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Bibendum Wine Co.
Bibendum Wine Co.
Bibendum Wine Co.

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Henriques & Henriques Century Malmsey 1900

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Henriques & Henriques Century Malmsey 1900
Producer Henriques & Henriques
Region, Country Madeira, Portugal
Bottle Size 750ml
Product Code 23319-750

The Madeira solera system has some parallels with that of the Sherry region. The production of the 1900 Solera was as follows: the cask was laid down in 1899, and in 1900, a tenth of the volume was replaced with the same amount of a younger wine. This was repeated another nine times until the whole cask volume was changed over once. The solera was then closed. The 11 different wines harmonise over the years and provide a good mixture of the depth of old wines and some freshness of the younger wines. Having said that, this “freshening” is not really required with Madeira as the wines start with such high acidity–here, the solera process is designed to add complexity and control the oxidation process.

The year named on the bottle indicates the starting date of the solera, in this case, 1900, released in 1999. This is a staggeringly beautiful wine.

Solera start date: 1900

Solera close date: 1905

Bottled in: 1999

# Bottles: 1040

Alcohol by volume 20%

Sweetness: 123 g/L

Grape variety: Malvasia

Henriques & Henriques Century Malmsey 1900

Reviews

“This wine is actually, miraculously, commercially available. ‘We recommend standing it upright and decanting 24 hours before serving,' says John Cossart. This wine has been in bottle for 15 years but still has the freshness of a solera wine. Green-edged mahogany. Pungent nose of bonfires. Round and punchy, very well balanced. Lots of acidity but not too much. Lovely sipping madeira. Very very fresh. Quite amazingly lively even though almost elixir-like.”
19/20 points, Jancis Robinson
“Deep amber colour with golden and greenish shades. Intense nose, aromatic, dried fruits, raisins, honey and some old wood. Smooth, rich and mellow in the mouth. Good body. Dried fruits and honey revealing a strong personality characteristic of an old Madeira. Well balanced wine with an excellent finish.”
Henriques & Henriques

Reviews

“This wine is actually, miraculously, commercially available. ‘We recommend standing it upright and decanting 24 hours before serving,' says John Cossart. This wine has been in bottle for 15 years but still has the freshness of a solera wine. Green-edged mahogany. Pungent nose of bonfires. Round and punchy, very well balanced. Lots of acidity but not too much. Lovely sipping madeira. Very very fresh. Quite amazingly lively even though almost elixir-like.”
19/20 points, Jancis Robinson
“Deep amber colour with golden and greenish shades. Intense nose, aromatic, dried fruits, raisins, honey and some old wood. Smooth, rich and mellow in the mouth. Good body. Dried fruits and honey revealing a strong personality characteristic of an old Madeira. Well balanced wine with an excellent finish.”
Henriques & Henriques

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