Pereira d’Oliveira 1880 Terrantez; One hundred and thirty-one years later.

Okay, here we go. Focus.

1880 Terrantez in the glass. The same year as the building of the Panama Canal began. The same year as the first pay telephone was installed. The same year as James Garfield were elected president in the U.S. The same year as the First Boer war started. The same year as Sarah Bernhardt made her U.S. debut at New York’s Booth Theater. Amazing. What an honor to drink this. Wonder how life was back then? Where on the island did the grapes grow? Who picked them? Could the winemaker ever believe that 131 years later someone would sit in the lodge of Pereira d’Oliveira, drinking his wine?

No, no, no, focus.  

It is easy to get carried away and only focus on what the stenciled bottle says. 1880. Still, what matters are the inside, the content of the bottle. And we all know what age can do to Madeira and what a divine drink it can turn in to. And yes, sometimes it takes 131 years before reaching perfect maturity….

Luís d’Oliveira don’t have anything left on cask of the 1880 Terrantez. Everything is bottled. Time to taste history:

Not as dark as I might have guessed. A bit cloudy. What great complexity; earth, bitter almond oil, dried flowers, Maple syrup, roasted coffee and Oolong tea. Some tobacco and fudge as well. Ethereal. On the palate it shows great balance with gentle notes of oriental spices, clove, roasted coffee, cocoa, hazelnuts, smoke and orange peel. Quite a mouth-fill. The acidity is of the more gentle kind (when speaking of Madeira that is). Long, lasting and earthy finish.

1880 Terrantez. The same year as Tsar Alexander II of Russia survived an assassination attempt. The same year as the first town were completely illuminated by electric lighting (Wabash, Indiana). The same year as Theodore ”Teddy” Roosevelt turned 22 years old.

NB. When it comes to the bottling year, Luís couldn’t give a direct answer without checking the old journals, but thought it was bottled during the 1980′s. Anyone reading this who knows more exactly?

Want to buy it? The Rare Wine Co sells it, if you’re in the U.S. In Europe, check with Bovey Wines in UK (importer) and The Madeira Collection.

MAM Opinion: