1940 Justinos Sercial Vintage Madeira - dry
€ 945.00
| Producer | Justino's |
| Region | Madeira |
| Grapes | Sercial |
| Ageing | At least 20 years in cask (Frasqueira) |
| Alcohol | 20%vol |
| Serving | 18°C, open a few hours in advance Store upright, keeps almost indefinitely once opened |
| Scores | 89/100 Wine Spectator 92/100 CellarTracker (7 notes) |
A 1940 Sercial: dry, fresh and timeless.
Tasting note
Sercial is the palest Madeira: a lovely golden yellow, aromatic and floral, with citrus notes in youth that turn nuttier over time and even recall older Riesling. Ginger is a hallmark aroma. Its high acidity makes it the ideal aperitif wine.
The story
These are Madeira’s finest wines, with almost unlimited ageing potential. A Frasqueira (formerly called vintage Madeira) must spend at least 20 years in cask and two years in bottle before it may be sold. It comes from a single good harvest and a single noble grape, both stated on the label with the harvest and bottling years. After gentle heating it ages for a long time in wooden casks, and once bottled its quality no longer changes. Because they are so rare, these wines are inventoried.
Sercial is the white grape behind the driest style of Madeira: the spirit is only added at the end of fermentation, when almost all the sugar has fermented. Its very high acidity when young earned this late-ripening grape the name Esgana Cão (dog strangler), and it is why Sercial usually ages for a long time. It grows in the highest vineyards in the south, at around 600-800 m, or in the cooler north. Sercial is somewhat reminiscent of Riesling.
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
Lightly chilled as an aperitif with olives and almonds, or with sushi, oysters, squid carpaccio with tomato-coriander vinaigrette, salmon tartare, prosciutto, crab and fresh tuna (sashimi).
Critics & Awards
92/100 CellarTracker (7 notes)
89/100 Wine Spectator | Tasted: Nov 1999
Gold – International Wine Challenge 2013
Reviews
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