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Wine Description
The Story
This is a white grape variety that probably originates from the region of Bucelas, near Lisboa, where it is traditionally grown under the name Esgana Cao (Dog Strangler), having been introduced in Madeira, where it was given the name Sercial.
The vineyards are located both on the north and south side of the island. At south, we find it at high elevations in Jardim da Serra, above Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, between 600m to 800m high, and at north, in the areas of Porto Moniz, São Vicente and Seixal, at lower altitudes, between 150 – 200m.
Sercial bunches are medium sized, thin skinned and the berries are prone to rot. It has a very late ripening and is resistant to oidium and mildium, being normally the last grape variety to be harvested. This slow maturation, the result of the terroir where it is grown, produces wines that rarely achieve more than 11% alcohol before fortification.
In Madeira Wine, due to its natural mouthwatering, tangy, crisp and racy acidity, balanced by its slight sweetness, Sercial is always used to produce dry wines, which are light bodied and exceptionally fresh, and present intense and vibrant aromas. Sercial begins its life pale in color, but over the course of time it deepens and darkens to amber.
It is not only an extraordinary aperitif or after-dinner wine (Colheita and Vintage) as it is the only Madeira Wine that can as well, if young, be enjoyed along a meal.
The 18th century was the "golden age" for Madeira with the wines popularity extending from the American colonies and Brazil in the New World to Great Britain, Russia and Northern Africa. The American colonies, in particular, were enthusiastic customers, consuming as much as a quarter of all wine produced on the island each year. The mid 19th century brought an end to the industry's prosperity, first with the 1852 outbreak of powdery mildew which severely reduce production over the next three years. Just as the industry was recovering through the use of the sulfur-based treatments, the phylloxera epidemic that had plagued France and other European wine regions reached the island, and devastated the entire Madeira vineyard.
By the end of the 19th century, most of the island's vineyards had been uprooted and many were converted to sugar cane production. By the turn of the 20th century, sales started to very slowly increase again, only to again collapse when the Russian Revolution and American Prohibition closed off two of Madeira's biggest markets.
Wine Information
1966
BOTTLING YEAR 2004
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Blandy’s Vintage Sercial 1966 is a single harvest Madeira. This wine was aged for 38 years in seasoned American oak casks in the traditional ‘Canteiro’ system, whereby the casks were gradually transferred from the top floors of the lodge, where it is naturally warmer, to the middle floors and eventually to the ground floor where it is cooler. The wine was regularly racked and when it reached the desired stage of maturity it was bottled.
Only 2,404 bottles of this wine were released.
SPECIFICATION
Alcohol: 20% ABV pH: 3.3 Baume? degree (20oC): 0.8 Total Acidity: 10 g/l
TASTING NOTES
Topaz colour with golden reflections. Intense and complex characteristic bouquet of Madeira, with dried fruits, wood and orange peel. Dry and fresh with a long and warn aftertaste.
AWARDS
Silver Medal – IWC 2006 Bronze Medal – IWSC 2006 Gold Medal – IWC 2007
Vintage 1966
Port Vintage Report: Exceptional quality. Very sweet wines and rich in tannins, some of them sublime, with large aging capacity. Almost all producers declared production. Normal winter, with some rain, but afterwards the weather became dry between April and September. Grapes with a high sugar level, some of them burned. It only rained slightly at the beginning of the harvest (end of September). Scarce production.
Declared by most of the major Port houses, it is a vintage of exceptional quality but was always unjustly overshadowed by the 1963. Solid wines with superb structure, filled with fruit and tannins they are now recognised as being one of the very best post-war Vintage Ports.