Blandy’s, 5 Years Old Sercial Dry Madeira, Portugal

Tasting Note: Madeira comes in various levels of sweetness and Sercial is the driest of the styles made from one of the four noble grape varieties Sercial is grown on the northern side of Madeira on terraced vineyards at high altitudes.

Even in Madeira’s driest form, the fortified wine reveals some residual sugar.

Medium-intensity amber in color, this wine has a medium-plus-intensity nose of cooked apple, pear, caramel, toast, ginger, apricot and blossom.

On the palate the off-dry, full-bodied Sercial Madeira delivers pronounced-intensity flavors suggested on the nose along with candied-fruit, dried apple, dried pear, apricot, marzipan and toffee.

The wine is medium-plus in acidity with a creamy texture and a long finish.

The Sercial Madeira is good in quality because of its varietal typicity and acidity.

Bottle Note: This Madeira wine has been crafted from the volcanic, sub-tropical Portuguese island of Madeira, located some 400 miles off the Northwest African coast. The Blandy’s are unique in being the only family of all the original founders of the Madeira wine trade to still own and manage their wine company, maintaining a tradition that goes back to 1811. The white varietal used in the production of the driest style of Madeira wine, Sercial, is grown in 2 very distinct locations on the island – down at sea-level on the North coast and at 800 meters above sea-level on the South coast. Matured at the Blandy’s Wine Lodges in the center of Funchal, this Sercial has the characteristic nuttiness of the varietal, combined with a dried citrus fruit edge, making it the perfect foil to a plate of salted almonds, freshly cut spicy chorizo or piquillo peppers. It leaves the palate feeling crisp, clean and very refreshed.