends were launched in the past decade in modern-looking packaging as an attempt to rejuvenate the image of Madeira wines on the global market:

Blandy’s Alvada 5 Year Old Rich Madeira (50% Bual / 50% Malmsey) Barbeito, VB Reserva (a clever acronym playing on both “Vinhos Barbeito” and “Verdelho / Boal”, the actual medium-dry blend) Borges Prime Collection (a full range of 5 to 20 year old age-dated 50% Boal / 50% Malmsey blends)

Alvada VB Prime

B- The wine is made by the estufagem or the canteiro process: Of all the questions asked at the beginning of this chapter, this is the only one the label will not answer. One has to be familiar with the winemaking standards of every single one of the 8 producers in existence today.

In the 17 th century, one of the main markets for Madeira wine was the Indies. This trade route was to shape the profile of Madeira wines as we know them today, for it gave birth to a style that both processes emulate: Vinho da Roda or Round Trip Wine . Vinho da Roda , also known as Vinho Torna Viagem or Vinho da Volta , was named that way for the simple reason that it was sent to the Indies, but, instead of being traded for local goods over there, it would be returned to the European market to be sold. Why? On the rare occasions when wine had been brought back from the Indies before, it was discovered that, while crossing the tropics, the high temperatures within the hull of the trading ship had accelerated the ageing process. By oxidising the wine and caramelising the sugars, the sea voyage had greatly enhanced the quality and complexity of the wine. The resulting gems quickly gained unprecedented fame in Europe, where they would sell at a premium and count amongst the most expensive wines on the market. It eventually made sense to purposely send barrels to the Indies, thereby subjecting them to the natural heating process to enhance their quality, add value then get a greater return back onto the European target market. That is how the style came into being.

From the mid 18th century, with the knowledge that heat greatly improved Madeira wines, both in terms of quality and value, producers started experimenting with new heating processes, but in the comfort of the winery on the island. Producers would apply direct heat to the wine or circulate water steam into serpentines of copper dipped straight into the wine. The process, still practiced today, is known as estufagem. This quick way of reproducing the Vinho da Roda style was so economical that it marked the beginning of the decline of winemaking by sea voyage. Wines from Shortridge Lawton , a company that went out of business in 1988, are very much thought after whenever they appear in auctions, for they were the last true Round Trip Wines made on a commercial scale. Put aside some failed attempts of revival in the 1960s and 70s, the style eventually died away in the early 1900s.

Wine made by the estufagem process is nothing as fine as Vinho da Roda . It soon appeared that the longer and gentler the heating process, the finer the resulting wine. Slowly maturing wine in cask in the gentle, natural heat of the winery lofts soon became the alternative way to achieve finesse. The process, known as canteiro process, is a lengthy one, but once again, contrary to Round Trip Wines , Canteiro Wines are made in the safety and comfort of the winery itself, which makes up for the inconvenience.

Nowadays, Madeira wines made in accordance to appellation regulations must undergo either the estufagem process or the canteiro process.

Estufagem: The process applies to Tinta Negra-based blends exclusively. These wines are placed into stainless steel tanks called estufas in which they are heated via a serpentine system. Water heated to between 40 and 50°C maximum runs through the copper coils for a period of never less than three months. Justino’s believes that, thanks to the performance of its state-of-the-art estufa tanks, it can produce fine wines to any level of quality, so much so that it uses the estufagem process to make blends up to old reserve and single harvest levels. In that sense, Justino’s has been breaking with tradition, for the estufagem process is not used beyond reserve level by any other producer but D’Oliveras. With award-winning results, D’Oliveras opted for a constant application of heat at gentler temperatures over a longer period of 6 months. Since the process has proven to achieve finer results, the company has been able to use estufa tanks up to extra reserve level. Once the wine has been subjected to the estufagem process, it is left to cool down and rest over a period of 90 days. This stage is called estágio . Estágio allows the wine to settle and gain a stable character, thereby enabling the oenologist to assess it properly. The oenologist will decide to either keep the wine in stainless steel tanks for early release or rack the finer examples into casks for maturation over a longer period of time. Wine for early release, for it may never be commercialised before the 31 st October of the second year following harvest, should be called current , not 3 year old wine as often in the trade. Prior to bottling, this style is finished (fined, racked, filtered, blended, adjusted for colour and richness then cold stabilised) and filtered.

Such wine, when worthy of further ageing, will undergo maturation wood so as to take on the finer characteristics of more premium categories, traditionally up to extra reserve and single harvest levels. MWC chose to place the casks of their most basic brand, Miles , right above the estufa tanks in order to accelerate the maturation process. This way, the company can commercialise their wines as early as possible, thereby minimising cost, but at a premium, thereby maximising return. H&H also places casks in direct contact to the estufa tanks for the exact same reason. It is in the interest of every company to get a return sooner rather than later. In order to promote quality and entice producers to age their wines for longer, an EU cash incentive had to be put into place: POSEIMA. Thanks to the POSEIMA grant, 5 year old blends now form the strongest category of premium wines on the market.

Canteiro: The wines that are selected to age by the Canteiro process, whether they are varietal wines or blends, never undergo the estufagem process but start their lives in cask from the start. The casks are kept in the lofts of the winery, where temperatures are naturally high. They remain there for a period of two years before being gradually moved to cooler recesses of the cellar to prevent excessive evaporation. This heating process is slow but efficient enough to give Madeira its unique character with time. Since this natural process is gentler than the artificial estufagem process, the length of time it necessitates is rewarded by finer results. Vinho Canteiro displays a more intense and complex aromatic character than wine made by the estufagem process indeed, for the longer and gentler the heating process the finer the resulting wine. Some say that three months in an estufa tank equals 5 years in cask. Canteiro wines may only be commercialised once at least three years have elapsed, counting from 1st January of the year that follows harvest.

I have not come across statistic data that could tell me what proportion of wine is aged by either heating processes, but I would be amazed if as much as 5% of all Madeira wines were made by the canteiro process.

Is there such a thing as a good vintage year in Madeira? I often asked myself the question: what are the criteria of selection that dictate the choice of one heating process over the other? In Madeira, no one speculates on the quality of a vintage in its early days the way the trade does for Bordeaux wines during an en primeur campaign . The decision to mature a canteiro wine into a frasqueira, the ultimate vintage wine, never comes before that wine is at least 10 years old. Only then will the winemaker be able to assess the wine’s real potential for ageing. Not every wine aged by the canteiro process proves good enough to become a frasqueira, and wines that suddenly show signs of getting tired are often bottled early as single harvest wines or even blended into young age-dated wines so as to contribute their depth of character to the freshness of younger wines. Rare are the wines which are aged by the canteiro process, so why would they show early signs of weakness necessitating blending? Plantings of noble white grape varieties have become so scarce since the phylloxera crisis that every wine made from such varieties is systematically aged by the canteiro process, whether the grapes were grown in a good or a lesser vintage, regardless. Canteiro wines are exceptionally made from the Tinta Negra grape variety, such as, for instance, single harvest wines by H&H and Barbeito or old reserve wines by Faria . The only reason why producers choose to age Tinta Negra wines by the Canteiro process is that they get EU grants in return... Not exactly the most glamorous of reasons! If a canteiro wine shows signs of weakness, it is simply because it is not the best of the crop, for one can safely say that the criterion of selection for maturating wine by the canteiro process is not the quality of the vintage but that of the grape variety alone.

C- The wine is made to one out of five degrees of richness. Madeira wines are made in a variety of styles in terms of degree of richness. Either the wine is fermented to dryness then fortified or fortified in the middle of the fermentation process so as to preserve a level of residual sugars. while Tinta Negra is a versatile grape variety that can be made to any degree of richness, every noble grape variety is always made to one specific degree of richness: Sercial is dry, Verdelho, Terrantez and Bastardo are medium dry, Boal is medium sweet, and Moscatel and Malvasia are sweet. This is why the degree of richness is often not mentioned when the name of a grape variety appears on the label. Since the Tinta Negra name never appears on the label of varietal of blended wines, a Tinta Negra blend will be labelled as extra-dry, dry, medium-dry, medium-rich or rich according to its level of residual sugar.

Wine Type Bulk Density (g/ml) Baumé Residual Sugars (g/l) Extra Seco/Extra Dry BD ≤ 1.0029 B° ≤ 0.5° RS ≤ 49.1

Seco/Dry or BD ≤1.0070 B° ≤ 1.5° RS ≤ 64.8 Sercial Meio Seco/Medium Dry or Rainwater* 1.0070 < BD ≤ 1.0150 1° < B° ≤ 2.5° 64.8 < RS ≤ 80.4 Verdelho/Terrantez/Bastardo

Meio Doce/Medium Rich or 1.0150 < BD ≤ 1,0240 2.5° < B° ≤ 3.5° 80.4 < RS ≤ 96.1 Boal/Bual

Doce/Rich or 1.0240 < BD 3.5° < B° 96.1 < RS Malvasia/Malmsey

Rainwater*: Rainwater is a light style of Madeira wine. It always takes the shape of a Tinta Negra blend aged by the estufagem process to a medium dry degree of richness. It can be released with a maximum indication of age of 5 years. MWC, H&H and Borges release Rainwater at 3 years of age. Only Barbeito releases Rainwater at 5 years of age. The story goes that, in the early days, some Madeira wines happened to get diluted by rain during shipment to the United States of America hence the name. Rainwater is still made but in small quantities. The wine is exclusively destined to the American market, where it is appreciated, served chilled as an aperitif. The law is actually rather vague as to what makes the style. One piece of regulation states that rainwater must display a medium gold colour. This would imply that, when dealing with Madeira wines, colour is an indication of style, but is it? SALES OF MADEIRA WINE PER DEGREE OF RICHNESS (Average in hectolitres over the 2005-2010 period) blend Varietal total Dry 425 12.44% Sercial 40 1.17% 465 13.94% Medium dry 953 27.89% Verdelho 29.77 31 0.87% 0.91% 984 28.80% Terrantez 1.21 0.03% Bastardo 0.02 0.01% Medium 655 19.17% Bual 56 1.64% 711 20.81% Rich Rich 1,167 34.15% Malmsey 90 2.63% 1,257 36.78% Total blend 3,200 93.65% Total varietal 217 6.35% 3,417 100 %

Is colour an indication of style? Madeira wines range from pale gold to deep brown in colour. One often assumes that the darker the colour, the richer the style. It is true that, when it comes to blends, the bulk of production, drier styles are made by fermenting the juice off the skins the way white wine and Blanc-de-Noirs are made to minimise colour extraction, whereas the sweeter styles are fermented on the skins the way red wine is made to maximise colour extraction. This results in a basic colour graduation that is then refined across the range by adding darker press wines or caramel to medium dry and rich styles, while dry and medium rich styles are not colour-adjusted. Barbeito is famous for not using caramel, but colour-graduation is achieved by using deep-coloured wines macerated into very extractive robotic lagares as a colour-adjusting agent instead. Achieving maximum colour contrast across the range is paramount for Justino’s , for the company devised estufa tanks that count amongst the most oxidative of all on the market. Oxidation darkens light-coloured wines and bleaches dark-coloured wines. Since Madeira wines are so heavily processed, the impact of oxidation can result in even colour across the range at bottling if the colour graduation is not marked enough at the beginning of the maturation process.

When it comes to Canteiro wines, MWC ferments some Malmsey on its skins. That process has but a relative impact on colour and is the exception rather than the rule amongst producers. Only adjustments with caramel can create some degree of colour graduation across the range. Since it does not use caramel, one can objectively observe how extended maturation in cask impacts on the colour of the varietal wines produced by Barbeito . With age, those which started their lives with a deep hue will lighten up in colour, while those which started their lives with a light hue will deepen in colour, both reaching a medium to deep amber colour with a green tinge when bottled very old.

Being deliberately oxidised, Madeira is a symphony in brown. Colour graduation in Madeira wines is not a natural phenomenon but the result of adjustments. The colour of a Madeira wine is relative depending on whether the wine is a blend or a varietal wine and whether the wine is young or old. Consequently, one could argue that colour isn’t an indication of style in Madeira wines.

D- The wine is the product of one single vintage or a blend of several: The same way as it can be either a blend of varieties or a mono-varietal wine, Madeira can be made either as a blend of vintages labelled with an indication of age or as a single vintage wine labelled with the vintage year date. As far as vintage is concerned, each type of Madeira wine enters one of the following categories :

AGE-DATED MADEIRA WINE (99% of the total volume of sales): Entry Level Madeira wine cannot be sold before the 31 st of October of the second year following the harvest when made by the estufagem process and less than three years counting from the 1 st of January following the harvest when made by the canteiro process. The bulk of Madeira wines sold on the market is formed of Tinta Negra blends of different years by the estufagem process. These blends are known as Modified when sold in bulk to the food industry or as Current when island-bottled at around three years of age for direct consumption. Selling Madeira wines in bulk was actually banned in 2002. In order to be sold to the food industry, Madeira needs to be exported in 25,000 litre containers once modified. By “modified” one means that 10 grams of salt per litre and, unless requested otherwise, pepper are added to the wine before shipment. Small quantities of non-modified wines may be sold to the confectionary industry in 220 litre containers, as long as each container bears a certificate that prohibits the bottling and commercialisation of the wine. Most producers have stopped selling modified wines to concentrate on the production of island- bottled Madeira wine. Nowadays, modified wines can only be sourced from Justino’s and H&H .

When island-bottled, even though entry-level blends are referred to as 3 Year Old Madeira Wines in the trade, the label cannot bear an indication of age, for blends of vintages can indeed legally be bottled before they are 3 years of age, hence it is as Current that they are referred to by The Institute. The label of such wines only shows the denomination of origin Madeira alongside the degree of richness, plus a brand name sometimes, as for instance Blandy’s Duke of Clarence Full Rich Madeira , the most widely available “3 year old wine” on the UK market. Such mentions as Fine , Finest or Choice are meaningless and only printed to detract from the fact that one is dealing with an entry level wine. On the other hand, the mention “Selected/ Seleccionado ” has a legal meaning. The creation of that category allowed producers to indicate that their wines are true 3 Year Old wines, having been aged in cask for a minimum of 3 years. Every producer on the market produces island-bottled entry level wines, for it is the mainstay of the industry, counting for 63% of the production.

Bulk Bulk Current Types of entry level wines (non-modified) (modified) 3 years old

Volume of sales* 88.49% 5.88% 19.61% 63.04% *the figures are an average worked out from data collected between 2005 and 2010

Madeira needs to be at least 5 years of age to bear an indication of age on the label. An indication of age, legally “5, 10, 15, 20, 30, or more than 40 years old”, indicates the average age of the blend, not the minimum age of the younger component in the blend. When a blend is ready for bottling, the producer will contact The Institute. The latter will collect a sample of the blend and have it analysed by its laboratory and tasted by its official tasting panel. This panel will decide if the blend fits the organoleptic requirements of the age-category applied for. In other words, the wines needs to tastes like a standard wine of this age in order to be certified. Once the sample is approved, the blend must be bottled within six months, each bottle bearing a “Selo de Garantia”, an individually numbered paper strip issued by The Institute that works as a seal. The paper strip covers the cork and is held together along the neck of the bottle by the foil. Any wine that is not bottled after six months will have to be submitted to The Institute for approval again. AGE-DATED MADEIRA IN THE RESERVE RANGE: 5, 10 and 15 year old Madeira wines, which represent a bit more than 10% of the volume of sales, form the backbone of the premium age-dated category. Routinely produced by every producer in the industry, these age-dated wines come in a range known as reserve range . The range breaks down as follow: - straight reserve or reserva for 5 year old Madeira - old reserve or reserve velha for 10 year old Madeira - extra reserve or reserve extra for 15 year old Madeira

Special Reserve or reserve especial is a legally defined mention that allows producers to promote old reserve s once approved as being of distinctive quality by The Institute.

Varietal wines in the reserve range, like all varietal wines, are made by the Canteiro process. As for Tinta-Negra blends, every 5 year old reserve is made by the estufagem process to the exception of the wines made by Barbeito. Then, 10 year old old reserve and 15 year old extra reserve wines are mostly made by the canteiro process. Breaking with tradition, Justino’s and D’Oliveras , since they are confident that the process can yield fine wines, produce all their reserve , old reserve and extra reserve Tinta Negra blends by the estufagem process.

Producers: Justino’s MWC H&H Barbeito D’Oliveras Borges Faria Wine Type:

E = Estufagem C = Canteiro Blend Varietal Blend Varietal Blend Varietal Blend Varietal Blend Varietal Blend Varietal Blend Varietal 5 Year Old “Reserve” E - Miles C E C C E - E C E - 10 Year Old “Old Reserve” E C - C - C - C E - - C - C 15 Year Old “Extra Reserve” - - - C - C - - E - - C - -

SPECIAL AGE-DATED MADEIRA WINES: 20, 30 and 40+ year old Madeira wines are not significant in terms of volume of production. This portion of the age-dated category only represents 0.03% of sales indeed. This category is just an outlet for outstanding quality wines made by the canteiro process. Their release serves a specific purpose: - Turning lots of varietal wines that are too small to sell as frasqueiras into marketable lots. - Promoting the house brand with a special reserve wine. - Marking historical moments with commemorative blends.

20 Year Old wines are only produced when a variety has not yielded enough stock in a given vintage to be released as a frasqueira. The small lots of outstanding old vintages of varietal wines can only become commercially viable as 20 year old varietal blends. For instance, Blandy’s and H&H offer a 20 year old Terrantez, Barbeito a Malvasia and Borges a Verdelho.

30 year old Madeira & 40+ year old Madeira are one-off wines. They sometimes showcase rare lots such as The Heavenly Quartet by H&H or The Signature Wines by Barbeito . More specifically, such very old age-dated wines are released as commemorative blends, as for instance H.M. Borges Malmsey 40 Year Old Madeira for the 500 th anniversary of Funchal as a city or The Centennial blend , a blend of wines made from all four noble white grape varieties in every decade in the 20 th century and released by MWC as a limited edition for the new Millennium Celebration. VINTAGE-DATE MADEIRA WINE (1% of the total volume of sales):

Vintage-dated Madeira wines are divided into three categories:

- Single Harvest - Vintage Reserve or Frasqueira - Solera

The catefory only represents 1% of the total volume of sales of Madeira wines on the market. Single harvest wines take 2/3 of that market and proper Vintage Madeira wines the remaining 1/3 (separate data for the two sub-categories of vintage-dated wines have only been available since 2008). Solera wines are not significant enough to even be counted. More than 80% of all vintage- dated Madeira wines are made in a rich or medium rich style. The three categories of Vintage- dated wines can be described as follow:

Colheita or Single Harvest : Colheita means Harvest in Portuguese, and indeed, it is a category of “Single Harvest” wines hence the vintage date on the label. These wines of good quality can be made either by the estufagem process or by the canteiro process, from Tinta Negra or from one of the noble white grape varieties. The only legal requirement is that they must be aged for a minimum of 5 years prior to bottling.

The first single harvest Madeira wine ever made , Blandy’s Malmsey 1994 Harvest , was launched in 2000. This was a revolutionary vintage wine released young and at an affordable price. Made by the Canteiro process, the wine remained for between 6 and 8 years in oak cask in the company’s lodges in Funchal before bottling. It displays the concentration and complexity of a 5 year old blend. Since then, many other Madeira wine producers have followed the lead of MWC by introducing younger vintage wines, thus creating this important new category of premium Madeira wines.

Blandy’s Harvest wines were followed by the Cossart Gordon Colheitas. The latter are wines carefully selected amongst the many varietal wines stored in the lodges of the company, each one with a minimum age of 10 to 18 years (far older than legally required for the category). These wines are better understood as proper “baby Vintage” wines. Similar in character to 10 year old wines, they have considerable complexity and concentration.

In 2009, the Madeira Wine Company expanded the concept of longer-aged colheita wines to their flagship brand. Blandy’s Colheita wines are aged in cask for 10 to 19 years. Only the premium brands within the company, Blandy’s and Cossart Gordon, produce both Harvest and Colheita wines.

The MWC is the only shipper to have come up with a two-tear category for their single harvest wines, “Harvest” wines being the younger, simpler wines, very much in the style of a 5 year old age-dated wine, and “Colheita” wines being the older, more complex and premium “baby vintage” wines, very much in the style of a 10 year old Age-Dated wine. The distinction is not official and the marketing tool might just prove too difficult to grasp and rather confusing to consumers... time will tell. H&H releases single-harvest wines that are in the spirit of either of these subcategories designed by MWC . Barbeito and Borges bottle their examples when they are just under 10 years of age like a MWC Harvest Wine, whereas Justino’s and D’Oliveras never bottle their single harvest wines younger than 10 years of age, like a MWC Colheita.

Justino’s makes Tinta Negra-based single harvest wines by the estufagem process and varietal examples by the canteiro process. D’Oliveras and MWC only produce single harvest wines from noble grape varieties by the canteiro process. In contrast, H&H , Barbeito and Borges release single harvest wines made by the canteiro process regardless of whether they are made from Tinta Negra or one of the noble white grape varieties. H&H seems to like turning things upside down as it releases a Bual at the minimum age requirement of 5 years on the one hand (H&H Single Harvest Bual 2000) and a 100% Tinta Negra wine made by the canteiro process and bottled in excess of 10 years of age on the other hand (H&H single Harvest Medium Rich Madeira 1998).

Single Cask Madeira: This is a form of single harvest wine. The concept of releasing one or two selected casks as a single harvest wine was developed by Ricardo de Freitas of Barbeito . This way, the best of the vintage does not get diluted into an age-dated blend, and since the company’s stock of frasqueiras is limited, it is also a way to offer a vintage-dated wine that can justify a premium price tag. The wine cannot compare with a frasqueira but stands out from the rest of the single harvest wines on the market well-enough for that.

Frasqueira or Garrafeira or Reserva or Vintage Reserve : This category of wines of outstanding quality is always made from 100% of one single noble white grape variety by the canteiro process. The minimum ageing requirement is 20 years in small cask, plus 2 years in the bottle. Most producers, since the age their frasqueiras in cask well in excess of 22 years, often skip bottle ageing all together. This makes frasqeira one of the very few wines in the world to come of age too late to give to a godchild on their 21 st birthday at baptism. As it ages, the wine partially evaporates, concentrating aromas and flavours. The ageing conditions see water evaporate more than alcohol hence the wine gains as much in strength as in complexity with time. In order to keep the wines stable and prevent excess evaporation, Barbeito, for instance, decants its frasqueiras in 20 litre carboys, the so-called garrafoes, whereas Justino’s and D’Oliveras prefer to rack their frasqueiras into very large casks that will allow the wines to evolve until they are bottled on demand. Frasqueiras have an incredible longevity and can age for more than a century in some cases. By law, 85% of the wines used in the blend must be of the vintage shown on the label, but producers take no chance and 100% of the blend is made of wines from the mentioned vintage. Producers actually get annoyed when this piece of regulation is mentioned, for it relates to practices that were common place before Portugal joined the EU in 1986 and complied with EU regulations. Only the very young Faria and Madeira Vintners produce no frasqueira yet, needless to say. Who produced a producer’s Frasqueiras in the first place? Nowadays, the Madeira wine market is so consolidated that nearly every grape grown on the island is made into Madeira wine by one of the 8 producers still in existence. Every producer will then age its own wines in its own lodges until they are commercialised under its own brand name. But does it mean that the old frasqueiras that are presently sold on the market were made by the company who sells them? The truth is that most of these stocks of vintage wines are the result of inheritance and/or acquisition through mergers or from companies gone out of business in the dark days of the industry. Alternatively, some wines were bought from partidistas. A partidista was a producer who aged its own wines but did not commercialise them under its own name but would sell them to other producers instead. A partidista wine is very similar in principle to the Almacenista Sherry wine Lustau makes a speciality of in Andalucía. Partidistas no longer exist, but both H&H and D’Oliveras started their lives as partidistas till they decided to sell their wines under their own brands in 1925 and the 1970s respectively. “Cossart Gordon Bual 1908” was bought from D’Oliveras as were many other old frasqueiras presently sold by MWC for instance. The charm of ABSL is that one could trust that all the wines sold by the Olim brothers had been crafted by them of their father. D’Oliveras now owns these precious gems.

Solera: Static ageing in cask has always been the norm in Madeira. As a result of the great pressure Madeira wine producers were getting from their international consumers, the solera system was adopted in the late 19 th century out of the simple need to enhance the quality of their wines, which was dramatically altered by the two great plagues of Oidium and Phylloxera. The Solera system was eventually prohibited when Portugal joined the EU in 1986, though it seems that, at the end of the first decade of this new century, the IVBAM has had a change of heart. Francisco Albuquerque is seriously considering re-establishing soleras at Blandy’s for instance. There were still a few soleras in operation in 1986 hence one can still find bottles that bear a solera date on the market. The year stated on the label indicates the starting date of the solera.

The Solera system in Madeira has nothing to do with the pyramidal system of inter-connected casks used in Andalusia in the making wines in the Sherry, Montilla and Málaga DOs, for it only consists of one single cask. No more than 10% of the wine in every decade can be bottled from that cask, each time replaced by a younger wine. The maximum number of refills allowed is ten. When the entire volume of wine in the solera has been refilled once, after a century in operation, all the wine must be bottled at once then the solera closed.

Solera wines are something special. Up to eleven or more different wines harmonise over the years, thereby combining the depth of flavours of the older wines to the freshness of the younger ones. When one buys “ H&H Verdelho Solera Madeira 1898”, only a small amount of the original wine remains in the blend. I read that the blend actually counts 1/3 of the original wine, but, quite frankly, my mathematical skills are too poor to verify the information. Although the other components are often of high quality and age too, some feel cheated when they buy a bottle with a year date then find out that only part of the wine was harvested that year. Hopefully, once they experience the complexity of the wine they purchased, they cannot but understand its true value. Once they experience the complexity of the wine, they cannot but understand the wine’s true value. Borges and H&H are the only producer to still offer solera wines to consumers today.

SALES OF MADEIRA WINE PER CATEGORY AND GRAPE VARIETY (average in hectolitres over the 2005-2010 period) Bulk non-modified 201.00 5.88% 201.00 Bulk 871 25.50% Bulk modified 670.00 19.61% 670.00 Current 2,154.00 63.04% 2,147.70 6.30 Age - 2,154 2,512 63.02% 73.50% 5 Year Old 263.00 7.70% 157.55 37.60 27.68 17.00 23.17 dated 357 10.45% 10 Year Old 81.00 2.37% 14.88 26.70 18.00 8.42 13.00 15 Year Old 13.00 0.38% 2.00 5.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 20 Year Old 0.47 (+)0.01% 0.0+ 0.37 0.05 0.05 1 0.03% 30 Year Old 0.33 0.01% 0.03 0.25 0.02 0.0+ 0.03 40+ Year Old 0.20 (-)0.01% 0.02 0.08 0.10 Single Harvest 23.00 0.67% 6.82 13.70 7.20 2.30 1.16 0.02 2.80 Vintage - 34 1.00% Vintage 11.00 0.32% dated Solera N/A N/A Total 3,417.00 100 % 3,200.00 90.00 56.00 29.77 1.21 0.02 40.00 Total 3,417 100 %

0.03% 1.64% 2.63% 93.97%

0.87% 0.01% 1.17% MALMSEY MALMSEY BASTARDO SERCIAL VERDELHO VERDELHO BOAL BOAL TERRANTEZ TERRANTEZ BLEND BLEND

Tutored Wine Tasting Thursday 21 st July 2011

MADEIRA “History in the bottle”

Speaker: Eric LAGRE Sommelier

TASTING MADEIRA

Appearance: A Madeira wine in good condition should look clear and bright.

Madeira wines are made out of black and white grape varieties, but since they are always made in a deliberately oxidised style, Madeira wines form a symphony in brown. The core of the wine can range in colour from pale gold to deep old gold, yellowish copper, amber or brown. A green tinge is a classic feature, especially in older wines. More often than not, the dryer styles will be lighter in colour than the sweeter styles. That basic colour graduation is not the fruit of a natural phenomenon but that of fermenting the drier styles off the skins the way white or blanc-de-noir wines are made and the sweeter styles on the skins the way red wines are made. The colour graduation is refined across the range by adding highly extracted wines or darker press wines (after fermentation) and Caramel (prior to bottling) to medium dry and rich styles, while dry and medium rich styles are not readjusted. This artificially induced colour graduation becomes blurred with every raking and every year spent in cask. Indeed, with age, the wines with the lighter hues grow deeper in colour, whereas the darker coloured wines seem to bleach. Wines that are bottled very old seem to have the same deep old gold or medium tawny colour. Consequently, many would argue that colour is not an indication of style in Madeira wines.

Like all wines, Madeira wine is an alcoholic drink with some water content hence Legs and tears always appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: A Madeira wine in good condition should always smell clean, though what is clean in the context of fortified wines is often perceived as faulty in the context of still light wines. The combination of oxidative ageing in cask, high alcohol, acidity and residual sugar means that Madeira wine is prone to naturally high levels of volatile acidity. A degree of volatility often translates into attractive hints of pepper, pine resin or eucalyptus leaf, but also of varnish, a rather off-putting scent commonly associated with acetic wines. The first effect of the heating process is to thoroughly oxidise Madeira wines. This is why the alternative tasting term for oxidation is maderisation . The overall result is not only a rancio or dry nutty character on the nose, but the fact that Madeira wine is always deliberately oxidised in development.

The second effect of the heating process, accentuated by further ageing in wood, is evaporation hence a Madeira wine should display at least a medium intensity of aromas, up to medium plus or high with older age.

The last effect of the heating process is the caramelisation of the sugars in the wine and the formation of a substance that gives rise to the typical and characteristic aromas of a Madeira wine: sotolon. Sotolon (also known as sotolone) is a lactone and an extremely powerful aroma compound. The compound is naturally present not only in fenugreek and lovage, but in molasses, aged rum or sake, as well as in roast tobacco. Sotolon typical smells of fenugreek or curry at high concentrations and maple syrup or caramel or burnt sugar at lower concentrations. The oxidative character of a Madeira wine makes for a nose that is not dominated by primary aromas like that of a still light wine. Instead, Madeira should display a complex bouquet. Because of the caramelising and sotolon-forming heating process, Madeira should be pungent with spices (sweet, like chocolate, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon, or dry like coffee, clove, nutmeg and cumin), vegetal notes (tobacco leaf or tea leaf), dried fruits (apricot, prune, greengage, currant or raisin, and notably orange peel), rancio (with nutty notes such as coconut, almond, hazelnut and walnut)... Overall, the nose should almost smell of a combination of toffee, nuts and spice reminiscent of caramelised rice pudding or mulligatawny soup. In a blind tasting, one can be puzzled by the similarities between an old dry Madeira wine and an old Amontillado Sherry, though the former is always more burnt and caramelised on the nose compared to the latter, predominantly rancio and nutty in character.

Palate: Madeira wine comes in a range of sweetness, from dry to off-dry, medium dry, medium sweet or sweet. Madeira wine counts at least 20g/l of residual sugar at its driest, but since that sweetness is counterbalanced by naturally high acidity levels, Madeira wine always gives the taster the impression that it is dryer than it actually is.

As mentioned above, Madeira wine displays high acidity, which is a common feature in wines made from grapes grown on volcanic soils. The fact that grapes destined to be made into Madeira are grown in the shade of pergolas and the coolness of altitude explains why acidity in a Madeira wine can be sky-high. That high acidity translates into a tangy finish and loads of mouth watering. Despite high alcohol levels and a heavily dry-fruity, spicy and nutty character, Madeira is always refreshing, even at room temperature.

Madeira wine is fortified to a high level of alcohol (more often than not).

Madeira wine is medium to full-bodied and its intensity and complexity of character on the palate should mirror that described on the nose.

The length of the finish should prove ever more complex and long the older the wine is at bottling.

Readiness for drinking: Madeira wine is always bottled ready to drink. Once bottled, the wine won’t improve, for only further oxidative ageing in cask can alter the aromatic profile of a Madeira wine. This is the reason why many are pushing for the compulsory indication of the date of bottling on labels, especially for vintage-dated wines. Therefore, there is no need to cellar a Madeira wine, as it can be enjoyed from the day of purchase.

Madeira wine might not improve in the bottle, but it will keep in condition for far beyond one’s life time (virtually forever from a human perspective). Therefore, as much as one doesn’t have to open a bottle of Madeira in a hurry, one is in no hurry to open a bottle of Madeira wine either. Indeed, bottled Madeira wine is probably the most robust wine in the world. Having been deliberately oxidised through a heating process and sometime aged extendedly in cask, it is easy to understand why Madeira wines are virtually indestructible (a quality reinforced by a combination of high alcohol and high acidity). The cork of 150 year old bottles has been pulled and the wine found to be in perfect condition.

Shippers advise to store bottles of Madeira wines standing upright contrary to the way wine is usually kept, for oxidation in case of cork shrinkage isn’t an issue. If laid down, the wine might just destroy the cork and leak, or even be tainted by a bad cork. As for the stopper itself, since it doesn’t need to provide a tight seal, producers always use T-top corks, for they make it easy for consumers to pour themselves a drink then close the bottle again (in that sense, T-top corks are as easy to use as screw caps). Only Frasqueiras are stopped with a standard natural cork (though a T-top cork is often provided with the box), but notice how short these corks are? In contrast, long, good-quality corks are paramount for ageing classified Bordeaux or vintage Port wines well. When a Frasqueira is kept upright for a long time, don’t be surprised if its cork breaks as you try to pull it, for it is most likely that it will have dried out and become brittle.

The marvel with Madeira wines is that, after a bottle is open, the wine suffers no deterioration over time, only losing a bit of its original freshness after a few months, so one is in no hurry to drink the wine ultimately.

MADEIRA WINE TASTING Tutored by Eric LAGRE Tasting notes by Eric LAGRE, Magda KOTLARCZYK and Anja BREIT WSET Diploma Graduates

NARRATIVE

Sainsbury’s Full and Rich Madeira NV, Madeira Wine Company SA Blandy’s Duke of Clarence Rich Madeira NV, Madeira Wine Company SA East India Fine Rich Madeira NV, Justino’s Madeira Wine SA

These three wines are classic “3 Year Old” or current Madeira wines. In other words, they are Tinta-Negra-dominated blends made by the estufagem process. Current wine forms the bulk of all the Madeira wines made and sold on the market. These three examples are produced by the two leading producers: Justino’s and the Madeira Wine Company . With a near 50% share of the total production, Justino’s is more than twice as big a producer as MWC . But since Justino’s has no agent to speak of in the UK, MWC holds between 70 and 75% of the UK market. MWC , to which Blandy’s belongs, still uses traditional estufas, concrete vats in which the serpentine heated with hot water is placed straight into contact with the wine. In contrast, Justino’s owns state-of-the-art facilities where it makes its wines in stainless steel estufa tanks equipped with an external heating jacked and a pumping over system. This equipment maximises gentle oxidation and prevents excess caramelisation of the sugars and therefore burnt aromas and flavours in the resulting wine. Justino’s East India, as a result of this sophisticated winemaking process, is by far finer than the two examples from MWC , the oxidative character of which is more awkward. Nevertheless, we all agreed that the Duke of Clarence is finer than the wine made for Sainsbury’s and that it is made in a richer and probably more commercial style and therefore more likely to appeal to the average consumer than the wine from Justino’s . To accentuate the contrast in style between the two companies, I decided to drop the Duke of Clarence , the single most successful brand on the UK market, and to feature the Sainsbury’s Madeira wine alone in order to give the wine from Justino’s a chance to shine in comparison.

Blandy’s Alvada 5 Year Old Rich Madeira, Madeira Wine Company SA Henriques e Henriques Medium Rich Madeira Single harvest 1998 D’Oliveras 15 Year Old Sweet Madeira

All three examples are exceptions to the rule-book. Since they do not indicate the name of a grape variety on the label, one should assume that these Madeira wines are Tinta-Negra-dominated blends made by the estufagem process. The Alvada is actually a revolutionary blend of noble white grape varieties. It is revolutionary in the sense that noble white grape varieties are traditionally made into varietal wines labelled with the name of the one single variety they are made from. The single-harvest wine on the other hand is a varietal wine, but made from 100% Tinta Negra, the name of which cannot legally appear on labels. Both wines are made by the canteiro process, which is the norm when dealing with noble varieties, but the exception when dealing with the Tinta Negra grape variety. Equally singular is the fact that the Single-harvest wine is bottled at 10 years of age, when it could legally be bottled at 5 years of age only. Since the labels of these two examples do not indicate how special these wines are, consumers are lead to believe that what they are buying is most likely to be made in a cheaper way... a marketing strategy that does not play in the favour of the producers. As for the 15-Year-Old wine from D’Oliveras, it is a classic Tinta-Negra-dominated blend made by the Estufagem process. The only surprise there is that such a blend is rarely seen beyond Reserve level, for producers traditionally bottle it at a maximum of 5 years of age. This example is as close as one gets to comparing a Tinta-Negra wine with a Frasqueira wine, always made from a single noble white grape variety and aged for a minimum of 20 years.

Madeira Barbeirto Sercial 1988 Frasqueira Madeira Barbeito Old Reserve 10 Year Old Verdelho D’Oliveras Boal 1968 Frasqueira Broadbent Madeira 10 Year Old Malmsey, Justino’s for Broadbent Selection

This flight is an opportunity to contrast the organoleptic differences between Madeira wines respectively made from one of the four main noble white grape varieties. I opted to feature older wines for it is the only way to showcase noble varieties at their finest and most developed. Sercial, most especially, is very astringent when bottled under 10 years hence it is so often served as a long drink when young. Bottled as a Frasqueira, it is fine, elegant and as smooth as Madeira can be.

Tutored Madeira Wine Tasting Thursday 21 st July 2011 Speaker: Eric LAGRE, Sommelier

TASTING LIST

Sainsbury’s Full and Rich Madeira NV Produced & Bottled by Madeira Wine Company SA for Sainsbury’s Supermarket Ltd

Blandy’s Duke of Clarence Rich Madeira NV Produced & Bottled by Madeira Wine Company SA

East India Fine Rich Madeira NV Produced & Bottled by Justino’s Madeira Wine SA

Blandy’s Alvada 5 Year Old Rich Madeira Produced & Bottled by Madeira Wine Company SA

Henriques e Henriques Medium Rich Madeira Single harvest 1998

D’Oliveras 15 Year Old Sweet Madeira

Madeira Barbeirto Sercial 1988 Frasqueira

Madeira Barbeito Old Reserve 10 Year Old Verdelho

D’Oliveras Boal 1968 Frasqueira

Broadbent Madeira 10 Year Old Malmsey Produced & bottled by Justino’s for Broadbent Selection

Sainsbury’s Madeira Full and Rich Island-bottled Madeira Wine Produced and bottled for Sainsbury’s Supermarket Ltd by Madeira Wine Company SA in Funchal 37.5cl 17.5%abv £6.79 retail from Sainsbury’s

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium brown with a green tinge in colour. Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, even though some attractive notes of white pepper (or is it mint?) suggest a hint of volatility only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. Here, the oxidative character is rather awkward, as if it was the result of an incomplete process (probably because the wine has not undergone long, if any, oak aging). The wine displays a medium intensity of aromas: mostly dried fruits like stewed prunes, sultanas, figs and apricots mixed with molasses and some burnt Demerara sugar. Loads of sweet spices are also perceptible, like cinnamon and chocolate, which, combined with dry notes of coffee bean, produce an overall mocha effect... as a whole, these aromas are reminiscent of the scent of a Christmas pudding.

Palate: The wine is sweet and high in acidity. It is fortified to a medium level of alcohol. It is a medium-plus bodied wine that displays a medium intensity of rather simple flavours. The zingy dried yellow stone fruit character, mixing apricots to the more exotic mango, are overwhelmed by flavours of orange candy, somewhat bitter like orange peel and green banana skin. Are the sugars in that candy sweet burnt? Or is it that the coffee bean flavours are too dry to make for a balanced mocha mix? The length is medium minus and only sustained by the sweetness and tang of the wine.

Assessment of quality: The wine is good but the alcohol is not in balance with the acidity and the sweetness (which actually work quite well together). The wine is also rather simple. The tasting notes might read fairly complex, but the aromatic makeup of the wine seems to be derived from the Madeira winemaking process more than by substance; an oxidised and stewed wine with nothing more than sweetness and tang to offer (I might be unfair... the wine is simply not my cup of tea). Blandy’s Duke of Clarence Rich Madeira Produced and bottled by Madeira Wine Company SA in Funchal Silver medal IWC 2003/Bronze Medal IWSC 2003 75cl 19%abv PH 3.41 123 g/l residual sugar 5.85 g/l total acidity (tartaric acid) £10.87 retail from Tesco’s

The wine is fermented with natural yeasts at temperatures between 24°C and 26°C in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks for two days before fortification. It is then racked into estufa tanks, where it undergoes a cyclic heating and cooling process between 45°C and 50°C over a period of three months. It is then aged in American Oak casks for three years before racking, fining, blending then bottling.

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium brown with a green tinge in colour (slightly deeper than the Sainsbury’s BOB). Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, though one can still detect a hint of white pepper that would suggest a degree of volatility only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The wine displays a medium intensity of more integrated aromas than in the Sainsbury’s BOB. The nose is all about sweet spices, with notes of liquorice, cinnamon and honey, well-interwoven with fruit aromas of prune and black cherry. The sugars are nothing as burnt or brown in character as in the Sainsbury’s BOB, but seem to derive from the natural sweetness of sultanas.

Palate: The wine is sweet and high in acidity. It is fortified to a high level of alcohol. It is a medium plus-bodied wine that displays a medium plus intensity of flavours. It is like drinking liquid apples baked with sultana, butter, and Demerara sugar. The sugar has turned into a somewhat burnt caramel (the dish was left too long in the oven obviously). On top of that burned crust, the tangy juice of a blood orange has been squeezed. The exotic edge that was the redeeming feature of the Sainsbury’s BOB is not to be found here, where it is in the spices that the complexity lies. There are notes of cinnamon and clove. Some toffee and chocolate also combine into a Mars Bare effect. The length is medium plus and has more substance than the finish of the Sainsbury’s BOB.

Assessment of quality: The wine is good and altogether more balanced than the previous example. The alcohol is indeed far better integrated and there is a real spicy complexity that lingers in the finish.

East India Madeira Fine Rich Madeira Wine Produced and bottled by Justino’s Madeira Wines SA in Santa Cruz 75cl 19%abv £8.99 ex VAT wholesale from Georges Barbier of London (Add 50% to the wholesale price to get an idea of the retail price) This wine is aged in American Oak casks for three years before racking, fining, blending then bottling.

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium tawny in colour, with an orange or red copper tinge to it. Legs and tears appear to the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, even though hints of white pepper and glue suggest a degree of volatility only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The wine displays a medium intensity of aromas. The very mineral character of this wine, especially thanks to strong notes of tar, is so reminiscent of that of an old Barolo. The dried fruit aromas, notably orange marmalade, are more in the background.

Palate: The wine is sweet and very high in acidity (an acidity that lifts the wine and gives it a tangy edge). It is fortified to a high level of alcohol. The body of the wine is medium plus and its intensity of flavours medium plus also. No trace of burnt sugars. Only the dry rancio character of walnut that marries well with flavours of juicy cep mushroom cooked in butter. There are also notes of curry, ginger, nutmeg and other sweet spices. These spices mix with the tanginess of the wine in a bitter lemon effect. The length is medium plus, and caramel and vanilla linger in the finish.

Assessment of quality: The wine is very good, despite the volatile edge of the nose that can prove a bit off-putting at first. It is on the palate that the wine comes to its own, as it strikes a perfect balance between acidity, sweetness and intensity of flavours. The wine is actually rather complex for its category. But we wonder if that sophistication is going to rapture the average taster, more likely to be won over by the sweetness and commercial appeal of the Duke of Clarence; a favourite at the tasting though.

Blandy’s Alvada 5 Year Old Rich Madeira Produced and bottled by Madeira Wine Company SA in Funchal Silver medals IWC 2003 and 2006, IWSC 2005 50cl 19%abv PH 3.36 130 g/l residual sugar 6 g/l total acidity (tartaric acid) £8.35 ex VAT wholesale from Fells The wine underwent fermentation off the skins with natural yeasts at temperatures between 18˚C and 21˚C in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for two days before fortification. Aged for 5 years by the canteiro process, it is then racked, fined, blended and bottled. In 2002, MWC threw away the rule-book to create a strictly new Madeira wine and launched Alvada 5 Year Old Madeira , a blend of 50% Malmsey / 50% Bual. It was virtually unheard of for a Madeira wine to be blended from two noble white grape varieties. Traditionally, such varieties had always been made into varietal wines with the name of the single variety mentioned on the label. By blending these two classic grapes, Alvada retains the rich opulence of a Malmsey, yet lifted with a fresh twist brought about by the subtle dried fruit and apricot notes of the Bual. Alvada is aged in deliberately shaved American oak casks to increase the oaky component, whereas producers usually use old wood to avoid such flavours in their wines. It is also sold in a flashy shocking pink, colourful but elegant, 50cl bottle; a modern packaging totally new to the industry. Both the modern-looking packaging and the new style of the wine have been designed with contemporary taste in mind. Alvada provides something new for existing Madeira wine drinkers and could tempt new drinkers on board.

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium brown with a green tinge in colour. Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, though attractive eucalyptus leaf and wood polish aromas suggest a hint of volatility only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The wine displays a medium plus intensity of aromas very reminiscent of quiche Lorraine, with notes of crispy bacon and boiled egg. The rancio character of the wine is not as dry as usual, as the walnut seems to be still in its green outer shell. Some cedar wood mingles with notes of undergrowth, full of wet old wood, fungus and moss. Tangy currant is sweetened with toffee and maple syrup, and spiced with liquorice, aniseed and vanilla.

Palate: The wine is sweet and high in acidity. It is medium-plus bodied, fortified to a high level of alcohol, and displays a medium plus intensity of very complex flavours. One is first overwhelmed by the rich dried apricot and fig aromas, which are then lifted by the zingy tang of kiwi and lime, with hints of leafy green flavours. The sweet nuttiness of marcipan contrasts with the dry spiciness of clove and nutmeg. Curry spiced and vanilla-oak infused orange juice lingers in the medium plus length of the finish.

Assessment of quality: The wine is very good. First, one fears that the sweetness is not in balance, but then, the acidity cuts through the richness of the wine to reveal its complexity in layers; a favourite at the tasting. Henriques e Henriques Single harvest 1998 Medium Rich Madeira 50cl 19% abv £10.78 ex VAT wholesale from Mentzendorff £16.99 retail from Waitrose Baumé 3.3 93 g/l Residual Sugar Total Acidity 7.2 g/l (tartaric Acid) / 0.92 g/l Volatile Acidity PH 3.47

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium brown with orange and green tinges in colour. Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine is clean, even though notes of glue and nail varnish suggest a degree of volatility only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The wine displays a medium intensity of aromas. The fruit character is stewed. It is a strange mix of orange and apple, with some sultana. Some aromas of freshly cut sappy wood bring something green to the spiciness and nuttiness of the nose. Vanilla spice, roasted hazelnuts and chocolate combine in a Nutella effect. Anja commented on her smelling Munster cheese with cumin seed; I am totally with her on the cumin.

Palate: The wine is sweet and high in acidity (an acidity that boosts the lovely tang of orange flavours). It is a medium-bodied wine, fortified to a high level of alcohol. The sultana, apple compote and orange found on the nose are confirmed on the palate. That fruit character, rather simple, is sweetened with caramelised hazelnut, and contrasted with the dry rancio character of coffee bean. There is also a herbal edge to this wine, with hints of sage notably. The length is only medium but attractive notes of saffron and turmeric linger in the finish.

Assessment of quality: The wine is good. It is very well balanced but lacks somewhat in intensity and complexity, which leaves us wanting more in the end. It is very attractive nonetheless.

D’olivera 15 Year Old Madeira Sweet Madeira Gold Medal IWSC 2001 75cl 19%abv 98.2 g/l residual sugar 85% Tinta Negra/15% Bastardo £26.12 wholesale from Bovey Wines

The wine underwent the estufagem process at a constant temperature of 42˚C for 12 weeks then spent 15 years in cask prior to bottling.

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium tawny with a gold tinge in colour. Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, though notes of white pepper and sappiness suggest a degree of volatility only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The intensity of aromas is medium and dominated by the rancio character of the wine, full of walnut, caramelised nuts of the kind one finds at a funfair, and milk chocolate. The fruit character is more in the background, with hints of sultana and orange.

Palate: The wine is lusciously sweet, though high in acidity (the tanginess of which lifts the wine altogether). The wine is medium-plus bodied and fortified to a high level of alcohol but fresh. The medium plus intensity of flavours if mainly citrusy in character, hence that overall sensation of freshness. The fruit flavours are well-defined; orange, lime and yellow fruits like apricot and more exotic examples. Cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla give the fruit a spicy edge, while notes of crushed almonds and hazelnuts linger in a nutty finish, the length of which is long.

Assessment of quality: The wine is very good. It leaves you with an overall sensation of freshness that makes you forget that it is a high alcohol drink. It is definitely a palate cleanser, but the nutty finish of the wine brings warmth to it. Madeira Barbeito Sercial 1988 Frasqueira 50cl Silver IWSC and IWC 2010 19%abv 1.4 Baumé 55.8 g/l PH 3.38 £24.11 ex VAT wholesale from Raymond Reynolds Ltd

This wine was aged for twenty years by the canteiro process before being transferred to demijohns in March 2009.

Appearance: The wine is clear and bright. It is medium old gold or light tawny with orange tinge in colour. Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass

Nose: The wine smells clean, even though attractive notes of sappy wood suggest a degree of volatile acidity only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The medium intensity of aromas of this wine is dominated by nuttiness. If there is any scent of fruit, it would be that of a juicy peach. There is a green edge to the nose, which is brought about by aromas of freshly cut wood, green pepper corn and herbs like sage. The rancio character of the wine makes it smell like an old attic. The walnut and almond character is sweetened by caramel and other sweet spices like cinnamon and vanilla. I can’t help reminiscing about my mother’s rice pudding while nosing the wine.

Palate: The wine is off dry and its sky high acidity gives it a lemon sherbet edge and a searing finish. It is medium-minus bodied and fortified to a high level of alcohol. The medium plus intensity of flavours is more nutty than spicy in character. In addition to the roasted almond flavours, one can taste hints of saffron, nutmeg and white pepper nonetheless.

Assessment of quality: The wine is very good, and fine rather than complex. Had we not tasted so many rich and full-bodied wines prior to this one, I might just have qualified as outstanding. This wine is indeed all about restrain and elegance. The acidity makes you forget that it is fortified to high levels of alcohol. Madeira Barbeito Old Reserve 10 Year Old Verdelho 75cl Silver IWSC 2009 and 2010; Gold and Trophy IWC 2009 19%abv 1.8 Baumé 68.8 g/l PH 3.41 £34.60 ex VAT wholesale from Raymond Reynolds Ltd

Th is is a blend of Verdelho wines that were aged over 10 years by the canteiro process .

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium gold with a yellow copper tinge in colour. Legs and tears appear to the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, though notes of sappiness and glue suggest a degree of volatile acidity only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The wine has a medium intensity of aromas. The nose mixes fresh leather and cedar wood in an effect reminiscent of mature Gouda cheese. There are no real fruit aromas apart from hints of orange and lemon zest. The aromatic character is nutty more than fruity, with notes of pecan and almonds, plus some rice and cinnamon.

Palate: The wine is medium dry and high in acidity (nothing as high in acidity as the Sercial though). It is medium bodied and fortified to a high level of alcohol. Its intensity of flavours is medium. The astringency of lemon and unripe apricot contrasts with the sweetness of caramelised banana and maple syrup. The blanched almond nuttiness has a bitter edge to it, but it is rounded by the sweetness of the cinnamon and vanilla spices that linger in a finish of medium length.

Assessment of quality: The wine is very good. It is well-balanced and complex, and very fresh overall, but it lacks a real feature. I will have that any day though, don’t get me wrong! It was the favourite wine at the tasting. D’Oliveras Boal 1968 Frasqueira Gold Medal IWSC 2001 Silver Medal IWC 2007 75cl 20.5abv 82.6˚C residual sugar £58.82 ex VAT wholesale from Bovey Wines

The wine is aged by the canteiro process for 20 years then racked into much larger casks for further maturation. It is bottled on demand.

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium brown with a yellow-green tinge in colour. Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, even though the nose is rather volatile. But such notes of white pepper, mint, sappiness and even nail varnish are only natural to this deliberately oxidised style of wine. The wine has a medium plus intensity of aromas. The volatility of it combines well with the very strong rancio, mineral character of the wine, with notes of walnut on one side and tar and volcanic hearth on the other. The citrus zest cuts through the sweetness of toffee and brown Demerara sugar.

Palate: The wine is medium sweet and high in acidity. It is medium plus-bodied and fortified to a very high level of alcohol. It has a medium intensity of zingy flavours. The tang of the dried currant, citrus fruit juice and zest, unripe apricot and pineapple, and green plum flavours is softened by white chocolate and vanilla spice. The length is medium plus and the finish is surprisingly dry.

Assessment of quality: The wine is very good. Its high level of volatility (probably the result of very long oxidative ageing in cask) does not play in its favour. Nevertheless, it is a very complex and well-balanced wine; a zesty palate cleanser.

Broadbent Madeira 10 Year Old Malmsey Produced and bottled by Justino’s Madeira Wine SA for Broadbent Selection in Santa Cruz 75cl 19%abv 6.1 g/l total acidity (tartaric acids) PH 3.32 £22.35 ex VAT wholesale from Berry Bros & Rudd

Appearance: The wine looks clear and bright. It is medium tawny with a yellow-green tinge in colour. Legs and tears appear on the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean, and it is deliberately oxidised. It has got a medium intensity of dried fruit aromas mainly. But aromas of overripe or stewed Mirabelle add to the more standard scent of sultana, fig and prune. The sweet fruit mixture is further sweetened by maple syrup and sweet spices then rolled into sweet tobacco leaf. I would love to smoke that pungently sweet Havana cigar!

Palate: The wine is lusciously sweet but in balance with a medium plus acidity. It is full-bodied and fortified to a high level of alcohol. The intensity of flavours is only medium. Almonds and stone fruit kernels blend into a somewhat bitter marzipan mixture. That nuttiness brings some interest to the fat richness of character of the fruit (a combination of overripe plums and dried fruits). The length of this wine is only medium.

Assessment of quality: The wine is good, but after two very good to outstanding frasqueiras and a Verdelho 10 Years Old that holds its own in the line-up, the wine disappoints with its commercial profile. It is a fat and rich wine that does not convey a great sense of complexity; and I was expecting more from the producer of “the best 3 Year Old Madeira wine on the market”. SERVING MADEIRA WINE

Madeira wine is best enjoyed when served properly and in accompaniment to the right foods.

Temperature: Being a wine fortified to a high level of alcohol, the temperature at which Madeira wine is served is important. Indeed, when the wine is served warm, the ethanol tends to overwhelm the more characteristic and desirable aromas. Most producers suggest serving the drier styles slightly chilled at around 14°C, and the sweeter styles at cellar temperature around 18°C. But I personally believe that since Madeira wines are so high in acidity, they are real palate cleansers and feel refreshing, even at room temperature, especially in Britain’s marginal climate. It would be more appropriate to slightly chill the younger wines, for the added grape spirit in them is not integrated, while the older wines, altogether more complex and integrated, would benefit from being served at cellar temperature.

Glass: Any tulip-shaped glass with a fine rim will do. It is best to fill the glass up to one third, and never more than half full, so as to allow space to nose the bouquet as one sips onto the wine. The ISO glass, the standard tasting glass, is just perfect.

Decanting: Sediments hardly form in such wines, for solids are left behind in the ageing pipes as the wines are racked off their lees then racked and racked again. But it might be advisable to double decant Madeira wines (into a decanter then back into the bottle –after a week or so according to The Institute’s website). Decanting is especially relevant with old Madeira wines, for the combination of high acidity and high alcohol levels might contribute a bit of bottle sickness in the shape of undesirable volatile aromas that the decanting process will “eliminate”.

Food and wine pairing: Even though ABSL ’s website suggests drinking Madeira wine with certain foods, Artur Olim comments that “with food, there is table wine”, while on the other hand, Ricardo de Freitas from Barbeito has always played a major role in promoting Madeira wines as a traditional accompaniment to food. Other producers like D’Oliveras and Borges are keener on pairing their wines with snacks rather than with proper meals. Producer’s websites are as full of cocktail suggestions as they are of food and wine pairing ones, but I personally believe that if a Madeira wine is bad enough to mix into a cocktail, it is simply not good enough to drink.

The drier styles of Madeira wines work well slightly chilled as an aperitif, with olives, salted nuts and fish canapés. Dry Madeira wines and Sercials, especially young examples, prove thirst quenching served as a long drink, with tonic and a slice of lemon on the rocks. As an accompaniment to food, they work especially well with fish or sheep and goat cheese starters, or alternatively with a meal of sushi or grilled tuna or swordfish. Medium dry Madeira wines and Verdelhos are more suited to soups and consommés, garlic mushroom, dried meats or Pâtés.

On the other hand, the sweeter styles of Madeira wines work best towards the end of the meal, with dessert or cheese, or at teatime with cakes and biscuits, or after dinner with petits fours. Medium dry Madeira wines and Buals marry particularly well with fresh fruit, vanilla and milk-chocolate desserts, or with mature hard cheeses, while Rich Madeira wines and Malmseys are more of an accompaniment to richer desserts, especially those made of dark chocolate, honey and caramel, or alternatively to blue cheeses.

Frasqueiras, for they are the most complex of all Madeira wines, are definitely the best accompaniment to a stimulating after-dinner conversation or to a good cigar. If you are feeling a little bit peckish, reach for dried fruits and nuts, for they are a universal match to any style of Madeira wine.

PROFILE For every MADEIRA WINE PRODUCER

Justino’s, Madeira Wines, SA Vinho Justino Henriques, Filhos, Lda was formed as a limited company in 1953, although it had been in existence as a Funchal-based private family company, founded by Justino Henriques Freitas, since 1870, when it was known as Justino Henriques . Family members actually still owned the company until the 1960s. This makes it one of the oldest producers and exporters of Madeira, internationally known for the quality of their wines.

The shareholding company was the result of the merger of A. de Freitas (Vinhos), Lda; C.R.C.R. Gonçalves (Vinhos), Lda; Companhia Regional de Exportação de Vinhos da Madeira, Lda; Companhia Vinícola da Madeira, Lda; J. Monteiro (Vinhos), Lda; and União Vinícola (Funchal), Lda.

In 1981, Sigfredo da Costa Campos bought the company from the owners of the Companhia vinícola da Madeira, Lda . Sigfredo was a very driven man who had two main ambitions: producing the best 3 Year Old Madeira on the market and becoming the leading producer in the international trade. In 1993, in order to give himself the means of his ambitions, expand and modernise, he had the company go international when it formed a partnership with one of the largest French groups for the distribution of wines and spirits. The new shareholders included Sigfredo da Costa Campos , as well as Gran Cruz Porto and the French corporation C.O.F.E.P.P , best known as La Martiniquaise . From October 2009, in the year following the Sigfredo’s death, the company became totally French-owned and was renamed Justino’s, Madeira Wines, SA .

In 1994, thanks to that injection of fresh capital investment, let alone the aid of EU grants, the company built a new ample and modern winery in a business park located in Cancela, Santa Cruz. By the end of 1995, the company had completed the move to Santa Cruz from the centre of Funchal in Rua do Carmo, where the old offices, warehouses and ageing vats were, and Rua do Ribeirinho de Baixo, where the vinification and bottling historically took place.

The facilities incorporate the most sophisticated and advanced technology you will find on the island. Thanks to state of the art stainless steel estufa tanks, geared with pumping over systems that maximise oxidation, guarantee consistent temperatures throughout and prevent burnt flavours and aromas as a result of a regular flow, the company has managed to produce one of the finest and purest entry level wines on the market. The same level of quality applies to the BOBs as to the company own brands: Justino’s madeira , but also East India Madeira , Colombo Madeira , Madère Cruz , Izidro Madeira and Broadbent Madeira . Another investment programme was implemented in 2002 to further improve the production line, from reception area to bottling line, via quality control procedures. This quest for excellence had a tremendous impact on the industry as a whole. In a very consolidated and competitive market, every shipper had to follow the company’s lead and invest to better the standard of production for their most basic wines, the industry’s main source of income. It has been popular practice for some Madeira wine shippers to downplay the quality of Tinta-Negra-based wines, helped in that by “Madeira” by Alex Liddell, published by Faber & Faber in 1998, but Justino’s demonstrates that quality wines can be made out of that variety, from entry level 3 Year Old to Single Harvest wines, even when made by the estufagem process. Barbeito and H&H also make the finest Single Harvest wines, though by the canteiro process, out of that infamous variety, the name of which one would not spell on labels.

Thanks to the acknowledged quality of their wines and a substantial increase in their production capacity, Justino’s has become the leading producer and exporter of Madeira wines in the world. Indeed, the company now holds one of the largest stocks of Madeira wines, including stocks of high quality wines made by the canteiro process, thereby enabling the company to meet the requirements of the most demanding and selective consumers. The company main export markets are France, Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, the Benelux countries, Spain, Scandinavia, the United States of America, Japan, Brazil and Canada.

Paradoxically, Justino’s have no agent to speak of in the UK, where their wines are available only in the shape of both the Fine Rich East India Madeira and the Fine Rich Colheita 1995 distributed by Georges Barbier of London, Ltd , and the 10 Year Old Malmsey made for the Broadbent Madeira brand, distributed by Berry Bros & Rudd . Some would argue that the thing that does not help them in breaking the UK market is that they are neither a British shipper nor the beneficiary of Capital Investment from a British shipper, like The Madeira Wine Company in association with the Symington Family Estate , who hold by far the biggest share of the UK market.

The company purchases around 2000 tonnes of grapes from approximately 800 growers each year (from as little as 120kg from one to as much as 30,000kg from another). 60% are Tinta Negra grapes from Câmara de Lobos and Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, while the 40% remaining are Tinta Negra, sercial and Verdelho from São Vincente, Malvasia from São Jorge, and Boal and Verdelho from Calheta. 90% of the grapes purchased are Tinta Negra and other red grape varieties, while only 10% are noble white grape varieties: Sercial, Verdelho, Terrantez, Boal and Malvasia.

The annual production is approximately 1.6 million litres, of which 20% to 25% is destined to the food industry as modified , especially for the French and German markets (as well as the UK for the matter, which says a lot about the quality of their basic production). The Company’s total storage capacity is 650,000 hl in wood and 4,500,000 hl in stainless steel.

In terms of marketing strategy, the company likes to keep things simple in order not to confuse consumers. Madeira is known for the Malmsey, and is perceived as being an appellation of origin for sweet wines mainly. Therefore, the company positions itself as a producer of Madeira wines made in two main styles only: dry or sweet. Dry styles are marketed as best served chilled as an aperitif, while sweet styles are best served at room temperature as an after-dinner drink. The target market commands the level of sophistication to which they can offer their wines. If Japan has an exclusive preference for the medium-dry style on the one hand, Belgium relishes the complexity of the deferent blends and sweetness levels possibly available on the other hand.

The company produces a range of 3, 5 and 10 year old Age-Dated wines, as well as Single Harvest wines from Tinta Negra and other red varieties. When made from Tinta Negra, the Single Harvest wines are always made sweet and matured in cask for just over the minimum legal ageing requirement of 5 years. All wines from the Tinta Negra grape are made by the estufagem process, during which they undergo a gentle cycle of one week heating to 45-50°C, one week cooling down, in turn, over a period of three months. The must is macerated on the skins for a few days to extract the colour that cold stabilisation tends to bleach ever so slightly. The wine is then aged in oak cask, with regular raking before being eventually fined, cold stabilised, blended and bottled.

Justino’s also make a range of 10 Year Olds Age-Dated, Single Harvest wines and Frasqueiras from Sercial, Verdelho, Terrantez, Boal and Malvasia. These wines are all made by the canteiro process, and the Single Harvest wines are of the premium kind, aged for a minimum of 10 years, much longer than the minimum legal requirement for the category. These wines are held in cask and only bottled on demand.

From 2008, the company has started producing wines from certified organic (Bio) grapes: around 15,000kg of Tinta Negra from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos were made into sweet wines aged by the Canteiro process, which are destined to be bottled as 10 or 15 year old Age-Dated wines.

Juan Teixeira Winemaker and General Manager

Although everything looks quite modern and high-tech at Justino’s , the style of winemaking remains quite traditional. As the company’s winemaker and general manager, Juan Teixeira, puts it: “The secret to making a good Madeira wine is having good grapes to start with, and then a good old cask –then you just sit and wait”.

Justino’s, Madeira Wines, SA www.justinosmadeira.com Parque Industrial da Cancela 9125-042 Caniço, Santa Cruz Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 934 257 Fax: 00351 291 934 049 Email: [email protected] Contact : Julio Fernandes, Commercial Director [email protected] 00351 969 570 878

UK availability: Georges Barbier of London, Ltd Rear of 267 Lee High Road London, SE12 8RU Phone: 020 8852 5801 Fax: 020 8463 0398 Email: [email protected]

J.W Lees & Co (Brewers), Ltd PO Box 2 Middleton Junction Manchester M24 2AX Phone: 016 1345 4433 Fax: 016 1345 4447 Email: [email protected]

Berry Bros & Rudd Broadbent Selection www.bbr.com www.broadbent.com 3 St. James’s Street 2088 Union Street London SW1A 1EG Suite 2 Phone: 0800 280 2440 San Francisco CA 94123, USA Phone: +1 415 931 1725 Fax: +1 415 921 0596 Email: [email protected]

Broadbent Selection, Inc was founded in 1996 by Bartolomew Broadbent. Having worked for the Symington Family Estate for 10 years, he decided to create his own company and try to compete in the Port and Madeira field with his eponymous brand. “Broabent Madeira” was inspired by his father, Michael Broadbent, chairman of Chritie’s International Wine Department , who called Madeira his “Desert Island Wine”, and who played a crucial role in sourcing the wine (some barrels dating back to

1933 having been acquired) and establishing the blends.

The wines produced in association with Justino’s Madeira Wines, SA include 3 and 5 Year Old Age-Dated wines made from Tinta Negra, a 10 Year Old Malmsey, a Terrantez Old Reserve estimated to be round 50 Years Old, and a series of Frasqueiras: Sercial 1940; Verdelho 1934/54; Bual 1964; and Malmsey 1933. Their principal export markets are the USA, Canada, the UK and China, with plans to break the continental European market. Madeira Wine Company, SA The Madeira Wine Company, SA is the market leader in the production and exportation of island-bottled Madeira wine. Its origins date back to 1913, when Welsh & Cunha and Henriques & Camara joined forces to form the Madeira Wine Association, Lda . Through the lean years that followed, more companies joined to ensure their survival, for the association meant reducing costs and pooling production, whilst maintaining commercial independence.

In 1925, Blandy’s and Leacock’s amalgamated their interests and joined the association. The chairman of this newly enlarged enterprise was John Ernest Blandy, supported by his Managing Director, Thomas L. Mullins, who had previously been looking after the Blandy’s wine company. Other companies followed: Miles Madeira, Lda; F.F. Ferraz & Cia; T.T. da Camara Lomelino; Aguiar Freitas; A. Nobrega; Barros Almeida; Bianchi; C.V. Vasconcelos; F. Martins Caldeira; Funchal Wine Company; Luiz Gomez da Conceicão & Filhos; Krohn Brothers; Madeira Victoria; Powder Drury; Royal Madeira; Sociedad Agricola da Madeira; Vinhos Adudarham; Madeira Meneres; Vinhos Donadlson; Shortridge Lawton and J.B. Spinola.

Cossart Gordon & Co, Ltd became partners in 1953. Thus, 26 associated companies formed the largest producer and exporter of Madeira Wine. The spirit of the union, ably organised by Tom Mullins, was to maintain the individuality of the different companies together with their respective styles of wines, while at the same time reducing overheads. At the end of the 1970s, the partners in the Company had been reduced to a small number of founding families, until the Blandy family, producers of Madeira wines since 1811, acquired a position of control in the association and got its name changed to “Madeira Wine Company, SA” in 1981. Out of the founding families, only descendants of the Blandys are still involved in the company, and brands from only four of the founding British Shippers remain:

Blandy’s (Est. 1811), Cossart Gordon (Est. 1745), Leacock’s (Est. 1760) and Miles (Est. 1988). Both Cossart Gordon and Blandy’s are premium brands, Blandy’s being the most successful.

The Blandys approached the Symingtons, recognised producers of Port Wine for more than 100 years over 4 generations, for they were eager to benefit from their oenological and marketing skills, thereby hopefully laying the foundations for a revival of the international popularity of Madeira wine. Both families eventually formed a partnership in 1989. The Symington Family Estate , with their extensive world-wide distribution network, have a deep commercial knowledge of the market, and since MWC turned into a corporation, much time and effort has been invested in improving production methods, rejuvenating the company’s image, and strengthening the position of the four recognised brands on the international trade.

At present, the company has two premises in Funchal: the Old Blandy Wine lodge in Avenida Arriga, n° 28, and the Mercês Complex in Rua de Ferreiros, n° 191.

The Old Blandy Wine Lodge , once known as the São Francisco Lodge , dates back to the 17 th century. It houses over 8,000hl of premium wines ageing in the canteiro process. The lodge is a centre for visitors, with conducted tours of the ageing lofts and a museum of winemaking equipment and old company documents. There are also tasting rooms and a wine shop, let alone the new Arcadas de São Francisco , a shopping centre right behind the lodge from where the company’s wines and wine related items can be purchased.

The Mercês Complex, completely modernised between 2001 and 2002, houses the winery and offices. The facility counts two vinification lines, three bottling lines, and a storage capacity of 50,000hl, including 14,000hl in wooden casks and vats, and 7,300hl in stainless steel estufa tanks. The company also own its own cooperage unit there and produce their own oak casks.

An average 990,000 litres of wine have been produced annually out of 850 tonnes of grapes, more than 75% of which are Tinta Negra from Câmara de Lobos and São Vincente, the remaining grapes being white varieties, with the Boal being from Colheta and the Malvasia from São Jorge.

The company’s 3 year old wines are made from Tinta Negra and other red grape varieties, first aged in estufa tanks, where they undergo a cyclic heating and cooling process, up to 40 to 45°C, over three months. All the other Age-Dated wines are produced from Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Malvasia and Terrantez and aged by the canteiro process. Miles has broken with MWC tradition as they now offer 5 year old wines from Tinta Negra alongside their varietal wines. Miles is the simplest and least prominent brand made by MWC . Only a small amount of wines is made for the Miles brand, and the casks in which they are held are kept right above the estufa tanks so as to accelerate the maturation process of the wines so as to release them on the market as soon as possible.

It is amazing that even though the wines are made by the same company, in the same winery, the four brands are not uniform in style. Francisco Albuquerque, awarded “Winemaker of the Year” twice, defined criteria of production in order to give each brand its own profile:

The wines from the company’s leading brand, Blandy’s , are always a little richer and fuller- bodied, for they undergo a slightly shorter fermentation than the other brands, thus leaving more residual sugar. Blandy’s produce 3,5,10 and 15 year old wines, and even a “Terrantez 20 Year Old Madeira”, but Blandy’s is particularly known for extensive reserves of old vintage Madeira wines and for their sweet 3 year old wine, the famous “Duke of Clarence Full Rich Madeira”.

The wines from Cossart Gordon are fruitier and more elegant. This slightly lighter and dryer style is the result of a slightly longer fermentation and the use of grapes grown in higher, cooler vineyards. 3,5,10 and 15 year old wines are produced under that brand, as well as Frasqueiras.

The wines from Leacock’s maintain their traditionally rich style as exemplified by “Leacock’s St John Madeira”. 3, 5 and 10 year old wines are produced under that brand, as well as the “Malmsey 15 year old full rich Madeira”. Some Frasqueiras are also produced.

Miles produce the lightest and most basic range available from MWC : only 3 and 5 year old wines, with the exception of a “Malmsey 10 Year Old Full Rich Madeira”.

In recent years, MWC has clearly been a driving force behind the rejuvenation of the image of Madeira wine. The company launched three new innovative concepts that stirred much publicity and got a positive response from new and younger drinkers in the USA, the UK, Belgium, Japan, Switzerland and other counties: “Harvest”, “Alvada” and “Colheita”.

The first Single Harvest Madeira wine ever made, “Blandy’s Malmsey 1994 Harvest”, was launched in 2000. This was a revolutionary vintage wine released young and at an affordable price. Made by the Canteiro process, the wine remains for 6 to 8 years in oak casks in lofts in Funchal before bottling. It displays the concentration and complexity of a 5 year old blend. Since then, many other Madeira wine producers have followed MWC’s lead by introducing younger vintage wines, thus creating an important new category of premium Madeira wines: Harvest/Colheita. While these wines can be made by either the estufagem or the canteiro process, from Tinta Negra or one of the noble white grape varieties, the only legal requirement is to age them for a minimum of 5 years before bottling.

Two years later, in 2002, the company launched their “Blandy’s Alvada 5 Years Old”, a blend of 50% Malmsey / 50% Bual. This was the first ever blend of noble white grape varieties, as traditionally such varieties had always been made into varietal wines with the name of the single variety mentioned on the label. “Alvada” is aged in deliberately shaved American oak casks to increase the oaky component, and sold in a flashy shocking pink, colourful but elegant, 50cl bottle; a modern packaging also totally new to the industry.

The “Harvest” and “Alvada” were followed by the “Colheita” from Cossart Gordon: wines carefully selected from the many varietal wines in the lofts of the company. with a minimum 10 to 18 years of age, these wines are far older than legally required for the Single harvest category. These wines are better understood as proper “baby Vintage” wines. They have considerable complexity and concentration.

In 2009, the Madeira Wine Company expanded the concept of longer-aged colheita wines to their flagship brand. The colheitas from Blandy’s are aged from 10 to 19 years. Every bottle is numbered, every cask identified, and every label signed by a direct descendant of the founder of Blandy’s . Only the premium brands within the company, Blandy’s and Cossart Gordon , produce Harvest and Colheita wines.

MWC is the only shipper to have come up with a two-tear category for their Single Harvest/Colheita wines, “Harvest ” wines being the younger, simpler wines, and “Colheita” wines the older, more complex, premium wines; a marketing tool that might just prove too confusing to consumers. If H&H release Single Harvest wines that are in the spirit of either of these subcategories designed by Blandy’s , Barbeito and Borges bottle theirs when just under 10 years of age like a MWC Harvest wine, while D’Oliveras and Justino’s never bottle their Single harvest wines younger than 10 years of age, like a MWC Colheita.

Look out for the MWC Centennial Blend, a 3,500 bottle limited edition produced for the last millennium celebration, which is a blend of wines made in every decade of the last century from all four noble white grape varieties. The company is also to venture on the field of single cask wines open by “Vinhos Barbeito (Madeira) Lda”.

But the core production of the company still remains their comprehensive range of 3, 5, 10 and 15 year old wines, as well as their Vintage wines, many of the latter having been bought from other companies, notably D’Oliveras . MWC is also responsible for the distribution of BOBs such as “Sainsbury’s Full Rich Madeira”.

Contact: Madeira Wine Company, SA www.madeirawinecompany.com www.blandys.com www.cossartgordon.com www.leacockmadeira.com http://www.symington.com/miles/index.html Rua dos Ferreiros, n° 191 P.O. Box 295 9000-082 Funchal Codex Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 740 100 Fax: 00351 291 740 101 Email: [email protected] Jacques Faro da Silva Phone: 00351 223 776 300 Fax: 00351 223 776 301

The Old Blandy Wine Lodge Adegas São Francisco Departamento de Relaçao Publicas Avenidad Arriaga, n° 28 9000-064 Funchal Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 740 110 Fax: 00351 291 740 111 Email: http://www.symington.com/winelodge/index.htm

UK agent for Blandy’s: John E. Fells & Sons Ltd www.fells.co.uk Fells House Prince Edward Street Berkhamsted Hertfordshire HP4 3EZ Phone: 014 4287 0900 Fax: 014 4287 8555 Email: [email protected] Contacts: Mark Symonds, Brand Manager for Blandy’s [email protected] Richard Girling, Fortified Wine Manager at Fells [email protected] 07976 177 604

Henriques & Henriques Vinhos, SA Henriques was established by João Gonçalves Henriques in 1850. The Henriques family are descendants of D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, and have been owning vineyards on the Island of Madeira, in Câmara de Lobos, since the 15th century. In 1912, two of João Gonçalves Henriques’ sons, Francisco Eduardo Henriques and João Joaquim Henriques, inherited the company, hence the current company name: Henriques e Henriques Vinhos, SA established as a firm in 1913. By 1925, the company decided to concentrate on shipping their own wines themselves rather than sticking to their simple role of Partidista (supplier of wines to other shippers). In 1968, after the death of his brother, João Joaquim Henriques, known as “João de Belém”, inherited the company and invited two friends, Alberto Nascimento Jardim and Carlos Nunes Pereira, to join the company. Later, Peter Cossart, brother of Noël Cossart of Cossart Gordon, also joined (he will eventually make 53 vintages with the company). They were all involved in other companies which became associated with H&H before they were eventually integrated in 1981: Casa dos Vinhos da Madeira, Lda (Est. 1932); Carmo Vinhos, Lda (Est. 1928); Antonia Eduardo Henriques, Sucrs, Lda (Est. 1960); and Belém’s Madeira Wine, Lda (Est. 1932). All four brands are still being sold today (Casa dos Vinhos da Madeira, Lda bottles wine for Sandeman for instance). When João Joaquim Henriques passed away, as he did not have any direct heirs, equal shares in the company were left to his three friends and partners. Two of them, Peter Cossart and Carlos Nunes Pereira passed on their shares in the company to their descendants.

Today, there are several shareholders, and the day-to-day business is run by the current chairman of the company, Dr. Humberto Jardim, while Luís Pereira, nephew of Carlos Pereira, is the winemaker since the mid 1990s. The later, with his taste for a classic rich and weighty style, was awarded “Winemaker of the Year”. Following the death of John Cossart, son of Peter Cossart, early in 2008, Humberto Jardim became president of the Company.

In the early 1990s, with the aid of EU grants, H&H undertook a €5.5m expansion programme in order to meet the demands of an ever exigent market. The company moved from Funchal to two brand new facilities: the Belém Lodge (a five-storey building west from the centre of Câmara de Lobos) and their winery on a 17ha site at Quinta Grande, in Ribeira do Escrivão.

Quinta Grande is the company’s winery/adega, which includes: a laboratory, stainless steel vinification and storage tanks, autovinifiers, presses, vacuum filters, an estufa house and cask stores (some of which are in direct proximity to the estufa tanks to accelerate the maturation process of certain lots of wine). If all the winemaking is done there, most of the maturation process takes place in the new Belém Lodge in Câmara de Lobos, which houses a typical armazem do sol (a store room for maturing casks with a south facing glass wall), but also stainless steel holding and blending tanks, bottling lines, offices, a Laboratory, a tasting room, and a reception area with shops for visitors.

H&H was celebrated as the largest independent producer and shipper of Madeira wine till the French Group La Martiniquaise eventually acquired a 60% stake in the company in 2010. H&H is now as dependent on the capital investment brought about by international partners as the two market leaders: Justino’s , also owned by La Martiniquaise, and MWC, owned by the Symington Family Estate . But still, H&H remains in full control of their style of production. They might have invested in state of the art equipment and facilities, but they remain faithful to a 200 year old family tradition of Madeira winemaking. The company markets their wines in France (mainly as Modified ), Germany, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, the USA, Canada, Japan, Belgium, the British Virgin Islands, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Austalia, Dubai, Hong Kong, Iceland, Luxemburg, Spain and Gibraltar.

Henriques & Henriques is the only company to own its own vineyards. In 1995, a 10ha vineyard was planted at Quinta Grande , mainly with Verdelho, but also some Sercial and a small amount of Terrantez. It is the single largest vineyard on the Island to this date. The vines, trained according to the espaldeira system, are grown on terraces at an altitude of 650 to 800 metres. The company also owns a vineyard of 1ha in Câmara de Lobos, which is planted with Tinta Negra, using the Latada System.

These vineyards only supply approximately 15% of the company’s annual requirement of 800,000 to 900,000kg of grapes. The remaining 85% are purchased from growers around the island. Six agents, two in the north and four in the south, help the company with the task of purchasing the grapes needed.

Current production is 700,000 to 980,000 litres, including 300,000 to 400,000 litres sold as Modified . Production includes a range of 3 and 5 year old wines from Tinta Negra, first aged for three months in estufa tanks at 45° C, and 10, 15 and 20 Year Old wines made by the Canteiro process from Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and/or Malvasia. The company also makes single harvest wines by the canteiro process from either 100% Tinta Negra or noble white grape varieties, bottled after 5 to 10 years, as well as some Solera and Frasqueira wines, and holds a small stock of 4 older reserves called the “Heavenly Quartet”, which show no vintage date, but were reputed old wines in 1850. Their wines can be found under other brand names such as: Casa dos Vinhos da Madeira , Carmo Vinhos , Antonio Edouardo Henriques , Veiga and Belém’s Madeira Wine .

The Company matures their Madeira wines in casks belonging to an Irish whiskey company. The empty casks are then returned to provide a special finish to the maturing whiskeys. Despite the many changes and technological improvements that have occurred over the years, the company is keen to maintain traditional methods and offer a continuity and consistency in terms of style.

Contact: Henriques & Henriques, Vinhos SA www.henriquesehenriques.pt Avenida da Autonomia n° 10 9300-138 Câmara de Lobos Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 941 551 Fax: 00351 291 941 590 Email: [email protected] CEO Humberto Jardim, Managing Director [email protected]

UK agent: Mentzendorff & Co Ltd www.mentzendorff.co.uk Prince Consort House (8 th floor) 27-29 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TJ Phone: 020 7840 3600 Email: [email protected] Contacts: Joanna Delaforce, Brand Manager [email protected] Simon Gothelee, Fortified Wine Manager [email protected] 07977 299 812

Vinhos Barbeito (Madeira), Lda. Vinhos Barbeito is relatively young when compared to the other companies in the market. It was established in 1946 by Mário Barbeito who, as an accountant for Companhia Vinicola da Madeira , was motivated to set up his own business. 30 other exporters were operating then, but these were particularly dark times for Madeira, since during World War Two production and sales had ground to a halt. As a result, far more companies were leaving the business than were joining. But Mário Barbeito had faith in the future. He immediately built up an impressive collection of Frasqueiras, but focussed on starting his own modern winery. While he was adding value by letting that stock of vintage wines age untouched, he would make a living by selling newly-made wines. His daughter Dona Manuela de Freitas became involved in 1976 then took control in 1985, when Mário Barbeito died. She retired in 1992, a year after two of her sons, Ricardo and Miguel, had joined the firm.

In 1991, a joint venture was set up with Kinoshita International Company, Ltd of Japan, who bought 50% of the company. Mário Barbeito had been selling wines to the owners of Kinoshita since 1967, and so by the time of the partnership between the firms, a good relationship had developed between the two families over a near 25 year period.

In 2004, José, Manuela’s youngest son, joined the company, while her oldest son, Miguel, left. In 2007, Emmanuel, Ricardo’s other brother, joined the company as well. Today the company is run by Ricardo de Freitas on a day-to-day basis, in consultation with his brothers. He brings a new energy and dynamism to the company (always inspired by the best traditions of the island), and one must not forget the major role he also plays in promoting Madeira wines as a traditional accompaniment to food (check [email protected] for suggestions).

The brothers realised that they could not compete with the larger companies, so the decision was made to create unique styles, fresher, more fruit driven, using traditional methods, with a younger target market in mind (though the wines seem to also appeal to the more traditional market). In 1991, the company stopped bulk sales and concentrated on quality rather than quantity. In order to produce clearer wines with a purer colour, it was decided to stop using caramel.

The company purchases grapes from approximately 135 growers each year. 50% of these families have been selling grapes to the company for over 15 years. The Tinta Negra is purchased from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos and São Vicente, the sercial from Jardim da Serra and Ribeira da Janela, the Verdelho from São Vicente and Prazeres, the Boal from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, São Vicente and Estreito da Calheta, and the Malvasia from Arco de São Jorge. In March 2009, 50 Verdelho vines were planted on a small plot at the winery, for experimental purposes.

In 2008, the company moved premises from Funchal to the newly built winery at an industrial park in Câmara de Lobos. It houses state-of-the-art equipment, with two pneumatic presses; the only robotic lagar on the island; a range of stainless steel fermentation, storage tanks and estufa tanks, a warehouse to store the 80,000 litres of Madeira wine in cask, and a centre for visitors with tasting rooms.

Annual production has been approximately 200,000 litres during the past few years, with annual sales of around 150,000 to 160,000 litres, 77% of which is sold on the Japanese market. Other markets include Madeira, Australia, the USA, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark and Italy.

“Barbeito” produces 3 year old wines from Tinta Negra, made in a Blanc de Noir style by the estufagem process at a constant temperature of 50°C over three months. In addition to that, 5 and 10 year old wines are made by the canteiro process, with part of the 5 year old wines made from Tinta Negra, while the rest is made from noble white grape varieties. Single Harvest wines from Tinta Negra aged by the Canteiro process for 9 years are also produced.

Ricardo de Feitas, also the winemaker of the company, offers new developments that show his love for experimentation: blends of noble grape varieties, like his “VB Reserva” (which, with his 20 and 30 year old wines, forms part of the “Signature Wines”), but more specifically, a small amount of single cask and single vineyard wines in 50cl bottles.

The company also makes a range of BOBs for Fortnum & Mason in the UK, The Rare Wine Company in the USA (notably the “Historic Series”), and the Madeira Collection in Belgium. Their wines are also available on the Portuguese market under two other brand names: ACAM and New Madeira .

These handcrafted wines combine the best elements of Madeira’s classical tradition with Ricardo’s own quest for purity and vineyard and varietal expression. Made in tiny lots, the company’s wines, astonishingly graceful in style, have prompted British wine critic Jancis Robinson to call Barbeito the “Lafite of Madeira”.

Contact: Vinhos Barbeito (Madeira), Lda. www.vinhosbarbeito.com Estrada da Ribeira Garcia Parque Empresarial de Câmara de Lobos –Lote 8 9300-324 Câmara de Lobos Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 761 829 Fax: 00351 291 765 832 Email: [email protected] Contacts: Ricardo Diogo V. Freitas [email protected] Marianna Pinto

UK agent: Raymond Reynolds, Ltd. www.winesfromportugal.com Furness Vale Industrial Estate Station Road High Peak Derbyshire SK23 7SW Phone: 016 6374 2230 Fax: 016 6374 2233 Email: [email protected] Contact: Jackie Mundy [email protected]

Pereira d’Oliveira (Vinhos), Lda. Pereira d’Olivera (Vinhos), Lda was the result of the amalgamation of five producers and exporters of Madeira Wine, all being from families of the island: João Pereira d’Oliveras ; João Joaquim Camacho & Filhos ; Júlio Augusto Cunha & Filhos ; Vasco Lúis Pereira & Filhos and Adegas do Torreão Vinhos, Lda . The oldest company was founded in the 1820s, but Adegas do Torreão Vinhos, Lda was only established in 1947, and became part of the company in 2002. The actual Pereira d’Olivera (Vinhos), Lda is an independent family company that was founded in 1850 by João Pereira d’Olivera, who first started as a partidista, producing wines to then sell them to other shippers. It is only from the 1970s that the company started marketing wines under their own label while still providing other shippers, notably MWC , with old Frasqueira wines, as the famous 1908 Bual one can find under the Cossart Gordon Label for instance. The company is still owned and run by three of João Pereira d’Olivera’s descendants, who represent the fifth generation of knowledge and experience dedicated to the production, commercialisation and exportation of Madeira wine. The company is under the administration of Aníbal D`Oliveira and Luís D´Oliveira, the founder’s grandsons, and Filipe d’Olivera joined the firm as winemaker in 1987.

The company’s headquarters in Rua dos Ferreiros n° 107 in the centre of Funchal, north of the Praça do Municipio, near the University of Madeira and next to Artur de Barros e Sousa, Lda, is a beautiful listed building dating back to 1619 (once the first secondary school in the country in 1837). Purchased in 1911, it was recently renovated, and now houses a tasting room, as well as large vats and barrels in which wines have been maturing for up to a hundred years. In the same street, n° 213 and 215, the recently purchased Adegas do Torreão building, adjacent to the Madeira Wine Company , is now the winery, where some old estufas are being turned into tasting rooms.

During the 1960s and 70s, the family owned farms, with cattle, pigs, bananas, sugarcane and vines, the later supplying 20% to 30% of the company’s grape requirement. A decision was made in the late 1980s to sell the farms and concentrate on the winemaking business. Since 2001, the company purchases their 120 to 150 tonnes of grapes from local growers exclusively. The Tinta Negra is bought from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos and São Vincente, the Sercial from Ponta Delgada, the Verdelho from Seixal and São Vincente, the Boal from Calheta, and the Malmsey from São Jorge. The company is still able to source a small amount of Terrantez.

The company did not export much until the 1970s, and in their warehouses you will find a considerable stock of 1.5 million litres of old and rare wines from the best vintages, which are the result of valuable wine inheritance of the aforementioned companies, and which currently represent added value for Pereira D'Oliveira (Vinhos) Lda . The “Verdelho 1850” was the oldest wine, and the “Bastardo 1927” the only frasqueira wine from that near extinct variety still available in 2009.

The present annual production is approximately 150,000 litres. It includes no modified wines, but a range of 3, 5,10 and 15 year old Madeira wines made in a Blanc-de-Noir style from Tinta Negra then aged in estufa tanks at a constant temperature of 45°C over six months (rather than the average three). But the core of the company’s production is the wine made from noble white grape varieties by the canteiro process: the Frasqueiras and Single Harvest wines (never bottled before 10 years), which are only bottled as they are sent to their respective markets.

All the products from the company are commercialised with the name «D´Oliveiras» and the respective logo, which has been duly registered. 30 to 40% of it is sold on the island, mainly to visitors. Wines are exported to mainland Portugal, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the UK, the USA, Canada, Japan and Russia.

Luís D´Oliveira makes it clear that he wishes to stay a family business and maintain the company’s identity, rooted into tradition but open to new technology. His aim is “to keep all casks full” and to continue to maintain stocks of old wines. “D’Oliveras” never made Solera wines or blends of noble grape varieties (and they have no intention to produce any in the future. Neither will they ever produce table wines).

In 2013, D’Oliveras acquired “Artur de Barros e Sousa Lda”, a family run company with no economical significance in terms of volume of production but strong of a cult following on the island. The company was established in 1922 for Artur de Barros e Sousa by his uncle Dr Pedro José Lomelino. Artur Barros’ daughter, Virginia, married Edmundo Menezes Olim. She gave him three sons: Artur, Edmundo and Rui. The company was last run by two of them: Artur Olim, winemaker, and Edmundo Olim, sales manager and “entertainer” (a skill most enjoyable as he would take you on a tour round the lodge). Rui Olim was a sleeping partner until he eventually sold his interest in the company to his brothers.

Compared with the other seven producers, Artur de Barros e Sousa was microscopic in view of the mere 8000 to 10000 bottles they produced every year and a total storage capacity of 85,000 to 90,000 litres. The two brothers would carry out all the work between them, only calling for the help of their six sons at harvest time, for harvesting “ is heavy work” as Artur used to day.

Grapes were purchased in small quantities from the same growers each year. No Tinta Negra would be used, for it was decided to focus on noble white grape varieties: Sercial from Jardim da Serra and Porto Moniz, Verdelho from São Vincente and Porto Moniz, Boal from Campanário, and Malvasia from São Jorge and Campanário. The neighbour pressed the grapes then all the vinification, maturation and bottling processes would take place on the company’s premises, Rua Dos Ferreiros 9000-082 Funchal, according to the most traditional methods: the must, without the skins, would be fermented in casks by natural wild yeasts; the small quantity of fortifying brandy needed was purchased from the Madeira Wine Company; all the wine was made by the canteiro process then aged in cask for a minimum of 6 years. Artur was a true believer in traditional methods, claiming that he was too old to become involved in the “totally different world of technology”. He only used one machine, an old pump, to pump the wines to the lofts. He is in favour of the new regulations brought in during recent years nonetheless, saying that “it makes life easier”. The three-storey lodge was a living museum, for it had remained nearly unchanged since it was first used for winemaking in the 1920s, with music still playing on small General Electric radios built in Brazil during World War II. Needless to say that there was no fax machine. The company’s telephone counted amongts the oldest one on the island. The company’s wines were not exported, but sold around the lodge’s table in Funchal to visitors and islanders. One could not fell to be enchanted by this small and highly traditional producer.

During the early 1990s, many old solera wines were available, but soon sold out. When D’Oliveras purchased the company, its cellars counted approximately 60,000 litres of stocks in cask, including wines made from Moscatel, Listrão and Terrantez. There were still small stocks of old wines “of our father”. Some of these wines were labelled in terms of style and quality, or with a grape variety name alternatively, but often, dates and grape varieties were unknown, but every wine had been duly tested and approved by The Institute.

Artur always said that Madeira should not be drunk with food and would comment that “with food, one drinks table wine”. He would then add with a smile: “I do not drink my wines. Alcohol is not for me. I drink water or coffee, that’s it!”

Contact: Pereira d’Oliveira (Vinhos), Lda. Rua dos ferreiros, n°107 9000-082 Funchal Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 220 784 Fax: 00351 291 229 081 Email: [email protected] Contact : Sr. Luís d’Oliveira

UK agent: Bovey Wines Importers and Distributors of Quality Madeira Wines www.boveywines.co.uk 12 Higher Tristram Polzeath Wadebridge Cornwall PL27 6TF Phone: 012 0886 2613 Fax: 012 0886 2613 Email: [email protected] Contacts: Geoffrey and Pamela Cole

H. M. Borges, Sucrs, Lda. H.M. Borges, Sucrs, Lda was established in 1877 by Henrique Menezes Borges, a food importer who devoted his entire life to purchasing and building up a stock of old wines. He died in 1916, leaving two sons, João and Henrique, and a daughter, Maria. In 1925, the company purchased Adega Exportadora de Vinhos da Madeira then Maria married João Henriques Conçalves, whose firm, J.H. Gonçalves & Ca , merged with Borges Madeira Lda . In 1932, the later bought the company, but kept the name, and merged with Araújo Henriques & Ca .

Maria and João had two sons, Jorges and Fernando, as well as a daughter. Nowadays, H.M. Borges is run by two cousins who are the fourth generation of the family: Isabel Borges Gonçalves, the daughter of Jorges, and Helena Borges Fontes, the daughter of Fernando. Other members of both the Borges and the Araújo families are also shareholders. Ivo Couto, a winemaker for 30 years, joined the company in the early 2000s, altogether bringing the number of staff to 14 employees.

The company Lodge, Rua 31 de Janeiro, n° 83, in Funchal, is an old flour mill, which they purchased in 1922. It houses all the winemaking equipment: presses, fermentation vats and estufa tanks, as well as storage and ageing facilities, a bottling line, a small laboratory and a reception area and tasting room for visitors.

The Araújo family owns vineyards that used to supply the company with Verdelho, but now, from these grapes only table wines, in which the company has no interest, are made. With the help of two agents, 100% of the 200,000kg of grapes needed every year are purchased from Camâra de Lobos and the north of the island: the Tinta Negra from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, the Sercial from São Vincente, the Verdelho from Calheta, the Boal from Campanário, and the Malvasia from São Jorge.

The current annual production is approximately 150,000 litres, while the company holds approximately 1 million litres in stock. Annual sales are around 100,000 litres, but the company doesn’t sell bulk or modified wine. Although it was noted in the past for its old vintage wines, the oldest available in 2010 was a 1940 Malmsey Solera they had bought from Veiga Franca , and 3 year old wines now represent a staggering 80% of the company’s sales. 3 and 5 year old wines are made from Tinta Negra by the estufagem process at a temperature of 35 to 45°C for three months, while the 10 and 15 year old wines are made from Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia by the canteiro process. The company also makes Single Harvest wines from noble white grape varieties, bottled when 7 to 10 year of age, and recently, they produced a “20 Year Old Verdelho”, as well as a “40 Year Old Malmsey” (bottled to celebrate the 500 th Anniversary of Funchal as a city).

An increasingly knowledgeable and demanding market gave rise to a new marketing strategy. The packaging was redesigned, now looking more modern in order to attract a younger consumer base, increase market share and hopefully break new markets on the international trade. The range was extended and, since 2010, sees a “Rainwater” (marketed as an aperitif to be served chilled) produced among the range of 3 year old wines, and more significantly, a series of 5 year Old wines made by the canteiro process from one of the noble white grape varieties (the missing Verdelho should be launched by the end of 2011). A blend of 50% Boal / 50% Malmsey, very reminiscent of the groundbreaking “Blandy’s Alvada” but available as a 5, 10, 15 or 20 year old wine, marketed under the Borges Prime brand name, was launched in 2011. The “Borges Prime Collection” is designed as a limited edition of an exclusive new Madeira wine targeted at a very select clientele.

In addition to the Borges brand sold in Sweden, Norway, Italy and the UK, other brands are produced by the company: Adega Exportadora de Vinhos da Madeira sold in Japan, and J.H. Conçalves and Araújo Henriques e Ca sold locally.

Contact: H.M. Borges, Sucrs. Lda www.hmborges.com Rua 31 de Janeiro, n° 83 9050-011 Funchal Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 223 247 or 00467 0994 7270 Fax: 00351 291 222 281 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Contact: Gonçalo de Spinola, export Sales Director [email protected]

H.M. Borges, Sucrs, Lda had plans to get into a distribution partnership with Odd Bins, but since the latter went into administration in May 2011, Borges is once again seeking distribution in the UK.

UK availability: Atlantico UK Ltd. www.atlantico.co.uk Unit 10, Commerce Park Commerce Way Croydon CR0 4ZS Phone: 020 8649 7444 Fax: 020 8649 8005 Email: [email protected]

J. Faria & Filhos, Lda. Although the company has been around since the 1950s, it is only in 1993 that J. Faria & Filhos, Lda started commercialising Madeira Wine. Till then, the company produced a large range of alcoholic beverages such as rum, poncho, and many fruit-based drinks. However, over the past two decades, in association with P.E. Gonçalves , who until 2002 produced and sold Madeira wine in bulk, it has achieved a strong share of the local Madeira wine market.

In 2007, the Company moved into its new and expensive premises in Funchal: a modern five story building, with room for a planned expansion as involvement with Madeira wines increases. The facility includes storage space for ageing casks, a bottling line and recently installed 50,000 and 60,000 litre stainless steel storage tanks. Future plans include investing into two 50,000 litre stainless steel estufa tanks, more storage tanks and oak casks until a full capacity of 60,0000 litres is reached.

Gonçalves buys in grapes and must, and now produces Madeira wines both by the estufagem and the canteiro processes. Betting on a modern and innovative angle, J. Faria & Filhos, Lda has been able to produce quality Madeira wines in a diversity of packaging, with views to further expand the range. The first wines produced were 3 year old wines made from Tinta Negra, first in sweet and medium dry styles only, though every degree of sweetness is now offered. 5 and 10 year old wines from Tinta Negra have also been launched, and from the 2008 vintage, Boal-based wines have been made with views to market them as 5 year old wines.

Annual production was 238,437 litres in 2007 and 253,880 litres in 2008. Sales started with the domestic market, but the company now exports to France. Total sales in 2008 were 180,000 litres. The company markets a variety of brands: Faria & Filhos, Lda; J. Faria & Filhos and P.E. Gonçalves for both the domestic and the export markets; Zarco; Nau Santa Maria de Colombo and Pingo Doce for the local market, Pingo Doce being also distributed on the rest of the Portuguese domestic market.

Contact: J. Faria & Filhos, Lda www.jfariaefilhios.pt Travessa do Tanque, 85 e 87 9020-258 Funchal Madeira, Portugal Phone: 00351 291 742 935 Fax: 00351 291 742 255 Email: [email protected] Madeira Vintners This very small operation was inaugurated in June 2013. The winery is run by Cooperativa Agrícola do Funchal, with Paulo Mendes as Managing Director. The idea is to produce small lots of terror-driven single vineyard wines of high quality.

No more information is available yet.