Blandy's Sercial Madeira 1968 (750ML)

99 DE / 20 JR 

Best in Show 2018 Decanter World Wine Awards

The Blandys established themselves on Madeira in 1811 and are now in charge of the Madeira Wine Company. Aged for 49 years in seasoned American oak casks before bottling in 2017, this wine is mid-deep amber in colour with an olive-green glint. Fine, lifted woodsmoke characters on the nose are redolent of autumn leaves and bonfires. It has crystallised fruit on the palate with rapier-like power and intensity. The hint of sweetness (59g/l residual sugar) is offset by a streak of acidity, leading to a mouthwateringly fresh greengage finish yielding to a touch of savoury complexity. A wine that sings contralto from the glass. Just 2,000 bottles in total.—Richard Mayson, Decanter

RS 59 g/l, VA 1.02 g/l, TA 10.1 g/l. Canteiro aged, American oak. Bottled 2017.
Deep mahogany-red core, wide white rim. More cloudy than the other madeiras tasted in this masterclass. Also lots of VA, but there is a caramel butterscotch richness and buttery cooked quince. Tannic, bitter and oaky and absolutely driven by acidity. A fierce, fierce wine. Cliff-edge, confrontational, terrifying. This needs to go with food and I’d serve it with steak and truffle butter or smoked lamb and a preserved-lemon pesto as well as Wareing’s lemon lentil dip with the raisin and mustard-seed pickle and curried carrots. Smoky, oaky, and really, really exciting! (TC), Jancis Robinson