The next sweetest in the spectrum is Madeira Bual.The Malvasia grapes which produce Malmsey are typically grown in warm coastal locations at low altitude, particularly at Câmara de Lobos, whose name (meaning 'the chamber of wolves') belies its status as a peaceful fishing village. The tasting notes and ratings are my own but I am grateful to Emanuel Berk for the background research on the wines: ‘RR’ stands for The Count of Ribeiro Real (1841- 1902), the owner of vineyards at Estreito de Câmara de Lobos. Licensed for off-site sales of alcohol to persons of 18 or over. This fabulous nectar, with its mellifluous flavour, has the pungent aroma of a posy of sweet-smelling flowers. 14 One of the most famous of the MWA soleras, of which they may have been as many as 15 different bottlings according to Paul Day, one of my fellow tasters. Der Alkoholgehalt liegt je nach Sorte zwischen 17 und 22 %Vol.
Grape varieties in this family include Malvasia bianca, M… A number of other so-called ‘Malvasias’ have been found growing on Madeira. For the Spanish wine grape also known as Cagazal, see "Subirat" redirects here. This year was is the turn of Malvasia / Malmsey (with Bual and Verdelho having been covered in the previous two years. While Madeira closely resembles a tawny port or even a brandy in terms of flavor, the sweetness can have notes reminiscent of muscat wine also. The name Malvasia has come to represent several different grape varieties around the Mediterranean. But it is aromatic when young and generally well liked by growers as well as all the shippers. It is the sweetest, richest form of Madeira, and is typically made in a style that contains more than twice the residual sugar found in Madeira Sercial or Madeira Verdelho. Some of those probably were used to produce Malvasia. Wines like this are worth crossing the Atlantic for: unsurprisingly this was the winning wine of the entire tasting. One notable exception is the variety known as Malvazija Istarska got the name after peninsula of Malvasia Bianca di Candia is Italy's the most widely planted Malvasia. The next sweetest in the spectrum is Madeira Bual. Deep amber – mahogany; rich, perhaps slightly roasted on the nose, walnuts; lovely rich, powerful style of wine, with an emphatic, slightly saline citrus tang mid-palate and on to the finish, grapefruit marmalade. It seems that this sub-variety no longer exists on the island although I once came across a mid nineteenth century bottle labeled ‘Boal Babosa’. With the expection of a few ancient wines (see below) labeled Malvasia Cândida, Malmsey should therefore be thought of as a style of wine rather than a varietal. This name is thought to be derived from Monemvasia, the name of a bustling Greek port which, like Madeira, was a natural waypoint on trading routes and became strongly associated with the sweet, rich wine styles most commonly found there.Malmsey is a second corruption of the name, first uttered by the twisted tongues of 18th-Century British mariners.
No mark. 17 Released by Blandy’s in the 1960s with a label signed by Ferdinando Bianchi. Mid-deep amber with an orange-amber rim; peat and malt whisky on the nose, slightly smoky too and a touch funky initially with a smell of mothballs though this wore off during the tasting (the bottle was uncorked the morning before the tasting so clearly there was some bottle stink even though the wine had only been in bottle for two months); not that sweet initially, in fact quite dry and delicate, with a lovely crème brulée character rising in the mouth along with dried figs and raisins, good weight and texture mid-palate and beautifully balanced on the finish with a tawny marmalade tang. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, and Malmsey have been used interchangeably for Malvasia-based wines; however, in modern oenology, "Malmsey" is now used almost exclusively for a sweet variety of Madeira winemade from the Malvasia grape.
Until 2015 Malvasia de São Jorge was no more than ‘authorised’ by IVBAM (Instituto do Vinho, Bordado e Artesanato da Madeira) but under the legislation published on 13th February this year it has been promoted to ‘recommended’. There is also Malvasia Fina (otherwise known as Boal/Bual), and Malvasia Roxa (‘Purple Malvasia’). Rather let down by the nose to start with, this wine certainly redeemed itself. Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. It now refers specifically to the wines made from Malvasia in Madeira.The Malvasia grapes that produce Malmsey are typically grown in warm coastal locations at low Confusingly the Boal/Bual grape is also known as Malvasia Fina. Bottled in 1964, this wine dates from the early 1800s, prior to the foundation of H&H in 1850: deep mahogany, almost opaque in colour; very rich and concentrated on the nose, smoky aromas, an autumn bonfire; similarly rich and powerful on the palate, prunes and raisins offset by the cut of brisk acidity, long pungent and powerful with a full, sweet pruney finish. 15.5 A lovely stenciled bottle from Barros e Sousa, a company founded in 1921 and recently purchased by D’Oliveira. The late Professor left no record of the grape’s parentage.
MMV stands for Maria Manuela Vasconcelos, the mother of Ricardo Diogo of Madeira shippers Barbeito. It is very difficult to grow with production varying alarmingly from year to year.