A friend brought a precious gift to a recent dinner party: a bottle of Madeira from 1853! The wine was produced at a time when the future of Madeira looked bleak. Robert White and James Johnson in the 2nd edition of their book “Madeira its Climate and Scenery,” published in 1856, offered the following prognosis:
“The wine of Madeira, which has acquired worldwide celebrity, will soon be no more than a thing of history. In the Spring of 1852, a disease suddenly showed itself which, in process of time, destroyed the grape and ruined the prospects of the hardly-tasked cultivators. […] it is calculated that in two or at most three tears not a pipe of wine will be left in the island.”
The disease was caused by a fungus called odium tuckeri. According to White and Johnson, production dwindled from roughly 8,000 pipes in 1851 to roughly 2,000 pipes in 1854. Luckily, the discovery that oidium could be controlled by dusting the vines with sulphur saved Madeira’s vineyards from oblivion.
It was with great expectation that we broke the 165-year-old crimson seal to persuade the steadfast cork to retire from the job of guarding the priceless nectar. The wine left the bottle full of vigor, with a crystalline amber color and an enchanting aroma. No wonder Madeira was once used as a perfume in the court of Russia!
Less sweet than more recent vintages, the taste has an elegant “vinagrinho,” the name for the volatile acidity produced by the passage of time. It is a wine that has much to teach us about the art of growing old.
Salt of Portugal 
That was an old bottle of Madeira. I guess this wine can live for long – but most people wont be able to wait for this long and just drink it much sooner.
It is very much worth waiting for an old Madeira.
I tried old port about years but never this old.
Madeiras have even more potential to age than port because of their acidity, the varietals and the heat exposure. Madeiras suffer when young but have a happy old age.
Maybe one day when I stumble on a pile of money ☺
Please introduce me to that friend of yours 😉
Great post 😁
Thank you and happy holidays!
Beautiful! Reblogging to my sister site Timeless Wisdoms
If only we could all age like a fine bottle of Madeira…
Indeed!
What a fabulous gift and experience and thank you for the gift you give us when you share your experiences traveling around Portugal; so here’s to 2019 and many more adventures!
Thank you for your generous words. We hope you’ll come visit soon. Happy New Year!
Amazing! what would be the best Madeira wine to buy and keep now?
Madeiras last for a very long time. As a general rule wines with more acidity (like those made with Sercial, Verdelho, and Negra Mole) have higher aging potential. Generally, anything labeled reserve or vintage will probably age well.
Thank you.