Madeira Flashcards
Madeira Location
a subtropical island rising sharply from the Atlantic nearly 625 miles off the coast of Portugal
-west of Morocco
Madeira basics
- fortified and maderized wine
- fortified white wine
Madeira Climate
- has southern latitude
- leads to an extremely warm to hot climate
Maderized
cooked
The principal noble white grapes of Madeira today are
Sercial (Esgana Cão),
Verdelho (Gouveio),
Boal (Bual, Malvasia Fina),
Malmsey
-wine must contain a minimum 85% of the stated grape if the wine is a multi-vintage blend
-100% of the stated variety if a vintage is indicated.
Tinta Negra in Madeira
- the island’s workhorse
- nearly 85% of its total production.
- Old or new, Madeira wine without a variety on the label is likely the product of Tinta Negra.
Main Varietal Styles of Madeira
in order from driest to sweetest, are as follows: Sercial
Verdelho
Boal
Malvasia
Madeira-Sercial
- The driest varietal Madeira,
- Sercial displays searing acidity and, over time, its youthful citrus notes evolve into a more complex almond bouquet.
- Sercial is a suitable aperitif, and often a good accompaniment to light soups and consommés.
- While considered dry these wines may still contain around 40-45 grams per liter of residual sugar.
Madeira-Verdelho:
- Verdelho produces a medium dry wine of high acid, with a smoky, honeyed character.
- The wines are slightly fuller in body than Sercial.
Madeira-Boal:
- Boal produces a medium sweet, rich style of wine, in which the acidity is still powerful enough to dominate the finish.
- Highly aromatic, the wines tend to display classic chocolate, roasted nut, and coffee notes.
- With age, Boal tends to be the darkest Madeira wine in color.
Madeira-Malvasia (Malmsey)
- The Malvasia wines represent the sweetest and softest style of Madeira.
- On the nose, Malmsey evokes toffee, vanilla, and marmalade aromas.
- The wine can frame a cheese course or dessert flavors of nut, caramel, and dried fruits equally well.
Madeira process
After fortification , the young wine is then subjected to either the Estufagem or Canteiro process, the two modern heating methods that lend Madeira its distinctive character
Estufagem
- Most wines are transferred to the estufa, a stainless steel vat that warms the wine by circulating hot water through serpentine coils inside the tank.
- In this method, the wine is heated to a temperature of 45-50° C (113-122°F) and held there for at least three months; during this period sugars in the wine will slowly caramelize and give the estufa wine its distinctive character.
- Once the Estufagem process is completed, the wine enters a period of rest (estágio) for a minimum 90 days before being transferred to cask for aging.
- Estufagem wines may not be released until two years after the harvest.
Delicate variation on the Estufagem
- involves placing the wine in armazens de calor, rooms warmed by nearby tanks or steam pipes rather than the direct heat of the estufa.
- This variant technique, chiefly utilized by the Madeira Wine Company, utilizes lower temperatures over a longer period of time—sometimes up to one year.
Canteiro
- producers use the Canteiro method for their best wines.
- the wines are cask-aged for a period of at least two years in lodge attics.
- In this manner, the wine is exposed to the gentler, natural warmth of the sun as it undergoes a much slower process of maturation, preventing the burnt caramelization of sugars and resulting bitter flavors associated with rapid heating.
Canteiro aging
- wines may be bottled at a minimum three years of age, the best Vinhos de Canteiro will remain in cask for 20 years or more
- developing into the rarest and most treasured wines of the island: Frasqueiras.
Madeira with a Vintage Date
- Colheita (Harvest)
- Frasqueira
- Vinho da Roda/Vinho da Torno/Vinho da Volta:
Madeira with a Vintage Date: Colheita
- Colheita Madeira is produced from a single vintage (85% minimum required) and is aged for a minimum 5 years prior to bottling.
- It may be a blend or a single varietal wine.
- Colheita offers the consumer a “vintage” Madeira without the extended cask aging, complexity, or cost of a true Vintage Madeira, or Frasqueira.
- The word “harvest” is sometimes used in place of Colheita but producers are not allowed to use the word “vintage” on labels.
Madeira with a Vintage Date: Frasqueira
- Vintage Madeira aged for a minimum 20 years in cask.
- Frasqueira, like Colheita, may be produced from a single variety or a blend. Since only a minimum 85% of the vintage is required, these wines are topped up with younger wines throughout the aging process.
- Vintage wines are produced by the Canteiro method and may be aged for additional time in glass demijohns after the period of cask aging.
- Frasqueira is the epitome of Madeira, and one of the world’s legendary and long-lived wines.
Madeira with a Vintage Date: Vinho da Roda/Vinho da Torno/Vinho da Volta
- An exceptional rarity,
- wines so labeled underwent an ocean journey across the equator.
- Shortridge Lawton, now a brand of the Madeira Wine Company, produced wines in this traditional style as late as the early 1900s.
Madeira Multi-Vintage Blends
- Rainwater
- Seleccionado
- Reserve (Reserva)
- Special Reserve (Reserva Especial):
- Extra Reserve
- 20 Years Old, 30 Years Old, Over 40 Years Old
- Solera
Madeira Multi-Vintage Blends: Rainwater
- A popular style in the US,
- Rainwater Madeira is usually 100% Tinta Negra
- the youngest wine in the blend is a minimum three years old.
- The wine is medium dry, and light in style.
Madeira Multi-Vintage Blends: Seleccionado
- Such bottles are often labeled “Finest,” “Choice,” or “Select,” and
- include a blended wine that is at least 3 years old (but below five years of age).
- These wines are dominated by the Tinta Negra grape, heated in Estufagem and aged in tank rather than cask.
Madeira Multi-Vintage Blends: Reserve (Reserva)
-is 5 years of age or older (but below 10 years of age) may use this designation.
Madeira Multi-Vintage Blends: Special Reserve (Reserva Especial)
- is 10 years of age or older (but below 15 years of age) may use this designation.
- Wines of this category (and all older designations) are often made of a single noble variety, heated by the Canteiro method.
Madeira Multi-Vintage Blends: Extra Reserve
-is 15 years of age or older (but below 20 years of age) may use this designation.
Madeira Multi-Vintage Blends: Solera
- Madeira wines produced by fractional blending and the Canteiro method.
- The EU does not permit its production, but the wines are still available on the island.
- A maximum 10% of a solera’s stock may be drawn off each year, and only 10 total additions may be made to each solera.
