D'Oliveira Verdelho 1850
Region: Madeira
Producer: Pereira D'Oliveira Vinhos Lda.
Why we chose this wine
1850: the year the National Bank of Belgium was founded. A Madeira from this vintage is a living piece of history — a wine that has been ageing for generations, owing its character to decades of patient cask maturation.
Verdelho
The grape used to make semi-dry wines comes mainly from the south, but also from Sao Vicente in the north. The general planting is about 46 hectares all over the island. The grape is very aromatic and frivolous and has great potential for acidity.
Verdelho
The grape used to make semi-dry wines comes mainly from the south, but also from Sao Vicente in the north. The general planting is about 46 hectares all over the island. The grape is very aromatic and frivolous and has great potential for acidity.
Luis Oliveira, the owner of this legendary wine estate, sits upon an extraordinary trove of aged wines—a result of the decision not to begin exporting until the 1970s. Prior to that, the wines were sold exclusively on the island, meaning annual production never outpaced sales. Even today, D’Oliveira works with only a limited number of importers worldwide, thereby remaining the guardian of his historic collection of aged wines. The oldest vintages date back to 1850 and are exquisite.
D’Oliveira’s wines are "old school," characterized by pronounced oxidative qualities and tertiary notes. However, as the wines are typically bottled relatively recently, they strike an incredible balance between candied notes and oxidative elements, featuring excellent integration of alcohol
| Volume | 75.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Verdelho |
| Drinking window | Now - ∞ |
| Serveren bij | Served between 12-13°C, excellent as an aperitif or paired with smoked fish, hard cheeses and lightly spiced dishes. |
| Alc. | 20.0% |
| Vinification | Fortified wine (cessation of the fermentation process by adding alcohol). |
| Ripening | Long aging in old barrels (Canteiro) in an oxidative environment (barrels are never refilled). |
The producer
Pereira D'Oliveira Vinhos Lda.
In the hands of the same family since 1850, now in its fifth generation. D'Oliveira keeps 1.5 million litres of old Madeira in cask, with vintages reaching deep into the 19th century: classic Madeira, made the way it used to be.