1978 Blandy Terrantez Vintage Madeira - medium dry
€ 390.00
Colour . Mahogany with golden-green hue Aroma . Very characteristic bouquet, exuberant aroma with notes of exotic spice, camphor, varnishes, cedar, tobacco leaf. Mouth . Also very characteristic with a sweet attack, becoming very ethereal giving the sensation of spicy and dry, leaving a very long, fresh and dry aftertaste with spicy notes such as curry, saffron and burnt resinous woods. An exceptionally rare medium rich single vintage Madeira aged for 44 years in 650cl casks at the Blandy’s lodge in Funchal. The terrantez grape is one of the islands rarest grapes, in 2000 there were just 2 Ha of vineyard left in the world. Back in 1978 these grapes we hand harvested in Prazeres, Câmara de Lobos and Caniço on the south coast of the island. The wines were then aged for 15 years in 650 l cask at the Blandy’s lodge in Funchal. Just 1,206 75cl bottles have been released
These vintage or frasqueira wines are the top wines of Madeira. The ripening potential is almost unlimited.
This madeira of the highest quality must have been at least 20 years in barrel plus two years in the bottle before sale can take place. This wine used to be vintage madeira. A frasqueira must consist entirely of one of the top varieties mentioned on the label, together with the harvest and bottling year. Frasqueira's always come from one good crop year. They have undergone a mild temperature treatment and have been stored for a long time in wooden barrels. After bottling, the quality of frasqueira no longer changes.
These madeira wines are inventoried in view of their uniqueness.
Food-pairing
Cheeses such as blue cheeses, Stilton, Gruyere, manchego, & Emmenthal. Dried fruits.
Crème Brulee, caramel desserts based on apples, apricots, pecans, cherries, almonds, hazelnuts, dried figs & vanilla ice cream desserts.
The excellent companion to a pipe, cigar or aromatic tobacco.
Grapes: Terrantez
is a hard to grow white medium sweet grape variety. It can not withstand moisture well and that is why the slopes on the east coast are best suited. The breed has become rare, barely 5ha and 500 kilos. Typical of terrantez is a certain bitterness and an aftertaste reminiscent of roasted coffee and ashes.
Alcoholcontent
19,5%
Store & Serve
Store Upright. Should be served at 18ºC. As the wine is completely stabilized, it is recommended to pull the cork at least 2 days before enjoying this wine. Decanting will help remove any deposit that may have occurred in bottle over time. A wine that is best enjoyed chilled.
Madeira is a wine that has ripened for several years in an oxidative environment, and then enters a reductive environment when bottling. It is therefore useful to open the bottles a few hours in advance. The bottles can then be kept almost unlimited, since the air has no influence on Madeira wines. In fact, the wine tastes better after months - if it remains - than when the bottle is opened.
Critics & Awards
98/100 - Wine & Spirits Magazine Tasted: Feb 2023
97/100 - Decanter World Wine Awards Tasted: Jan 2023
95/10 - Wine Spectator Tasted: Feb 2023
97/100 - Wine Enthusiast Tasted: Mar 2023
There are only a few acres of Terrantez left in the world, almost entirely on the Madeira island. This magnificent wood-aged wine is perfumed, ripe with wood-aging tannins and a bite from the spirit, and so generous and smooth at the end. Drink now.
Producer: Blandy
Region: Madeira