Madeira wine from 1870

[alfiman]

Before my wife and I left Europe last year a friend of ours brought me a gift of a bottle of Justino's Malmsey Madeira wine from 1870. It was in his fathers caves for all these years. Any idea if it could be good, valuable or should I buy a lot of lettuce before I open the bottle in expectation of the outcome.

[Thomas]

I thought Justino's was in the Mr. Henri Selection.

The last Justino Malmsey I tasted was horrible.

But then, I didn't know Justino was an old Madeira house, and maybe back then it was good. Can't say.

[OportoRAH]

this was one of the very last vintages from Portugal prior to the disruption due to Phylloxera. It was a wonderful Porto vintage and I am sure the weather on the Isle of Madeira was not to different. Anyway, you will have a darn nice bottle to open up and let us know your tasting notes!

Thanks,
Roy

[Thomas]

So, OportoRah, what is the story behind Justino? I cannot find mention of it anywhere in my books about Madeira, and the only time I ever tasted it I was saddened by it.

[alfiman]

My wife is having our first child on Feb. 9th and this sounds like a great occasion to try the Madeira wine. But just in case we will keep some extra lettuce on hand in case it turns out to be vinegar. As soon as I try it I will report back.

[Thomas]

If the wine is what OportoRAH says it is, I doubt it will be vinegar. Real Madeira can just about live forever. I tasted an 1870, 1945 and recent Madeira by the same producer; the older was nearly as fresh as the younger.

[m_cyclops]

Are you talking about a 130 years old wine? The oldest I tried is a 1973 Médoc and somebody give it to me. How much does a bottle of this wine cost? How do you storage it? If you storage haven't been good I would buy a nice champagne for the birth day of your son and keep the 1870 bottle in my racks for showing time.

[Thomas]

Cyclops, Madeira is a special wine, made in a special process called estufa. Essentially, the wines are heated for a few months and just about pasteurized. This process helps create wines that live for damned near ever; and good ones at that.

[m_cyclops]

And, how expensive a bottle this date can be? I know it depends on a lot of things more than the age, but it older than most countries!

[Thomas]

Let's put it this way: recent bottlings of Madeira wines run (for the lowest end) at around $20 each and (for the highest end) around $50 each.

[alfiman]

Well the baby was born and as promised the 1870 maderia wine was a toast to his happiness. Both the baby and the wine were wonderful and significantly better than expected. The wine was incredibly smooth and had just the right sweetness. I would recommend both to anyone reading this.