Madeira Club Solera Tasting

I was asked to attend the Madeira Club’s tasting of Solera wines in Bristol to which I contributed a Blandy’s 1891 Solera. Thank you to John Barrett for the invitation.

This is the first time that I have tasted so many solera wines side-by-side and I spoke briefly at the event about how these wines lack much in the way of background or context due to the lack of any definition of what constitutes a madeira solera. This has recently been remedied but the rules are now so restrictive that no one is making these wines any more.

The following passage adapted from my book, Madeira, the Islands and their Wines gives some context:

‘Though solera is a term more closely associated with sherry rather than Madeira, the solera system has nonetheless been used widely on the island since the late eighteenth century. The solera in Madeira has always been different from that used in Jerez and was based on the lote system (i.e blending small parcels of wine). The date on the label supposedly refers to the oldest wine in the blend. Ill-defined and open to fraud, Madeira’s soleras were effectively abolished following Portugal’s accession to the EU. Only wines that had already been bottled could continue to be sold as soleras. There are still a number of fabulous late nineteenth-century solera Madeiras available from the shippers on the island, and older wines which occasionally crop up at auction in London and New York. Since 1998 the solera category has been officially reintroduced and defined much more tightly. Under the new legislation, the basis for the solera must be wine from a single year or harvest, of which not more than 10 per cent can be withdrawn in any one year. This must be replaced (or refreshed) by another younger wine of similar quality. The maximum number of additions permitted is ten, after which all the wine in the solera must be bottled at the same time. As yet, not a single wine from the newly defined solera category has reached the market and the shippers have shunned the new definition.’

The following wines are listed in the order they were tasted (from the driest to the sweetest) with my scores and star ratings attached:

H.M. Borges 1915 Solera Sercial*

Pale-to-mid amber in colour with savoury yet rather sour beef tea aromas, singed around the edges; gentle beefy flavours but rather non-descript overall with some sour-apple acidity showing up on the finish. Below expectation as I have had some good solera wines from Borges. 12

Saccone & Speed 1815 Reserva Solera Sercial ***

Mid-deep amber in hue with a very strange rather funky-musty character on the nose, overtly high-toned with more than a hint of mothballs; much better on the palate, soft initially and a touch balsamic, still lithe with a pronounced citrus (lime marmalade) finish. This cost £2.65 in 1972! 15

Blandy’s 1891 Solera Boal ***

Mid-deep mahogany with a green tinge to the rim; subdued on the nose, despite being decanted well in advance with a slightly meaty-beefy undertone and a rich and rather lovely beef tea character on the palate, gentle with a touch of salinity mid-palate and a long piquant finish. 16

Berry Bros & Rudd 1808 Solera (bottled 1959) ****/*****

Grape unknown, mid-deep green tinged mahogany, lifted, leafy and grassy on the nose (suggests Verdelho), slightly funky too but this really sings from the glass; gloriously rich, sweeter in style than customary for a Verdelho, rich leathery-figgy fruit nicely offset by twist of green, grassy acidity on a sweet, crystallised finish. Rated as the joint favourite by assembled tasters. 18.5

Henriques & Henriques 1894 Solera Malmsey *****

Mid-deep green tinged mahogany, rather demure on the nose, especially after the previous wine with a rich honeysuckle character emerging from the glass; similarly rich on the palate with textural figgy richness and intensity mid-palate followed by a long, perfectly poised finish. Very, very good. Joint favourite with the tasters, this received my top mark. 19

Leacock 1863 Malmsey Solera ****

Deep mahogany with subdued rich, raisiny aromas and a touch of molasses on the nose; lovely smooth, toffee, caramelised fruit, sauve to the point of being rather over-luscious and a bit unctuous, a touch of salinity, super-smooth on the finish and seemingly a bit confected but rather glorious nonetheless. 17.5