Recommendations
— D.M.
★★★Exceptional ★★Excellent ★Very Good
Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.
Madeira can be dry (Sercial or Verdelho), medium sweet (Bual) or very sweet (Malmsey). Michael Scaffidi, sommelier and wine director at the Jefferson Hotel downtown, likes to pair the drier versions with toasted nuts or roasted butternut squash soup at the beginning of a meal. But Madeira really shines as an all-purpose dessert wine.
“If you pour a glass of Madeira with dessert, it’s going to go well almost all the time, because although it is a sweet wine, it has a dry finish, so it doesn’t clash with the sweetness of dessert the way other late-harvest wines would,” says Bartholomew Broadbent of Broadbent Selections. “Also, Madeira has an extremely high searing acidity, so it doesn’t get killed by citrus desserts or balsamic vinegar. It’s a really versatile wine that can go with almost any food.”
Older Madeira is quite rare and expensive, and best sought in restaurants. Those available at retail may be single-vintage “colheita” wines, or labeled as five-year-old or 10-year-old. These resemble aged tawny port in style, but with the acidity of an amontillado sherry. “Rainwater” is a lighter style with unclear origins. It was either an accident created by rain from a tropical storm seeping into a cask, or simply created for the American market. Rainwater is the best style to use in cooking.
Here are some Madeiras available:
Broadbent Madeira Colheita 1996
★★★
Madeira, Portugal, $50 (750 ml)
Gorgeous and sweet, with dried orange peel and toasted-hazelnut flavors, wrapped in caramel. The advantage of an aged Madeira like this is its lightness and texture, and the drier finish from the oxidation and the acidity.
Country Vintner: Available in the District at Ace Beverage; on the list at Corduroy, Dino. Available in Virginia at Arrowine in Arlington.
Broadbent Madeira Reserve Five Years Old
★★
Madeira, Portugal, $25 (750 ml)
Thicker and richer than the 1996 but with the unctuously sweet orange peel, balsamic and hazelnut flavors of a fine Madeira.
Country Vintner: Available in the District at Ace Beverage; on the list at Corduroy, Dino. Available in Virginia at Arrowine in Arlington.
Blandy’s Madeira Colheita Malmsey 1994
★★1 / 2
Madeira, Portugal, $48 (500 ml)
Candied orange peel and caramel, with toasted almonds and many other nuts. In fact, I’m just nuts about this wine, which is delightful by itself or with a cream-based dessert such as tiramisu or a nut-based tart.
Country Vintner: Available in the District at Schneider’s of Capitol Hill; on the list at Estadio. On the list in Maryland at the Tasting Room in Frederick. Available in Virginia at Arrowine in Arlington.
Blandy’s Alvada Five Year Old Madeira
★1 / 2
Madeira, Portugal, $20 (500 ml)
A good introduction to Madeira, though here the wood dominates the citrus and nut flavors, so the wine is a little unbalanced.
Country Vintner: Available in the District at Cork & Fork, Pearson’s. Available in Maryland at Cranbrook Liquors in Cockeysville. On the list in Virginia at Rustico in Arlington.
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