Blandy's Sercial Madeira 1968 (75cl, 21.5%)

This is a vintage Madeira made entirely from Sercial, produced by Blandy's and matured in cask for 49 years. It carries a 1968 vintage and is bottled at 21.5% vol in a 75cl bottle. The wine was aged by the traditional canteiro method, in seasoned American oak casks in loft warehouses warmed naturally by the island's climate, with no artificial heating at any stage. Sercial's naturally high acidity has had decades to settle against slow oxidative development, and the wine holds 59 grams per litre of residual sugar. The nose offers almond, toast, butter toffee, mocha, baked apple, praline and bitter orange, with smoke, walnut, furniture polish and marmalade beneath. The palate is medium to full-bodied and satiny, with toasted nuts, dried figs, citrus peel and dates, all held by a firm spine of acidity. The finish is long and tart, with lemon and a trace of toasted almond.