Justino’s – Terrantez Old Reserve

600 photographs later, tons of impressions, new knowledge and wines tasted, Mad about Madeira have all the prerequisites to continue yet a year. Regular visits is a must and I can’t thank the producers enough for their time and generosity. Please continue liking and sharing my site; for that I can’t thank YOU enough!

Terrantez. In the very same moment as the name pops up on a Madeira wine bottle, my subliminal mind creates expectations. I mean, today it’s so rare and who knows if or when it disappears from the island? When discussing the grape with the producers they all tell exactly the same thing; ”I would produce more Terrantez if I only could get my hands on some.”

I’m meeting Juan Teixeira, the winemaker and general manager at Justino’s, at their premises in Caniço. Last year’s visit took place in the middle of the harvest, a long-drawn and difficult one which called for more intervention and selection than this year. 2012 has all the prerequisites to become a classic vintage, something that the pure and intense samples I taste reveals. Furthermore the harvest was quick which also assured the quality level. Now, at the current visit, there are no trucks lined up, filled with grapes. The harvest is completed since more than a week ago.

Am I more benign to like Terrantez because of its rarity and history? Is it a wine geek thing? For sure, never underestimate the subjective part when tasting wine, even if a taster is experienced, but for sure there’s something about Terrantez.

When Juan brings me a glass of the Old Reserve Terrantez, I’m fully absorbed by the current glass, not realizing I have a Terrantez in front of me. The wine has my attention from the very first sniff; ethereal. This is simply old and stunning Terrantez! Elegance and complexity on the nose; nuts, tobacco, wet rocks, herbal honey and caramel. A touch of smoke, dust and flowers as well.

No heavyweight but a real class act on the palate with ethereal notes of minerals, dust, sweet-root, dried fruits, smoke, tea and a long, lingering finale with a lime peel like touch. Acidity in great harmony with the other components. Intense, elegant and subtle. I just love this wine. It might sound odd, to talk in terms of a terroir wine when it comes to fortified wines, but the Old Reserve for sure has that ‘je ne sais quoi’ feeling.

Juan tells me the wine was bottled as an Old Reserve simply since the age of the wine is unknown. The Terrantez was a part of an acquisition made more than fifty years ago, when the company bought a farm. The previous owner hadn’t kept any records on the production year. There’s no doubt it’s an old one and that the wine is more than fifty years of age. Broadbent Selections in the US sells the wine and quotes the Madeira wine expert Darrel Corti who believes the wine goes back to around the 1930′s.

The MAM Opinion:

Yes, you want to taste this one! In the US, check with Broadbent where to find it. In Europe, check here.