MADEIRA - Styles of Madeira

5 important questions on MADEIRA - Styles of Madeira

Why is blending important for Madeira and how can you blend

  • Most Madeira is a non-vintage product so for consistency of style year-on-year:
    • blending wines from different vintages and vineyard locations
    • from different barrels in different areas of the warehouse
  • To achieve a certain style or for complexity
    • young wines from estufas with some Madeira from canteira blended for complexity of flavours

Which adjustment/treatments are allowed for Madeira wine after maturation?

  • Fining
  • filtering
  • caramel to add colour (for inexpensive Madeiras)
  • carbon fining can be used to strip colour
  • RCGM can be added to increase sweetness
  • Blending to decrease sweetness with some drier win

Name some labelling conventions for Madeira

Based on
  • grape variety
  • level of sweetness
  • length of ageing
  • single or multiple vintages
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Which sweetness levels can Madeira be?

  • Extra dry
  • dry
  • medium dry
  • medium sweet (or medium rich)
  • sweet (or rich)

('Dry' even has some sweetness)

How are quality Madeiras labelled

  • Varietally
  • level of sweetness does not need to appear on the label
  • ALL Madeira must be labelled with a bottling date (since 2015)

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