Rare Wine Company "Historic Series - New York" Malmsey Madeira

The NV New York Malmsey Special Reserve Madeira is a delight. Caramel, dried fig, burnt sugar, menthol, coffee and holiday spice cake develop nicely in the glass. Soft contours wrap it all together in style. This is an extremely versatile Madeira, one that is both delicious on its own and that will drink well alongside anything, savory or sweet. The style is on the richer side. I loved it. (AG)

I really love Maderia, it's just perfect for so many things and this is one of my perennial favorites and a bottle I've sold to a lot of customers, their Malmsey which is pretty much equivalent to Tawny port in sweetness, but with a bit of an acid bump in the mid palate which I think helps make it as perfect as it is. To make Madeira, wine is put through a torture test so the other benefit is once you open a bottle it'll stay good pretty much indefinitely, not that it gets a chance in my house. There's just such a deep and intense nuttiness to the wine, it having fully oxidated as part of the winemaking process. There's stewed fruit, bits of crunchy toffee, burnt caramel, a little touch of umami savoriness, and then all those nuts just bolstering the whole thing up. The palate is a little bit fresher due to the acid bump the fruit is more dried, and there's still caramel but also a little bit of salinity on the very finish. This is absolutely fabulous and anyone who appreciates a sweet finish to their meal should give this a look, it's worth your attention.