2008 Barbeito Malvasia Colheita Madeira 50 cl sweet
€ 44.00 / 50 cl
| Producer | Barbeito |
| Region | Madeira |
| Grapes | Malvasia (Malmsey) |
| Ageing | Colheita, 14 years in an old 650 l French oak cask |
| Farming | Early harvest, 6 months on the skins |
| Alcohol | 19%vol |
| Serving | 18°C, open a few hours in advance Store upright, keeps almost indefinitely once opened |
A 2008 Malvasia from São Jorge, from one chosen cask: 1,149 bottles.
Tasting note
Floral notes, honey, beeswax, yellow fruit jam and candied fruit. Rich and smooth on the palate, with a lingering honeyed flavour. Well balanced between sweetness and acidity, with a round, long finish.
The story
The grapes were picked before full ripeness, for higher acidity, from three vineyards in São Jorge. Fermentation was stopped medium sweet with grape spirit, to preserve the natural sugar. After 6 months of skin contact, the wine was racked in March 2009 into 3 old French oak casks of 650 litres each. After 14 years, Ricardo Diogo chose cask 547E as his favourite for this bottling. 1,149 bottles were filled in January 2023.
A 50 cl bottle.
Madeira spends years ageing in an oxidative environment and moves into a reductive one at bottling. It is therefore best to open the bottle a few hours in advance. After that, air no longer affects the wine: an open bottle keeps almost indefinitely and often tastes even better months later. Always store Madeira upright, as the acidity attacks the cork if the bottle lies down.
Food pairing
Excellent as a digestif, with Christmas pudding, foie gras, caramel pudding, chocolate, candied fruit and cheese.
The producer
Barbeito is one of the most forward-thinking houses on Madeira, and also one of the youngest: it was founded in the 1940s by Mário Barbeito. After his death in 1985 his daughter Manuela de Freitas took over the business. Her sons Ricardo and Miguel joined in 1991. Ricardo Diogo runs the house today.