Winemaker Notes
Intense golden mahogany color with almost greenish reflections. It presents a characteristic bouquet of wood, dried fruits, confectionery, floral tea, spices and honey. The attack is sweet and soft, smooth full-bodied, with notes of aged brandy and slightly smoked woods. Long finish, with some freshness and heat, with notes of spice, smoked walnut and molasses.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
It's notoriously difficult to make a balanced Malmsey. That's precisely what Blandy's achieved here. Lovely extract on the palate, with great substance, weight but also poise. Dried walnut, nectarine, red apple and apricot peel fill the mouth, set against a background of coffee, tobacco, Oolong tea and fig leaves - savoury and herbal notes that beautifully offset the luscious sweetness. Lingering notes of honeyed walnuts, floral honey and glazed apple.
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James Suckling
This Malmsey shows leather, dried fruit and roasted nectarine aromas. This has around 125 g/L of residual sugar, but the palate is incisive with citric acidity. Like all these wines the acidity determines the sensations and conditions the sweetness.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The richest and sweetest style for 10-year-old wine is the NV Malmsey 10 Year Old, a grape dominant in the north of the island, in the region of São Jorge, fortified to 19% alcohol and keeping 125 grams of unfermented sugar. It's floral, spicy and smoky, nutty and complex, with a velvety palate, warm and rich. This is the sweetest of the grapes. I tasted the August 2024 bottling, but there's no information of the bottling date. The 10 Year Old range of wines now have a transparent color with colorful labels, one for each variety.
Rating: 91+
A steep, volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean that rises to over 6,000 feet at its highest point, Madeira actually sits closer to Morocco than Portugal, the country to which it belongs.
Today the vineyards of the island cover tiny step-like terraces called poios, carved from the basalt bedrock. Aptly named Madeira, this fortified wine comes in two main styles. Blended Madeira is mostly inexpensive wine but there are a few remarkable aged styles. Single varietal Madeira (made from Sercial, Verdelho, Boal or Malmsey), is usually the highest quality and has the potential to improve in the bottle for decades.
WWH9764750_0 Item# 3663277