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Wednesday, August 8, 2018

1980 Blandy's Madeira Terrantez




1980 Blandy's Madeira Terrantez...$226.99
This is rich, with racy cut driving the clove, dark tea, bitter orange, date, walnut and hazelnut aromas and flavors. Ends on a note of buckwheat honey, staying dry. Drink now. 220 cases made.–JM
Rated 96/100 The Wine Spectator

As most of the varietals on the island, Terrantez was brought from the north of mainland Portugal, where it goes by the name of Folgasão. For many centuries this varietal has always been used in the production of premium wines, achieving high prices in the market.
Rare, Terrantez grapes are white, thin-skinned and extremely fragile. The compact bunches and berries make it prone to botrytis and berry splitting. The yields are very low and ripening late.
Due to its fragile nature, it has been replaced by more prolific varieties, and was therefore almost brought to extinction. Lately, the family has persuaded growers to bring back production levels. Any Terrantez Madeira is rare enough to be worth trying.

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