The place for all things wine, focused on serious wine discussions.

WTN: 1950 Fajã dos Padres Vineyard Terrantez

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

Roy Hersh

Rank

Wine geek

Posts

95

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:12 pm

Location

Sammamish, WA

WTN: 1950 Fajã dos Padres Vineyard Terrantez

by Roy Hersh » Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:50 pm

1950 Fajã dos Padres Vineyard Terrantez - It is not often that we get to see a single vineyard Vintage Madeira these days. This bottling is from one of the greatest, yet least known vineyard sites anywhere in the world. Fajã dos Padres may not have produced any Madeira, no less Terrantez, since this wine was produced. Rare Wine Co. (http://www.rarewineco.com) offered this wine and only had 2 or 3 cases for the entire USA. There were another couple of cases being offered by the finest Madeira merchant in Europe, but these babies are rare and now all gone.

I received mine at the end of last week and could not resist. Within five minutes of my doorbell ringing with the delivery, I was in my cellar opening the bottle and taking a sip. I have had a few ounces in various types of glassware, every day since the bottle arrived a week ago. It was important for me to see how this bottle evolved and take careful note of my own perceptions along the way. I was also fortunate enough to be able to share some with 7 friends who were here for a wine tasting early in the week. They seemed quite pleased.

Normally Vintage Madeiras have a way of disappearing within 12-48 hours of opening the bottle, in our home. I wish I had more self-control with Madeira like some friends who are able to somehow keep bottles open for many months. This was the longest I have kept ANY bottle of wine open and unfinished, in my life.

Now onto the tasting note:

The color is a beautiful orange-amber like a glowing fireplace, fading to yellow on the meniscus. This Madeira offered terrific and heady aromas reminiscent of citrus peel, herbs and a roasted note along with Toschi Nocello (which is a wild walnut liqueur), It is hard to describe the ever changing stylish nature of the aromatics of this wine, simply amazing. Lighter in VA than other Terrantez I have had, the incredible freshness of this wine was not lost on this enthusiast. Its rich yet delicate approach was not linear, as one moment this Terrantez tantalized the tongue while with the very next sip I found myself just rolling this around in my mouth to enjoy the voluptuous texture. True to its roots, it introduces a slight hint of bitter-sweetness almost akin to Verdelho, but with a touch more RS. The initially restrained palate provided a laser-beam of intensely focused, yet soft acidity, which carried caramelized flavors along with dry notes of roasted chestnuts and walnuts. This is an extraordinarily elegant wine and a structural masterpiece that would've made Frank Lloyd Wright proud, while delivering an insanely long and drying finish that provides the insight into its delicate subtleties. 97 points
no avatar
User

Jenise

Rank

FLDG Dishwasher

Posts

42549

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm

Location

The Pacific Northest Westest

Re: TN: 1950 Fajã dos Padres Vineyard Terrantez

by Jenise » Sat Apr 01, 2006 1:07 pm

What a great note, Roy. I didn't just imagine the flavors, I could feel the wine in my mouth! I hope those 54's I have get even a little close to provide this kind of experience.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
no avatar
User

Saina

Rank

Musaroholic

Posts

3976

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:07 pm

Location

Helsinki, Finland

Re: TN: 1950 Fajã dos Padres Vineyard Terrantez

by Saina » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:07 am

Thanks Roy! I'm hoping to find this (or any Terrantez - never tried one) soon. I have a friend who is Norwegian and visits Olso often and they seem to have great selections of old Madeira there and he kindly likes to bring them back to tastings. I am really hoping this one is available. If not, I might have to make do with Barbeito's Sercial 1910 :)

Otto
I don't drink wine because of religious reasons ... only for other reasons.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: AhrefsBot, Amazonbot, ClaudeBot, Google [Bot], Mike D, TomHill and 0 guests

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign