1920 Madeira Bual, Blandy's
As I said elsewhere, this was the first vintage Madeira I ever tasted (back in the late 1980s) and the one that caused me to fall in love with the stuff. So here we are over 30 years later. It occurs to me that the grapes must have been harvested towards the end of the 1918 flu pandemic. The color is translucent red-brown. Wonderful dried fruit and caramel aromas rise to greet you from the glass. The flavors are bountiful, complex, and exquisitely balanced, with sweetness and acidity that balance and complement everything else. The finish is spectacular and lasts for several minutes. Double Curly. This should be enjoyable for another century or two.
It's interesting to contrast this with the 1950 Malvazia I recently had. That wine was closed up tighter than any other wine I've ever had. And while malvazia typically is sweeter than bual, that certainly didn't seem to be the case here--the malvazia seemed almost dry.
-Paul W.