I love Madeira; all of those weird, rancid and off flavours that combine to make a lovely, complete booze experience are a joy. This is a particularly tits bottle.
[image image_id=”2215″] Madeira Boal Reserva 1968, d’Oliveiras
Quite dark orange, with the weird green rim you only seem to find on Madeira. The nose bursts with brazil and hazelnut tones, with a wonderful toffee apple fruit. This is throbbing with life and it clearly signed an agreement saying it would strive only to provide a lot of pleasure. If I have been unclear allow me to re-iterate: this smells freaking ace. The palate also bursts with life, it has good baked fruit and truly marvellous (and, if I may go on about this, slightly painful) acidity. As with all good bottles of Madeira, how this tastes may not thrill the unenlightened. But I am well aware that both my readers of this site are not only enlightened but in fact serene. This will tickle your imagination, thrill your nose and tantalise your tongue. Madeira is a sadly neglected drink these days, and has been so for too long. When I used to invite good looking students to my room to mark their essays, issue them with papers and generally be a supportive kind of tutor they always seemed scandalised when I offered them a glass of Madeira. Bad thing when social conditioning makes one reject good things simply because Dame Fashion says you must avoid without giving any convincing reason. Surely it is better to be right than fashionable? Madeira was one of the first wines I purchased with my own cash, but even at that tender age I knew about the objective nature of reality and how I was in touch with it. This is excellent.
Once again David, I agree : this is a scandalously good bottle of wine, and I loved reading your description. Bravo. And if you can find it, do try their 1977 Terrantez. Broadly the same earthly pleasures, but even more austere and unfashionable.
Cheers,
Peter
Peter,
Yes indeed, this was a damned good bottle of wine. Really weird but mind-bendingly pleasing. I’ve had the Terrantez 1977; you are right about austerity. Imagine what a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc drinker would think about that!
The Barbeito vintage Madeiras are even better, in my opinionated opinion.
David
Never tried the Barbeito vintage wines, so thanks for the tip. I did try their Veramar Boal once and found that the genuine character of the grape, though present, was rather submerged beneath a blandly commercial layer of sweetness. I recognise I may be being unfair on a £9 bottle of madeira, but it wasn’t what I wanted. Bring me more Terrantez !
Peter