Madeira (wine)
Madeira is a protected designation of origin ( DOP ) for the liqueur wine from the island of Madeira, which belongs to Portugal . This is a fortified , i.e. H. with brandy fortified wine. The alcohol content is between 17 and 22 % vol, depending on the variety . Madeira is a partially oxidized wine. Other, undesirably oxidized wines are therefore often referred to as " madeirized ".
Emergence
The Madeira wine supposedly came about by chance. After the fermentation process, similar to that of port wine, was terminated with 96% pure alcohol due to its better shelf life , seafarers reported that the wine had a positive change in taste after being transported through the tropics. This transport was carried out in a targeted manner from then on. Selected wines in relatively small barrels went through the Torna viagem , the boat trip to the Portuguese overseas provinces, which particularly supported the maturation process, the so-called Madeirization . The voyage was later (until today) replaced by three to five months' storage at 45 ° C to 75 ° C (for example directly under corrugated iron roofs or artificially created).
Economical meaning
The sale of Madeira wine has been declining for years. While 5,060,575 liters were sold in 1979, it was 4,017,646 liters in 2000 and only 3,372,160 liters in 2014.
Grape varieties
In the past, according to the rules of the Instituto Do Vinho Da Madeira ( Madeira Wine Institute), the following four grape varieties were considered "noble", each of which stands for a certain style (and degree of sweetness) and therefore has the highest level of awareness: Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia .
In the meantime, however, according to the new rules of the IVBAM, a distinction is made between "approved" and "recommended" grape varieties.
The permitted grape varieties are:
| Caracol | White |
| Carão-de-Moça | White |
| Complexa | red |
| Deliciosa | red |
| Listrão | Rose |
| Malvasia Branca de S. Jorge | White |
| Moscatel Graúdo | White |
| Rio Grande | White |
| Triunfo | red |
| Valveirinho | White |
The recommended grape varieties are:
| Bastardo | red |
| Folgasao (Terrantez) | White |
| Malvasia-Cândida | White |
| Malvasia-Cândida Roxa | Rose |
| Malvasia fina | White |
| Sercial | White |
| Tinta | red |
| Tinta Negra | red |
| Verdelho | White |
| Verdelho tinto | red |
Sercial - acidic and dry
Sercial is the English name for the Portuguese cerceal . After the phylloxera outbreak , Sercial was not grown for a long time, but the number of vines is slowly increasing again. The late-ripening, white vine produces the best wines in slightly higher elevations. Due to its acidity, the wine is hardly drinkable when it is young, so it needs a long aging period (20 years +). Simple Sercial is often drunk as a mixed drink, for example with ⅓ Campari . But the better Sercial is drunk neat, for example as an aperitif or after champagne. Typical aromas are: (young) orange, lime, volatile acidity, (older) nuts, notes of turpentine, old Riesling.
Verdelho - semi-dry
Verdelho is also a white vine that is relatively difficult to cultivate. In terms of taste, Madeira is roughly between Sercial and Bual . Has been increasingly being planted again since the 1980s. Verdelho is the main grape variety of the "Rainwater Madeira", which is very popular in the USA and, according to legend, was created when a load of barrels on a beach in Georgia was diluted in heavy rain. This variant of Madeira is correspondingly easy. The taste of the Verdelho is rounder than that of the Sercial. The flavors tend more towards dried fruits, honey, coffee and chocolate.
Bual - semi-sweet
Bual is the English name of the Portuguese boal . Also a white grape variety (although the wines are surprisingly dark), which is also popular as a table grape . Bual is very aromatic. The best have a wonderful balance between sweetness and acidity. The aromas become more and more varied with age: lime, caramel, coffee, orange peel, apricot, dried fruits.
Malmsey - sweet and voluptuous
Malmsey is the English expression for the Portuguese Malvasia , a white grape variety that produces very sweet and probably the most famous Madeira. Originally from Greece, it is a popular table grape because of its sweetness. It ripens quickly, but has a long shelf life on the cane, and is grown in the lowest parts of the island. According to legend, it was Martin Luther's favorite grape variety because of its sweetness . The wine is a bit lighter with age than Bual . Flavors: toffee, vanilla, jam, up to cough syrup.
Tinta Negra Mole
Tinta Negra Mole is a not quite as noble, but recommended red vine. Also known as "the black velvet" from which more than half of Madeira's wine is made. Wines from this versatile grape variety are marketed under the following taste designations based on the classic styles of the "noble":
- dry
- medium-dry (semi-dry)
- medium-sweet (semi-sweet)
- sweet (sweet)
The Tinta can, to a certain extent, imitate the flavor of the nobler variety.
This grape variety is responsible for the loss of quality and image of Madeira in the 19th and 20th centuries, which from then on was often only known as a simple cooking wine. Nevertheless, the Tinta is not a "bad" variety per se . It can produce acceptable qualities.
The Terrantez and Bastardo grape varieties are rarely found, but also permitted . Both achieve the highest quality.
Terrantez
Terrantez is made dry, semi-dry and sweet. White, traditional variety. Very rare today - maybe just 500 liters are produced on the whole island. The Madeira Wine Company now produces a rather sweet wine from the Terrantez, other manufacturers make a very dry wine, in its kind like a lush Sercial, but without the typical lime aroma. The most typical characteristic of the Terrantez is its bitter finish and ashy, burnt coffee notes.
Bastardo
Bastardo is a red variety. Identical to the French trousseau . Also part of the port wine. Presumably no longer grown in Madeira today. Made some great wines in the past (for example 1927).
Moscatel is also grown in small quantities .
maturation
There are essentially two types of production:
- The classic Canteiro method, which lasts at least two years , in which the fortified young madeira in a wooden barrel under the roof of the Adega is naturally exposed to the caramelizing effect of the heat, has become very rare today for economic reasons. The volume loss of around three percent per year in wooden barrels leads to considerable costs compared to the fast, loss-free heating in the concrete tank of the large producers over the often decades of aging. The Canteiro wines can only be put on the market after three years at the earliest, calculated from January 1st of the year following the harvest.
- One of the last real Canteiro Adegas is ABSL, Artur de Barros e Sousa Ltd in Funchal .
- The storage or expansion takes place in oak barrels. Vintage wines are rarely produced. Most wines are blended.
- The Estufagem method, which lasts at least three months , in which wine is heated to 45 to 50 ° C in stainless steel containers through a spiral tube system. Then the wine is given a three-month rest period ( Estágio ). The wines must never be bottled and put on the market before October 31 of the second year after the harvest.
Differentiation of the cuvées
According to the age
- Seleccionado
- At least three years old, but no more than five years old.
- Rainwater
- Five years old or less. Light. Intended as an aperitif.
- Three Years old Reserve (Fine)
- Usually made from Tinta Negra Mole, at least three years old.
- Five years old reserve
- A maximum of 15% Tinta, the remaining varieties must be mentioned on the label. The youngest wine is at least five years old. Wine less than 10 years old.
- Alvada
- A new creation from the last few years. At least 5 years of waste that is sold in 0.5 l bottles.
- Ten Years old Reserve (Special Reserve or Reserva Velha)
- The youngest wine is at least 10 years old.
- Fifteen Years Old Reserve (Extra Reserve)
- Originally not allowed, today a blend that is at least 15 years old is sometimes bottled on special occasions.
- Twenty Years Old Reserve
- Twenty or more years but less than thirty years. Has also been marketed for several years.
- Thirty Years Old Reserve
- Thirty or more years but less than forty.
- Over Forty Years Old Reserve
- Wine more than forty years old
According to the vintage
- Solera
- A specialty that is otherwise only common in the production of sherry or Málaga wine . A solera is a system of barrels from which one tenth was originally bottled and sold and then topped up with young wines. These younger wines then quickly took on the taste of the older wine. After 9 refills, the solera was closed (which means that about 1/3 of the original wine is retained). The more modern soleras, however, are often operated indefinitely, or at least continue to operate for longer.
- A solera bottle bears the year in which the solera was created . An 1852 solera that was not closed therefore contains old wine from different vintages, but u. U. only a little from the year 1852. The EU wine system therefore bans Soleras, but this does not detract from the trade in bottles sold on the island.
- Madeira soleras can produce great wines, which in individual cases can even exceed those of vintage Madeira in their complexity.
- Colheita
- For a few years now, similar to port wine , colheitas have also been produced. These are wines that are at least 85% from the same vintage and at least 85% from only one of the recommended or approved grape varieties. Storage for at least five and a maximum of twenty years. In theory, it is possible that a wine that started out as Colheita will turn out to be of such high quality as it matures that it can be continued as Vintage Madeira.
- Vintage Madeira (Frasqueira)
- Vintage Madeira has a year on the bottle and only contains wine from this vintage and from one grape variety. Vintage Madeira are considered to be the finest Madeira. They are barreled for at least 20 years before being bottled and another 2 years before they are finally sold. The vintage and the bottling date must be indicated. Most vintage Madeira, however, are stored in casks for much longer, sometimes more than a hundred years. The long storage in the barrel leads to a (desired) oxidation and concentration of the wines through evaporation. These wines have an almost unlimited shelf life and wines from the 18th century still offer incomparable drinking pleasure today.
- Harvest Vintage
- A new type of Madeira with 5 to 10 years barrel storage. These wines are not necessarily made for long storage.
- Vinho Da Roda or Vinho Da Torno or Vinho Da Volta
- This type is no longer in production. These were Madeira wines that were brought across the equator in a ship. The last producer to practice this practice was Shortridge Lawton . Very rare, usually very expensive.
control
The production of the wine from the cultivation in the vineyard, through the harvest, fermentation, maturation in the barrel or the Estufa, up to the bottling is under the control of the IVBAM, the Instituto do Vinho, do Bordade e do Artesanato da Madeira . This institute emerged from the Junta Nacional do Vinho, the so-called Wine Council, which was renamed Instituto do Vinho da Madeira (IVM) in 1979. While the IVM was only responsible for the wine, and there were separate control bodies for embroidery and basket weaving, the IVBAM now oversees all three branches of production.
Fakes
There are fakes, which mainly come from Spain. The Spanish-sounding manufacturer names are often striking about them.
storage
Madeira is probably the only wine that standing should be stored. The minimal gas exchange is good for the wine and preserves the oxidized taste. Nevertheless, it should be stored motionless in a dark and cool ambience with rather high humidity. A Neuverkorkung is advisable after a maximum of 40 years.
Manufacturers and brands
- ABSL (Artur de Barros e Sousa, Lda.)
- AO-SM (Anibal D'Oliveira from Sao Martinho)
- Barros, Almeida & Co (MWC)
- Blandy's Madeiras Lda. (MWC)
- Borges Sucrs. Lda./HM & Borges Madeira Lda./HMB
- Broadbent Selections Inc.
- Companhia Vinicola da Madeira
- Cossart Gordon Lda. (MWC)
- CVM (Companhia Vinicola da Madeira)
- Funchal Wine Co. (MWC)
- H & H / Henriques & Henriques
- Justino Henriques Filhos, Vinhos
- Kopke, CN
- Leacock & Co (MWC)
- Lomelino
- Luiz Gomes
- Madeira Wine Association / MWA
- Madeira Wine Company / MWC
- Madeira Wine Institute (Instituto do Vinho da Madeira, IVM)
- Manuel de Sousa Herdreiros LDA.
- Miles Madeira (MWC)
- Nieport
- D'Oliveiras, Aníbal
- Power Drury (Power's)
- Royal Madeira Company (MWC)
- Rutherford & Miles (MWC)
- Sandeman
- Vinhos Justino Henriques, Filhos, Lda./VJH
- Vinhos Barbeito Lda.Funchal
Oxidative wines
More known oxidative wines are: Glacier wine , port wine , sherry and Vin Jaune .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paragraph Madeira wine 1976-2014 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Page of the Weininstitut (German) , on vinhomadeira.pt, accessed on February 16, 2015
- ↑ IVBAM: grape varieties. In: IVBAM website. IVBAM, 2018, accessed April 23, 2018 .
- ↑ maturation
- ^ Roy Hersh: Musing about Madeira Colheita. In: www.fortheloveofport.com. Retrieved December 17, 2017 .
- ↑ IVBAM: website IVBAM. Retrieved October 5, 2017 .
