1978 Blandy Terrantez Vintage Madeira - medium dry
€ 450.86
| Producer | Blandy's |
| Region | Madeira |
| Grapes | Terrantez |
| Ageing | 650 l casks in the Blandy’s Lodge, Funchal |
| Alcohol | 19,5%vol |
| Serving | 18°C, open a few hours in advance Store upright, keeps almost indefinitely once opened |
| Scores | 98/100 Wine & Spirits 97/100 Decanter World Wine Awards 97/100 Wine Enthusiast 95/100 Wine Spectator |
Terrantez 1978: one of the rarest Madeiras in the world.
Tasting note
Mahogany with a golden-green tint. A very characteristic, exuberant bouquet of exotic spices, camphor, varnish, cedar and tobacco leaf. A sweet attack that turns very ethereal, leaving a spicy, dry impression, with a very long, fresh and dry finish of curry, saffron and roasted resinous woods.
The story
An exceptionally rare, medium-rich single-vintage Madeira. In 1978 the grapes were hand-picked in Prazeres, Câmara de Lobos and Caniço on the island’s south coast. The wine aged in 650-litre casks in the Blandy’s Lodge in Funchal. Only 1,206 bottles of 75 cl were released.
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.
Terrantez is a medium-sweet white grape that is hard to grow. It copes poorly with humidity, so the slopes of the east coast suit it best. It has become very rare. Typical is a certain bitterness and a finish reminiscent of roasted coffee and ash.
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
Cheeses such as blue cheese, Stilton, Gruyère, Manchego and Emmental. Dried fruit. Crème brûlée, caramel desserts with apple, apricot, pecans, cherries, almonds, hazelnuts or dried figs, and vanilla ice cream. Also a fine companion to a pipe, cigar or aromatic tobacco.
Critics & Awards
98/100 Wine & Spirits | Tasted: Feb 2023
97/100 Decanter World Wine Awards | Tasted: Jan 2023
95/100 Wine Spectator | Tasted: Feb 2023
97/100 Wine Enthusiast | Tasted: Mar 2023
Only a few acres of Terrantez remain, almost all on Madeira. A magnificent wood-aged wine: perfumed, ripe with wood tannins and a bite of spirit, and very generous and smooth on the finish.
Only a few acres of Terrantez remain, almost all on Madeira. A magnificent wood-aged wine: perfumed, ripe with wood tannins and a bite of spirit, and very generous and smooth on the finish.