Blandy's Madeira Masterclass with Chris Blandy

We recently hosted a Blandy's Madeira Masterclass with 7th generation Chris Blandy. Hosted at the Bordeaux Index office, clients were expertly led through a series of Madeira wines, from recent releases, to library stock, and the rarer-than-rare MCDXIX 'The Winemaker's Selection'.

At Bordeaux Index, we regularly host 'masterclasses', an opportunity for our clients to hear first-hand, from producers, winemakers and notable figures in the wine and spirits world. A couple of weeks ago, we were lucky enough to be joined by 7th generation Chris Blandy, CEO of the Madeira Wine Company.

The Blandy family is unique in being the only family of all the original founders of the Madeira wine trade that still own and manage their own original wine company. Throughout its long history on the island the family has played a leading role in the development of Madeira wine and members of the family continue to live in Madeira maintaining a tradition that goes back to 1811: Two centuries of fine wine production

Madeira produces incredibly aromatic wines that perfectly balance richness, sweetness and astringency and display a spider’s web of complexity. As soon as a bottle is opened its intoxicating aromas flood the room and its searing acidity magnifies the flavours of what is arguably the world’s longest lived wine.

Styles of Madeira

Traditionally, there are four styles of Madeira, corresponding to different grape varieties:

Sercial; the lightest in colour more akin to Amontillado than Fino has a nuttiness about it matched with searing acidity, locally often nicknamed the dog choker due to its astringency in youth. It takes the longest to ripen and therefore does take time to settle but with age (8-10 years) it is often considered one of the finest Madeiras showing a smokiness in maturity. It is the driest and often with that comes a great salinity from the Island’s fresh air.

Verdelho is often considered the most favoured by drinkers, as it is still an aperitif like Sercial yet with more aromatics. It pairs well with soups and is excellent with rich game pate. It shows itself a little more golden in colour and fullness and bridges perfectly from Sercial to Bual.

Bual also known as Boal (the Portuguese spelling) wonderfully balances richness, depth, fullness and its still searing acidity masks the sweetness. Certainly less sweet than Malvasia it has been known to partner curries and or a piece of chocolate of an evening. It is fruity and rich but never too much and therefore lends itself perfectly to a mid afternoon tipple as well as to accompany a good hard cheese - but leave the sticky toffee pudding for Malmsey.

Malmsey produces the sweetest wines of them all. Luscious, fragrant, full and lingers on the palate rewardingly. This demands a place at the table and sits comfortably alongside more famous dessert wines.

Terrantez of course deserves a mention and its existence has almost matched the changing fortunes of the Madeira trade as a whole over the last 150 years. In 1852 Oidium struck, a pest which had a particular impact on the low yielding Terrantez; roughly 80% of the vines perished almost immediately. Such was its absolute devastation that for all shippers production declined comprehensively from thousands of pipes shipped per year to just a handful. The American Civil War put the brakes on their largest export market and then phylloxera followed in 1872. It did not take long for less labour-intensive, more profitable crops to replace the vines and subsequently very little or no Terrantez was replanted due to its Pinot Noir-esque finickiness. By the 1920s the variety was as good as extinct and the Madeira market too had reduced irreversibly.

The Masterclass

We began the evening by tasting through the new 2011 Colheitas: Blandy's Colheita Sercial 2011, Blandy's Colheita Verdelho 2011, Blandy's Colheita Bual 2011 and Blandy's Colheita Malmsey 2011. The 2011 Colheitas are layered, with unique aromas. Unlike vintage Madeira (which must be aged for at least 20 years in cask and two years in bottle), Colheita Madeira may be released after five years in barrel. The 2011 Colheitas exceeded this, spending 10 years in barrel before release.

Up next, we tasted the two vintage releases of 2024: Blandy's 1989 Sercial and Blandy's 1987 Terrantez. The 1989 Sercial, bottled in 2024, was aged in oak barrels using the ‘Canteiro’ method for over 30 years. Amber gold, this wine is exuberant and characteristic with notes of citrus jam and spice. Fresh and dry, there is intense acidity that creates a fresh aftertaste. The 1987 Terrantez was aged in seasoned American oak casks in the same 'Canteiro' method. A deeper mahogany gold, this wine is intense in character, with predominant notes of exotic wood and smoked dried fruits. Cask-aging contributes rich notes of malt whisky, with intense notes of spice.

We were also able to taste the Cossart Gordon 1988 Bual with flavours of Earl Grey tea, marmalade, dried spices, and notes of dried apricot, fig, spiced pear, and roasted nuts.

Finally, we were lucky enough to try the new MCDXIX (The Winemaker's Selection). Released to celebrate the 600th Anniversary of the discovery of the island of Madeira, this wine is made from a blend of eleven different wines, including vintages that date back to 1863. Deep amber in hue; there are notes of cinnamon on the nose. This wine, with the inclusion of a host of vintages, is multi-layered and complex. This is a unique project, with only 600 magnums released.

We have championed Madeira wines for some time and we hope to excite more drinkers to this wonderful beverage. Whilst the trade continues to evolve and release new wines into the market we are determined to ensure bottles of Madeira are part of all our client’s cellars.

Read our Guide to Madeira here