Madeira – The world’s longest living wine

Carol Wright on what makes Madeira the ‘hottest’ thing in wine

Fortified wines from the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic are the world’s longest living. There’s no need to rush to finish a bottle once opened; it can last for at least a year. Its international reputation goes back some 600 years. It is historically famed for the legendary 15th century drowning of the Duke of Clarence in a butt of Malmsey (Madeira), and for being the chosen wine with which America’s independence was toasted on July 4, 1776.

Madeira’s deep nutty richness was discovered by accident. From the late 15th century, the island of Madeira was the resupply point for ships voyaging to the Americas and East Indies. Barrels of wine were often loaded as ballast, and were bounced by the ocean through the tropics and over the equator. The story goes that after one round-trip to India, the barrels of wine were returned to the Madeiran producer who discovered that his wine had greatly improved as a result of being heated as the ship crossed the equator. This started a trend of wine being sent on long voyages to improve it, while the producers tried to devise ways of replicating the effect of the heating.

Strong wine trade connections were made with America, especially during the 18th century, which was Madeira’s golden age. Its popularity embraced Brazil, Russia and North Africa, although America consumed as much as 95% of the island’s wine production. It was particularly liked by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The Boston Tea Party is renowned as a turning point in the path to the American Revolution, but before that, riots were caused in Boston in 1768 by the British seizure of a sloop that had unloaded 11,900 litres of Madeira wine, and disputes arose
over import duties. America has remained a strong market for Madeira, though Japan and Europe are also important today.

Global popularity declined from the mid-19th century, largely because of the effects of phylloxera, a powdery mildew that attacked vines. Other reasons were Prohibition in America and the fact that faster ships did not need to stop en route. Madeira became known as the ‘forgotten island wine’.

However, production flourishes today and the wine is still heated to give it richer and more complex depth, coupled with a nearly indefinite shelf life. Currently, there are two methods of heating the wine. The Canteiro System uses the sun’s heat to warm the barrels piled in lofty lodges often with tin roofs, to help increase the heat to around 30°C and humidity to 90%. The alternative Estufa (oven) System now uses ‘jackets’ of hot water around the wine in stainless steel tanks maintained at 45° to 50°C for three months, giving the wine a deep caramel tone. The wine was traditionally fortified with brandy from the mid-18th century, but today natural grape spirit is used.

That grapes can be cultivated at all on the vertiginous volcanic slopes of the island is a miracle. Vines are planted on low trellises to combat fungal grape diseases, erected on man-made terraces of red and brown basaltic bedrock. Getting mechanical help is almost impossible on such terracing, making grape growing expensive, which is mostly grown on small plots with other crops.

These difficulties led to fewer of the four classic Madeira wine grapes being grown, giving way instead to the Tinta Negra Mole grape which, though coarser, was easier to grow. Much of the Madeira produced with this grape was exported, particularly to France, and used for cooking rather than drinking. Marianna Pinto, director of Barbeito Winery told me that when French visitors come to their wine tastings, they are amazed at the quality and flavour of the four classic Madeiras.

The four main types of Madeira, known as the noble varieties, are Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malmsey. Sercial, fresh and citrusy, is the driest. Verdelho, the second-lightest and second-driest, is smokier in taste and grows up to 1000 metres in the island’s north. Bual, grown on the south coast, has higher sugar levels than Sercial and Verdelho and is a medium-rich caramel wine that retains its acidity and goes well with hard cheese, dried fruit, cakes and tarts. Although Malmsey is the sweetest and darkest of the four, it is not cloying as it, too, retains its acidity and is perfect with chocolate and coffee desserts as well as with patés and cold meats. It is also the best one for drinking after a meal.

The wines are cooled gradually, aged in wooden casks and continually tasted and tested for their quality and potential to be sold as 3- 5- 10- or 15-year-old wines. The best are offered as vintage Madeira which has to have had at least 20 years of ageing in cask, and as long as 40 years in the Canteiro System, demonstrating that the wine can last a lifetime.

One of the best-known Madeira producers is Blandy, a 200-year-old business still headed by a Blandy. Blandy joined a group of companies known now as the Madeira Wine Company, which Blandy controls, working together to strengthen global exposure and minimise overheads. The group was joined in 1989 by Symington, the port wine company. In 2000 the group introduced a high quality but affordable Madeira of a single year, known as a Colheita.

Mario Barbeito de Vasconcelos, an accountant working with several wine companies, founded his own company, Barbeito in 1946. Today the company is run by his grandson, Ricardo, who in 1991 set up a joint venture with a Japanese company enabling them to concentrate on ageing, producing and blending quality wine, honouring the concept of the founder.

Mario Barbeito wanted to restore the classic four noble Madeiran varieties, producing them in small quantities without adding anything such as caramel to colour them. The company’s winery is perched far above Europe’s highest sea cliff, Cabo Girao, from the slopes of which it obtains some of its grapes.

Ricardo has created a series called Signature wines, handcrafted in the traditional way, which has earned them the accolade of ‘Lafite of Madeira’ from Jancis Robinson. One of Barbeito’s ranges looks back to historical American connections in its Special Project Historical Series, made for the American market, with labels featuring US cities such as Boston, Baltimore, New York, and Charleston, as well as portraits of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

The Baltimore Rainwater, a medium-dry style bottled at 10 years old, was another ‘accidental’ discovery. Casks sent to the US were left on a beach, uncorked for some reason, and rain got into them. The resulting lighter alcohol content and colour became popular, especially in Baltimore.

Usually drunk as an aperitif or digestive, Madeira as a food accompaniment (particularly with starters and desserts) is promoted by Barbeito, who put food pairing suggestions on the back labels of his bottle. Madeira wine and walnuts were often served together as a last course at dinner parties in Washington in the early 1800s, the nuttiness of both making an obvious pairing. Served cool, Sercial is ideal with smoked salmon and olives; Verdelho with ham and patés and also at the end of a meal. Bual’s dark medium richness served at room temperature can accompany both cheese and sweet desserts while Malmsey can complement really rich and sweet dishes.

During a recent call at Madeira by the cruise ship, “Spirit of Adventure”, passengers were served afternoon tea with Madeira wines and Madeira cake. (The latter contains no Madeira but gets its name because it was served with wine in Victorian times.) The ship’s executive chef, Jim McCerery, who heads the preparation of 4,500 dishes daily, uses Madeira in sauces to go with meats like veal and game. Madeira sauce adds richness and depth to sauces, soups, stews and desserts. Since its flavour is intense, care should be taken to stick to the recipe and not add too much, as it becomes more concentrated and sweeter as it cooks. The sauce goes well with chicken, pork, beef, lamb and veal.

A bottle of Madeira, stored upright in a cool dark place, is a companion for years, even after opening. Always at hand to lift, either the spirits as an appetiser or the flavour of a soup by adding a splash to it.