The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's 50 best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
As most of the varietals on the island, Terrantez was brought from the north of mainland Portugal, where it goes by the name of Folgasão. For many centuries this varietal has always been used in the production of premium wines, achieving high prices in the market.
Rare, Terrantez grapes are white, thin-skinned and extremely fragile. The compact bunches and berries make it prone to botrytis and berry splitting. The yields are very low and ripening late.
Due to its fragile nature, it has been replaced by more prolific varieties, and was therefore almost brought to extinction. Lately, the family has persuaded growers to bring back production levels. Any Terrantez Madeira is rare enough to be worth trying.
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.