In Madeira, an ancient wine culture that has almost been forgotten in Europe has survived: the traditional Madeira wines, long considered only a sauce condiment, are produced elaborately and mature for up to a hundred years. But cultivation on steep slopes is difficult and risky, reports Joachim Kaiser.
At an altitude of 600 metres in Jardim da Serra in the Câmara de Lobos wine region of Madeira. A green carpet with white and red spots spreads out, stretching down to the blue sea and up the mountains into the clouds. Leonel Veira, advisor to the "Instituto da Vinho, do Barddado e do Artesanto da Madeira" (IVBAM) begins his tour of the vineyards. The institution is the Madeira government agency responsible for wine. But not all the greenery is vines, there are orchards and vegetable gardens, and bananas are grown at lower altitudes.
Madeira is an island formed by volcanism, 57 km long and 23 km wide. A mountain ridge up to 1862 metres high runs through the island. Winegrowing on Madeira means cultivating steep slopes in terraces. The climate is subtropical with temperatures ranging from 13 degrees Celsius in winter to 26 degrees in summer. The humidity is a constant 71 percent. In the rain shadow on the south coast there is 500 millimetres of precipitation, in the north in the mountains even up to 3,000 millimetres.
Madeira's vineyard area totals only 500 hectares, but this is no longer fully cultivated. About ten percent, Leonel estimates, lie fallow or have gone wild. There are two reasons for this: On average, the winegrowing families only cultivate 0.3 hectares of vineyards, and these are often divided into several plots. In addition, the younger generation is migrating to less strenuous and better paid professions or to the mainland. The year-round warmth and high humidity are a paradise for Botrytis, Oidium and Peronospora. On average, therefore, seven treatments are needed before harvest. Mostly sulphur and copper are applied, but sometimes also synthetic fungicides. The many abandoned vineyards are dangerous sources of infection for the surrounding crop areas. In addition, it is not easy to let the grapes ripen here. Especially in the wine-growing areas of São Vicente and Santana on the north coast and at higher altitudes, it is often very cloudy and foggy. Producing healthy grapes under these circumstances is very difficult and costly. The harvest therefore extends from August to October, depending on the grape variety.
For a long time, Madeira Wine did not have a good reputation; it was notorious for being a cheap condiment for sauces. Yet there was a time when Madeira was famous and the island was rich. The inhabitants became wealthy through the trade in slaves as well as sugar - and because of their famous wine. The Declaration of Independence of the United States in 1776, for example, was celebrated with Madeira. It was not until 1999 that IVBAM banned the trade in cheap bulk wine. Today, Madeira shines again in its former glory: my tastings at Barbeito, Blandy's/Madeira Wine Company (MWC), Borges, CAF/Madeira Vintners, H&H and Justino's show that Madeira today, from the base to the top, again reaches a level from good to world class.
High humidity, lots of fog and rain: Viticulture in Madeira is subject to great risks.
Joachim KaiserMainly the robust, red grape variety Tinta Negra is cultivated. The basic wines aged for three years consist almost entirely of Tinta. There are also excellent matured Tintas, such as the 1995 Frasqueira and 2000 Colheita Single Cask by Justino's. Both wines are enormously complex, from dried fruit (fig, dates, plums, sultanas) to chocolate, caramel, walnut, tobacco and a chalky cool note. Sweet, but the 96 g/l sugar or more is well balanced with strong acidity. You can only taste the 20 per cent alcohol if you specifically pay attention to it.
Madeira's wines are fortified and produced in a very special way. The winemakers stop fermentation at the desired sugar content by adding 96 percent alcohol. Then they are aged oxidatively, the influence of oxygen is desired. In addition, the wines are regularly heated: 45 to 50 degree warm water flows through the wine tanks in heating coils for at least three months. This "Estufagem" process is mostly used for the basic qualities. In the Canteiro process, the wines rest in wooden barrels for at least two years - in the past under the roofs of the wineries at high daytime and low night-time temperatures. Today, warehouses with tin roofs fulfil this purpose.
Madeira Wine is often stored for decades in the cellars of the wineries. These reservas date from the 1940s.
Joachim KaiserLong storage is particularly important: Madeira Wine matures for up to a hundred years before it is bottled. After heat treatment, the basic wines are stored for at least three years, higher qualities and vintage Madeiras for five, and with grape variety and Canteiro indication for at least 20 years before they can be marketed.
At almost all the producers I visited, I had excellent, dry sercials in my glass. With eight to eleven grams of acidity, sercials can easily cope with up to 65 grams of sugar per litre and really do taste dry, often salty, with notes of dried citrus zest, and with maturity also of dried fruit.
Semi-dry Verdelhos could be tasted at all producers. Sweeter than Sercial, but well balanced, they sometimes still offer fresh citrus notes, matured also like dried tropical fruits and often taste nutty. I also had semi-sweet Boals almost everywhere in the glass. They taste full, clearly in the direction of caramel, of dried figs and dates. Most Madeira houses also have Malvasia (Malmsey) wines in their range. These are sweet wines aged for ten years or more. They taste opulent and enormously complex with aromas of fruit, spices, nuts, chocolate, honey and toffee.
Wine in Madeira is mainly grown on very small plots on steep slopes.
Joachim KaiserThe difficult grape variety Terrantez is highly prized, is only grown on a few hectares and must be harvested as early as August because otherwise the grapes often rot on the vine. The 1978 Justino's Terrantez semi-sweet and the twenty-year-old H&H Terrantez semi-dry are goosebump wines for me: The aromatic profile is enormously complex, like the best other grape varieties, plus very elegant and distinguished.
But be careful when tasting: with vintage Madeiras, you have to expect surprises. The single casks in particular stand out with unusual aromas, such as cool mineral notes of drying lime plaster or dried citrus zest marinated in honey.
The proportion of non-sparkling wines and sparkling wines is currently less than ten percent. Barbusano produces exclusively dry, interesting "table wines"; Barbeito, Justiono's, MWC and some smaller wineries do likewise. Justino's even produces an organic wine, the Fanal Verdelho. Soon to be added is the red Fanal Listrão Bio. Barbeito is also experimenting with organic cultivation. Barbeito, Justino's and MWC vinify themselves. All the others have the wines vinified according to their specifications at the IVBAM Adega São Vicente by oenologist João Pedro Machado.