Drinks Atlas: Madeira Wine

One of the drinks world’s happiest accidents hails from a Portuguese isle some 500 miles west of Morocco. Madeira, the name of that globally revered wine and the island where it’s made, starts out like most: by vinifying red or white grapes. The wine gets fortified with brandy, and then oxidized and maderized, or intentionally exposed to heat. It’s all an attempt to re-create the conditions of its fateful 17th-century beginnings.

“Originally, Madeira was a very young white wine that was shipped around the world in barrels,” says Mannie Berk, the founder of The Rare Wine Co. As merchants crossed the Atlantic amid tropical temperatures, the wine developed highly desirable toffee, caramel, cocoa, curry, and butterscotch flavors. “The more times it crossed the equator, the better,” says Berk.

Before long, these richly nuanced wines were a global sensation. As legend has it, the founders of the burgeoning United States raised glasses of Madeira when they signed the Declaration of Independence. Francis Scott Key sipped it while composing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” George Washington reportedly drank a pint of Madeira nightly.

However, transoceanic voyages are expensive. Since the late 18th century, Madeira producers have aimed to simulate those conditions by carefully exposing their fortified wines to heat and air. Tactics include a process called estufagem, in which fortified wine is put in large vats outfitted with stainless-steel coils and heated to nearly 122 degrees Fahrenheit for at least three months; and canteiro, wherein the wine is stored in casks that leave room for oxidation, and are exposed to the elements for anywhere from five to 100 years. “It’s a very natural, gentle way of making Madeira,” Berk says of the canteiro method, which is reserved for higher-end bottlings.

The resulting wines have epic aging potential. Bottles of 25-, 50-, 100-, and even 200-year-old Madeira still taste fresh, nuanced, and beautifully balanced. “These wines can stay open forever because they’ve already been so oxidized,” says Berk. “Madeira is immortal.”

5 to Try

NV RWC Historic Series New York Malmsey

A collaboration between Berk’s Rare Wine Co. and Vinhos Barbeito, a 1946 winery located west of Funchal on the island’s south coast, this approachable expression has cloves, molasses, chocolate, and floral notes. It’s part of a series aimed at making vintage-style Madeira more accessible, and would be excellent paired with cheesecake, foie gras, dark chocolate mousse, and other rich dishes. $60, eastsidecellars.com

2005 Barbeito Bual Vinha do Charlot Jardim Pelado

Many areas along Madeira’s southern coast of the island are increasingly allocated to tourism developments, Berk says. But the fruit for this wine comes from a historic vineyard in southwestern Calheta, not far from the sandy shores of the Atlantic. It has stewed peach and fig flavors offset by cloves, orange blossoms, and are freshing salinity. The finish is long and dry and will have you reaching for your second sip almost immediately. $59.95/500ml, rarewineco.com

2015 Barbeito Sercial Vinha da Laje

This elegant wine hails from a 1946 estate with “an extraordinary vineyard on the north coast, just meters from the sea,” says Berk. “You can actually taste the salt in this amazingly bracing, dry Madeira.” Made from 100 percent Sercial grapes, it’s gold in the glass, with almonds, dried figs, tobacco leaf, and floral flavors. The long, tart finish closes things out nicely. $54.95/500ml, rarewineco.com

2001 D’Oliveira Boal Madeira

This aromatic wine hails from a family-run operation in an 1820 estate. Made in the canteiro method, it has warm butterscotch notes on the nose, followed by toasted hazelnuts, candied ginger, and tart citrus rind on the beautifully structured palate. It tastes fresh now, but its bright acidity and measured sweetness provide ample aging potential. “A fantastic example of how a canteiro Madeira can be drinkable young but provide even greater enjoyment for decades to come,” Berk says. $220, wine.com

1899 D’Oliveira Terrantez Madeira

Made with a grape variety that nearly went extinct in the 1870s, this investment piece was barrel-aged for nearly 120 years before it was bottled and brought to market in 2020. “The Terrantez grape became extinct after phylloxera. And this is one of only a handful of survivors from the 19th century,” says Berk. “It’s medium dry, with amazing acidity and power—and incredibly rare.” $1,850, rarewineco.com