1900 Madeira

"Ken Anderson" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@adelphia.com...

Hi Madeira is in principle indestructible - it survives poor storage better than any other wine. 10% evaporation is a bit excessive, however. Could you describe liquid level in relation to the bottle, i.e. does it reach the shoulder, or even the neck of the bottle, or is it below the shoulder? Is there any legible lettering on the label and can you repeat it here? Does the cork seem to be in good shape, is it loose? (Don't open yet! :-0 ) The value could be something like 200-700USD but more info is needed hth Anders

Salut/Hi Ken Anderson,

le/on Mon, 28 Mar 2005 01:32:41 -0500, tu disais/you said:-

Nah, worthless. However, as I quite like oddities, I'll gladly pay him a few dollars plus postage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . but. . . . . . .

. . . . .

Seriously, this time. Yes Madeira, even if dry, is virtually immortal and a

1900 vintage madeirqa should be worth quite a bit. Even if the label is damaged and the wine heavily ullaged, it should be worth quite a bit. From your use of the word "buddy" I'd imagine that you're in the US. Were you in the UK, I'd suggest that your friend contact Christie's wine dept who might well have be interested in auctioning it.

Cool! Yes, I'm in the US. I just picked up the bottle. There's not as much evaporated, as I thought. The bottle says "Boal" on it, "Vintage of 1900," and says it was grown and shipped by "Ferraz and Co." I'll still get the pics up later. Thanks again! Ken

Ferraz is not a producer of Madeira that I have seen. Michael Broadbent, who probably has tasted more old Madeira than anyone, does not describe a Ferez 1900 Madeira of any kind in his 3 wine books published over the last 20+ years. He also makes this interesting statement in his first book:

"I think I ought to mention at this stage that many bottles of old madeira found in the cellars of country houses are rarely of the quality of the true vintage and old solera wines that emanate from the island itself. I well remember coming across an enormous stock, all about a century old and all (after random sampling) thin and acetic, dead and gone."

Thus I would not get my hopes up too much unless more information can be found about the reputation of Ferraz.

In general, the year 1900 was an outstanding one and especially for Sercil and Verdelho Madeira. A 1900 is fairly young as far as Madeira goes. Bottles from even the late 1700s sometimes come up for auction. A true vintage Madeira with a year should not be confused with a solera Madeira with the mention of a year. A solera wine is a mixture of perhaps many quite younger years with often only a small part of the wine coming from the year mentioned.

I collect vintage Madeira, and have bottles going back to 1827. The only

1900 I have is the Vintage Moscatel from d'Oliviera which Broadbent rated 4 out of 5 star. I would only buy these wines when I could read good tasting notes written by Michael Broadbent and a few others who tasted many old Madeiras, mainly in connection with their work at wine auction houses. I would say the next thing you need to do is to search to see if you can find out anything about Ferraz and the 1900 bottle you have. With only a single bottle, unless there is a good review of the wine somewhere or the firm of Ferraz had a very good reputaton, an auction house or knowledgeable buyer is not likely to pay very much for the wine for reasons explained in the Broadbent quote given.

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"Cwdjrx _" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3178.bay.webtv.net...

Hi It seems to me that the F.F. Ferraz is not completely unknown. I've googled the following: It is only because of Alex Liddell's bible on Madeira wine that we know of a

1795 wine from F. F. Ferraz called "Messias". I have spent lots of time to find another bottle of this wine, but without success. Liddell had purchased his wine in 1970 at Christie's and tasted it in 1996/1997. The wine had been bottled before F. F. Ferraz joined the Madeira Wine Association in 1937. Of course, this does not say that Ferraz existed in 1795, only that they bottled that vintage sometime. this site lists 1900 Boal F.F. Ferraz in addition to the 1795, these being the only years associated with that company! Anders

"Ken Anderson" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@adelphia.com...

Hi again. You may want to know the following: Boal; Bual [boo-AHL, boh-AHL]

1. A white wine grape historically associated with the island of MADEIRA. Boal is now found there only in limited quantities. After PHYLLOXERA attacked the Madeira vineyards in the 1870s...the vineyards were eventually replanted .... with the hardier TINTA NEGRA MOLE. ...Boal is expected to make a comeback. 2. After MALMSEY, Boal is the darkest and and richest of the Madeira wine styles. Originally made primarily with the Boal grape, this style of Madeira has recently utilized more Tinta Negra Mole, especially in the cheaper versions. However, in 1986, Portugal entered the Common Market, whose regulations required that by 1993 any Madeira wine naming a variety on its label would have to contain at least 85 percent of that grape. This labeling requirement has caused an upsurge in replanting of the classic vines such as Boal. Wines labeled "Boal-style" can contain less than the required 85 percent and most likely contain more Tinta Negra Mole.

Anders

There are many 1900 Madeiras available for sale around the world. I did not find Ferraz of any type listed for 1900 at

However, the prices per bottle range in the few to several hundred US dollar range, depending on the type of Madeira, the company, and the reputation of the wine based on tastings and such. Madeira of abouit 100 years age is fairly easy to obtain. Madeira was out of fashion for many years, and there were huge stocks of the old wine on the island. As these stocks have been sold, the price of the more desired wines has gone up greatly in recent years. Compare this with the 1985 Romanee-Conti that sells for US$ 5000 and more per bottle. It is all a matter of supply, demand, and reputation. The very old Madeira usually is available only at auction, but a few carriage trade wine dealers often keep a few bottles - often priced at much more than the auction price.

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Thank you, and particularly to Anders. I did indeed contact Christie's, and received the following reply:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- auction estimate 150-200 USD - not worth shipping to NY - sell locally

Richard Brierley Vice President, Head of North American Wine Sales Christie's

20 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10020 T: 1 212 636 2270 F: 1 212 636 4954"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

... and on the island. Oliveiras in their lodge (open to the public) has vintages back to 1850 on their official list (and olders "on request").

M.

Michael Pronay wrote: " snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Cwdjrx _) wrote: The very old Madeira usually is available only at auction, ... .. and on the island. Oliveiras in their lodge (open to the public) has vintages back to 1850 on their official list (and olders "on request")."

I am sure you could obtain some fine Madeira at aucton on the island as you mentioned. However all of the very old Madeira I have, going back to the 1820s , was obtained at commercial auction houses. Some of this may have firstcome from the island source you mentioned. Michael Broadbent and others found much of the old Madeira offered at auction in old cellars in the UK. Also Madeira was one of the most important wines in the early US, and some old wnes come up for auction from old US cellars. Much of this old US sourced Madeira was named for the company that brought it in, a ship, etc. It varied from the quite ordinary to the best available. I think Michael Broadbent and others may have cleaed out the Madeira in most of the old UK cellars, so not much top Madeira may be coming from this source in the future. Fine Madeira has been rediscovered in recent years, the supply of the best older wines has been greatly decreased, and the price has increased greatly for the best. Just a few years ago old vintage Madeira was one of the best bargins around. Of course the French have long used quite a bit of Madeira in various sauces, but I doubt if even a 3-star French restaurant would put quality old vintage Madeira in a sauce!

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