The marvels of Madeira: one of the great unsung Portuguese wines - MW

Barbeito Madeira Rainwater Reserve, Portugal NV (from £ 12.75, 50cl, bat.wine; buonvino.co.uk; orange thinggewine.com) In the current situation, a lot of us are falling into the content of kitchen cabinets, reassessing Eligible products are useless, useful or indispensable. Every day the festival thanks me, the more naive version than before that complements the seasoning drawn in a large store before locking. And the festival has never been more grateful for my rich (if somewhat random) product, a product that used to be an essential dish, but really is one of the great drinks of the times. us: Madeira wine. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a great and versatile cooking ingredient that can be used to add depth and gloss to sauces and deodorant pans (my Larousse Gastronomique suggests part. Madeira for 3 servings of meat juice) or fruit pie enhancement, among other things. But the combination of dried fruit and anesthetic and the twangy acid punch in Barbeito's great example, a relatively light, dry rainwater mixture is too good to simply be lost at dinner.

H&H 10 years old S brand Madeira, Portugal NV (£ 19.99, 50cl, Waitrose) One of the things that made Madeira a great appetizer in the cupboard is the indestructible truth: it's still fresh and retain its character for years, even after a bottle has been opened. You might think, the case of all wines is enhanced. But if educated once compared a Port or Sherry glass that the Hot Pot went straight from a newly opened bottle to a bottle from behind the beverage cabinet that had been opened a few Christmas before, judging immediately to taste the difference. distinct. Madeira's longevity is the result of its unusual manufacturing process: wine is actually heated during aging, in stainless steel or heated concrete (a process known as estufa), or, for top wines, like invigorating H&H, a dry, pungent 10-year-old Trade by leaving the kegs to be heated by the heat of the face heaven in the homes of Madeira in the island's capital Funchal.

Alvland Madeira, Portugal NV (from £ 12.85, £ 50, thewhiskyexchange.com; pcwine.co.uk; cashewgewine.com) That heating business is not the only eccentric place in the production process. Madeira's wine: this island is probably not the first place You will choose to make wine, the subtropical climate is the ideal environment for grapes to develop fungal diseases and grape lands on the terrace. for difficult picking and pruning work. Many grape varieties that work here - sercial, bual, terrantez, tinta negro mole - iron arsenic are widely grown elsewhere (verdelho and malvasia are more widely known). And the high alcohol content (between 17% and 19%) makes many potential drinkers leave. So many cards were stacked on top of each other, then, against the island's winemakers, never regained the fame and fame they had in the 18th and 19th centuries. Whether it's a young person working with rich, sweet desserts like Alvada, or the acid smell and the ethereal smell of a rare vintage wine that's dozens of years old, this is a style of wine that deserves. appreciate.

MW