TN: Abudarham Madeira Sercial 1940...(short/boring)

Took this last night to Pig+Fig for Laura’s Iberian Dinner to share:

  1. Abudarham Madeira Sercial (20%; Imprtd Exclusively for CortiBros/Sacramento) Abudarham & Fos.Lda./Funchal 1940: Med.brown color; very strong Madeira/acetaldhyde oxidized/maderized nutty/walnutty/coffee/espresso rather alcoholic some complex nose; very dry some alcoholic classic Madeira/nutty/walnutty/maderized strong acetaldhyde/oxidized complex flavor; very long/lingering maderized/Madeira/nutty/walnutty/coffee bean fairly alcoholic strong acetaldhydic complex finish; quite an interesting Madeira.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. This is a Madeira I bought from DarrellCorti about 1976, probably for around $20. He had some other Abudarhams, Bual & Malmseys, going back to the late 1800’s. So this 35 yr old Madeira had been in my cellar for over 40 yrs. Cork was sound and came out intact. I goes at auction, as a “dessert” wine, for around $400. A dessert wine it is not.
    When I shared this around after dinner last night, it received much ohhhs & ahhhs. To tell the truth, I was rather underwhelmed by it. It was dominated by the alcohol and the acetaldhyde and the maderization and everything else was sorta quiet & suppressed. It was a pretty classic old Madeira. They are, of course, pretty ageless. A very interesting taste of history, an intellectual pleasure…but just didn’t offer up a lot of pleasure. Some of the old Abudarham Buals & Malmseys I had from Darrell were far more interesting and pleasurable. Maybe with some turtle soup this would have been better. But tasting on its own…not so much. Perhaps it just needs more age?
    Tom

Probably needed more air. In bottle for at least 40 years, I’d give it 4 or 5 days of decant time. Much of the aldehyde and spirty nature will dissipate. Madeira revels in oxygen.
A lot of people are not fans of Sercial. Quite dry and with the high acidity of Madeira, some versions can be teeth jarring.

Agree with Eric on the air. I’ve found it far more enjoyable to follow a single bottle over multiple sessions rather than over a single evening. If I intended to consume it in one evening I’d open several days before, and sample a bit each day along the way.