Blandy's Colheita Verdelho 2011
Region: Madeira
Producer: Madeira Wine Company SA
Why we chose this wine
2011: the year Prince William and Catherine Middleton married in London. A Madeira from this vintage carries that year within it: a wine that has matured patiently in cask for years.
| Volume | 75.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Verdelho |
| Drinking window | Ready to drink now — thanks to the nature of Madeira, this wine remains stable for many years, both in bottle and after opening. |
| 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 | Traditional Madeira vinification: the must from the Verdelho grapes is fermented almost to dryness before being fortified (mutage) with neutral grape spirit, resulting in a drier, refined style with lively acidity. |
| Ripening | Aged for more than 15 years using the traditional canteiro method: in oak casks in the naturally heated lodges (armazéns) of the wine house, giving the Madeira its characteristic oxidative character and remarkable longevity. |
What the critics say
JancisRobinson.com
18/ 20
Tasted 02-08-2024
Drink: any time
Drink: any time
Tasted from a 50-cl mini sample. Verdelho grapes from Porto Moniz and Calheta. Aged in the canteiro system, in 650-litre casks at room temperature until bottling. TA 7.5 g/l, VA 0.48 g/l, RS 80 g/l, pH 3.3. 2,400 75-cl bottles. Harvest and winemaker Francisco Albuquerque. One of Blandy's 2024 releases.
Smells like a spice souk, and amber – I love how a wine can smell and taste like a colour. This one is as amber as it gets. It even has that amber glow and iridescent swirl, as if shimmering acidity and the slow curl of a midnight cigar were somehow trapped for all time in every molecule. There's more fruit here than there was on the 2010 – every droplet tastes of ripe, just-picked apricots, of quince, of blood oranges. The spices sift through, soughing softly, as if blown in on a gentle, salty sea breeze. Then that cigar on the finish; just lit, fragrant, hinting of orange peel. You can almost lick it off the warm azure blue of a huge midnight sky.
— Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com
The producer
Madeira Wine Company SA
This group brings together Blandy's, Leacock's, Cossart Gordon and Miles, and with them an impressive stock of old wines. Chris Blandy and winemaker Francisco Albuquerque make approachable, rounded Madeira with real depth.