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Blandy's

Madeira, Funchal, Portugal

  • 496
    of the 245 000
    wine producers
    of the world

  • Weather

    19° C Few clouds

  • Time

    03:05 AM

  • Wine average?

    93 Tb

  • Country Ranking?

    13

  • Region Ranking?

    2

  • Popularity ranking?

    192

News

BLANDY’S MADEIRA RELEASES 1988 VINTAGE MALMSEY

Funchal, Madeira - Portugal, 24 de Abril de 2014 – Blandy’s, synonymous with superior Madeira wines, announces the release of its 1988 Vintage Malmsey. Today at the Big Fortified Tasting, in London, Blandy’s will showcase its latest exclusive vintage Madeira. Malmsey 1988 is the first vintage release since 2009. Only 1,589 bottles have been produced.


The 1988 Malmsey aged in American oak casks for a total of 25 years and started its ageing program in the Sotão de Amendoa (the Almond Attic, on the 4th floor) in Blandy’s lodges in the centre of Funchal, where it remained until 1991. It was then placed on the 2nd floor for 2 years before spending the remaining 20 years on the 1st floor of the lodges. Maturation followed the traditional “canteiro” system, which the Blandy family has practiced for more than 200 years. It is used for only the highest quality Madeiras in which the wine is heated naturally by the sun in the south-facing lofts of the Blandy’s Wine Lodge where temperatures can soar as high as 43oC.


This wine is made from the Malmsey (Malvasia) grape on the island of Madeira, where the Blandy family has long-standing relationships with more than 26 growers. Malmsey, the richest and best known of the four noble grapes of Madeira, is thought to be the original grape grown on the island. The grape has high levels of sugar and acidity, a perfect balance for this style of Madeira. Under European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) regulations, the minimum a vintage Madeira wine must be aged for is 20 years.


Seventh generation Chris Blandy, CEO of Blandy’s Madeira, is very excited about announcing the release of the 1988 Malmsey. “When our Winemaker Francisco Albuquerque presented this wine to our family in the beginning of 2013 we recognized its potential. Our 1988 vintage report indicated that this vintage is regarded as one of the best quality Madeira vintages of the decade. We held the wine back after bottling for a year to round out the prominent acidity. Nearly one year later and the wine has developed in bottle to produce a wine which we believe could become one of the great Madeira Malmseys.”

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History

It has long been said that John Blandy, the founder of the family business, arrived in Madeira in 1807 aged twenty-three as a quartermaster to General Beresford, commander of the British garrison. Yet prolonged research among army lists yielded no mention of a John Blandy serving in Madeira. The truth was found instead by the Madeira wine lover and expert Emmanuel ‘Mannie’ Berk.

 

In August 2006 he found a letter of introduction sent from London to Messrs Newton, Gordon, Murdoch, wine merchants in Madeira, which immediately solved the family mystery: ‘Sirs! At the desire of our particular friend, Richard Fuller Esq., Banker in this City, we beg leave to introduce Mr John Blandy who visits your Island on account of ill health, and wishes to obtain employment in a Counting House. We shall be obliged if you can promote his views, and accordingly recommend him to your attention.’ The letter is dated 23 December 1807, implying that John Blandy arrived in the island early in 1808 rather than with British forces some months before.

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Vineyards

Madeira is a fortified wine found only on the mountainous Atlantic island of the same name. The vines are grown from sea level up to a height of 600 metres and the wines range from dry to very rich. The principal grape varieties are Malmsey, Bual, Verdelho, Sercial and Tinta Negra Mole. The driest wines are made from the Sercial grape grown on high cool slopes mainly on the north of the Island. The sweetest Madeiras are made from the rich Malmsey grape which flourishes on the warmer lower-lying vineyards, particularly around São João on the north and Jardim do Mar on the south. The vines are grown either on pergolas (hanging off trellises that are on average 1.5 metres off the ground) or upright in rows, trained onto horizontal wires.

 

The harvest starts in mid-August and is completed by the middle of October when a wine festival takes place in Funchal. The grapes are all picked by hand from the small terraced vineyards situated on the steep slopes around the island and then transported to the 'adegas' -wineries- where the winemaking takes place.

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Winemaking

The Madeira Wine Company uses the most modern wine making technology whilst at the same time respecting the age-old traditions of Madeira wine. At the 'adega' the wines are selected and pressed to separate the must from the skins. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and is stopped with the addition of grape brandy when the appropriate amount of natural grape sugar has been converted into natural alcohol. Malmsey is fortified early on in order to retain the richness for which it is renowned. Bual is fortified after approximately half the sugars have been converted into alcohol, Verdelho ferments still further whilst Sercial is allowed to ferment out until completely dry. All the wines are fortified up to 19% alcohol by volume.

 

The MWC winery was completely modernised in 2001/2002 and is now the most advanced wine making facility on the island and is the largest investment ever made in Madeira wine production. In 2001 it became the only wine producer and merchant on the island to have been awarded the ISO 9002 European Standard Quality Certificate.

The next stage in Madeira's production is unique to the island and involves then heating of the wines for some months following the vintage, known as ESTUFAGEM. During the 18th century many of the ships which took on casks of Madeira passed through the heat of the tropics. It was noticed that the effects of the increased temperature on the casks of the fortified wine was entirely beneficial. Indeed the wines acquired remarkable keeping qualities, extraordinary longevity and an attractive mellowed character.

 

Before long, ships were taking consignments of Madeira on round trips especially to subject the wines to this tropical heat. This heating of the wine, known as'estufagem', became a recognised process in Madeira's preparation and when it became too expensive to use ships an alternative method was found.This involved ageing the wines in large lofts naturally heated by the plentiful Madeiran sunlight. Today all the MWC's premium wines continue to be aged using this, the traditional 'canteiro' system, where the wines are warmed over a period of years in seasoned American oak casks by the natural heat of the sun in the lodges of Funchal. A development of this system was later introduced for the ageing of Tinta Negra Mole with the construction of special heating rooms called 'estufas' lined with hot water pipes in order to keep the temperature at a constant level (45ºC for a minimum of 3 months).A significant quantity of Tinta Negra Mole is also aged using the traditional canteiro method.

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15 different wines with 59 vintages

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