Vintage Madeira 1790

The 1790 vintage – certainly one of the most famous vintage of Madeira wines. Virtually unknown, exceptionally rare. This bottle came direct from the personal cellar of descendants of the Araujo family, still living in Madeira. Their ancestors arrived at the end of the fifteenth century. Later the firm of Araujo, Henriques & Co.merged with H.M.Borges in 1932. The family still own vineyards at Quinta do Jardim da Serra, at Estreito de Camara de Lobos, producing what are regarded as the finest Madeira grapes on the island. This wine was made at the very same time when US President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address, in New York City. In 1790 the French revolution was reaching its climax and Mozart could drank only Madeiras until his death next year.

1870 was one of the last two great vintages before phylloxera, and this is fantastic wine, certainly the finest Madeira

I have ever drunk, with unbelievable but perfectly balanced acidity, and a fantastic dry finish. It really illustrates how long-lived Madeira is - even a dryer wine like this taste as fresh as the day it was made, after nearly a century and a half. "Pale amber with very pronounced apple-green rim, a bouquet like Vesuvious, ethereal, whiff of caramel, medium dry, superb flavour, great length, exquisitely dry finish.To describe it adequately is beyond me: concentrated, tangy, floral with subtle whiffs of caramel, black treacle – heavens, I’ll be purloining Parker’s 100-point rating soon. On the palate, ‘rich’ is a feeble understatement, its flavour reflecting its nose, leading to an attenuated, acidic finish.
 

5 stars *****.