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My favorite wines of 2016
It has been a busy year. Not with wine drinking but with work, family, and the house. I certainly spent a lot of time researching about the history of wine but this year my strong efforts in exploration produced less results. As a result I published less historic pieces. Still, it was a good year in all sense. As for wine, what is memorable easily falls into five groups old Burgundy, old Chateauneuf du Pape, old Californian wine, old Bordeaux, and very old Madeira.
Old Burgundy was consumed in the form of 1964 J. Mommessin, Clos de Tart and 1961 Drouhin, Domaine General Marey-Monge, Romanee St-Vivant. I find these old bottles particularly hardy with sweet, old concentrated flavors that never fade.
Chateauneuf du Pape was off to a roaring start thanks to a friend who not only opened 2003 Chateau Rayas, Reserve, Chateauneuf du Pape but also 2003 Henri Bonneau, Cuvee Marie-Beurrier, Chateauneuf du Pape. The Rayas already exhibits “breath-taking complexity” whereas the Bonneau is structured for age. At the mature end, a beautiful bottle of 1964 Domaine de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape proved the longevity of this type of wine. This is the first vintage in which Jacques Perrin employed his vinification a chaud technique where he heated the grapes. There were some mediocre vintages in the 1950s and early 1960s so it is possible Jacques Perrin was ready to use this new technique regardless of the quality of the 1964 vintage. From the same vintage, though not quite the same level of experience, the 1964 Paul Jaboulet Aine, Les Cedres, Chateauneuf du Pape really highlights how negociants and growers successfully worked together. I am also thrilled to have tasted an original release Mont-Redon, whose wines from the 1950s and 1960s have been widely praised. With round, mouth filling sweet strawberries, the 1969 Domaine de Mont-Redon, Chateauneuf du Pape is drinking perfect right now.
The 1978 Diamond Creek, Cabernet Sauvignon, Volcanic Hill, Napa Valley expresses many of the traits I like in a mature American wine: dark fruit, earth, grip, and some of the concentration from age that just makes you want to drink the wine rather than figure out how to describe it. There is quite a reputation for this wine so I am glad it lives up to it. The biggest Californian surprise of the year is the 1969 J. Pedroncelli, Pinot Noir, Private Stock, Sonoma County which has no written reputation that I could find. This is Pinot Noir with a hefty dose of Zinfandel, that together provide a vibrant and taut wine with fruit, leather, and animale notes. I must, of course, include Eric’s big bottle of 1875 Isaias W. Hellman, Angelica Wine, Cucamonga Vineyard, San Bernadino County. I will write about this wine in a separate post but to provide some context for this exceedingly rare 19th century Californian wine, there were only 37 stars on the America flag when the grapes were harvested.
For some reason I did not get around to opening any wines from the 1966 vintage this year. Still, I did not miss the 50th anniversary of the vintage for the 1966 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien proved to be an excellent representative. From the sweaty nose to the cranberries and red fruit this wine is nothing but fun. Also pleasurable, particularly for the mouth feel, is the 1979 Chateau l’Evangile, Pomerol. In fact, Lou and I managed to drink this twice. It is round, weighty, and injected with fat. Great stuff! I also managed to taste two bottles of 1962 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac. The first bottle, with the highest fill, was the best being very aromatic with beef and blood. The second bottle had a much lower fill so I opened it up an experiment. It was simply a more compact representation, attesting to the staying power of Lafite.
As for very old Madeira, I was fortunate to taste 20 pre-Phylloxera bottles this spring. If I simply pruned out the fake(s), off bottles, and ones that are not so good I could probably list 10 more wines. But my favorites can be narrowed to include the 1875 Blandy’s Grabham’s Sercial, 1864 Henriques & Henriques Sercial, 1808 Braheem Kassab (BAK) “SS”Sercial, and NV Henriques & Henriques Reserva “H.H.” Sercial. For me, these wines balance the high acidity natural to Sercial with some sweetness. They offer a diverse range of styles from tobacco and cedar wood to pungent, sweaty aromas and even smoke with minerals. An empty glass of Madeira will still smell great the next morning. A few errant drops on your skin will perfume yourself.
Amy Ray’s favorite wines of 2016 tasted in America, France, and Italy
Amy Ray has a well “honed” (to borrow a general quote from Barry Wiggins) passion for Burgundy. Though I have known of her for some time we only met this year. In hanging out with her I have discovered she also loves the wines of Champagne, Piedmont, and perhaps most importantly, old Madeira.
Amy holding 1959 Jadot Ursules at the Couvent des Cordeliers (home of the 1243 Bourgogne Society) in Beaune
Amy’s love for Burgundy is clearly expressed in her list of memorable wines from 2016. Earlier this year she traveled to Burgundy where she drank the 1959 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules Domaine des Héritiers. She recently remarked how much she likes the 1959 vintage. At the Paulée at Château de Meursault she experienced the 1979 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grande Rue which was not yet recognized as a Grand Cru.
1979 Lamarche La Grande Rue at the Paulée at Château de Meursault
If Amy is willing to attend the Paulée in Burgundy it is of no surprise that she was at La Paulée de San Francisco. At Quince in San Francisco, she was seated next to Etienne de Montille and Veronique Drouhin Boss.
Paulee tablemates Etienne de Montille and Veronique Drouhin Boss. Amy is in the background.
It is here that she drank a beautiful bottle of 1985 Joseph Drouhin Musigny.
Wines at Quince during La Paulée de San Francisco
Amy’s love for Nebbiolo and Truffles took her to Piedmont. Here she took a break at Vinoteca Centro Storico with a bottle of NV Marie-Noelle Ledru Champagne Extra Brut. Marie-Noelle Ledru manages everything herself even riddling and disgorging.
She thought the Elio Grasso estate the most beautiful in all of Piedmont.
Elio Grasso estate
Gianluca Grasso ordered an excellent bottle of the 2006 Elio Grasso Barolo Riserva Runcot at the Trattoria della Posta in Monforte d’Alba.
Here are the other wines on Amy’s incredible list. Note, there is even Rayas!
- 1979 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
- 1979 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee St. Vivant
- 2010 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
- 1998 Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Musigny
- 2004 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières
- 1995 Christophe Roumier Ruchottes-Chambertin
- 1995 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve
Bill Moore’s favorite wines of the year
I was lucky enough to enjoy a raft of wonderful wines in 2016, thanks in large part to the generosity of DC’s wine-loving community. Of the many tasted this past year, two in particular stand out to me as the most memorable.
The 1994 Lopez de Heredia Blanco Gran Reserva Vina Tondonia was simply the most mind-bogglingly complex and delicious wine I had all year. From the pull of the cork, it showed a soaring, kaleidoscopic nose, with swirling aromas of salted caramels, vanilla, honey, jasmine, ginger, almonds, and orange peels. It was sensuous, smooth, and nutty on the palate, with a level of refinement to rival the noblest Grand Crus and a salty finish that left my palate tingling for what seemed like minutes. A true masterpiece from this venerable house, and one that will last a geologic age.
This summer, I had the privilege of attending a Chateau de Beaucastel vertical dinner that featured more than a dozen vintages of Chateauneuf du Pape reds from this benchmark producer. While the dinner included numerous sterling bottles (the 1990, 1981, 2001, and 1983 were especially excellent), it was the 1964 Beaucastel that lingers most in my mind from that evening. Swirling aromatics of campfire smoke, cinnamon spice, and stewed strawberries had my head spinning. On the palate, the wine was full of soft, sweet fruits that reflected the wine’s maturity, but it was also brimming with vigor and energy that belied its 50+ years. While not the qualitatively “best” wine of the night, it was the one that challenged my assumptions about the aging potential of Chateauneuf du Pape and will have me seeking out many more old CdPs in the new year!
Cheers,
Bill
Phil Bernsteins’ Top wines of 2016
Phil Bernstein, who works at MacArthur Beverages, is literally within arms reach of amazing wines on a daily basis. In this post he writes about two occassions where he tasted special wines from the 1978 and 1990 vintages.
Aaron asked me to write up my favorites and 2016-and it’s a tough assignment as I’m lucky enough to taste quite a few wines both at work and with friends throughout the year. I’ve narrowed it down to two, but I have loads of honorable mentions! While the two below are in the “fine and rare” category, I still get just as excited to find amazing values in the sub $20 category. It’s a great time to be a wine consumer as there are tons of these out there…but that’s a post for another day (or come see me in the store and I’ll sell you some!)
The first ones are a “no brainer”. I was lucky enough to join my boss, Mark and a long time customer for a casual get together on a Monday night at Fiola. This particular customer has been a long time collector and has a great cellar full of gems mostly from Bordeaux and Rhone. He suggested a theme of drinking the 1978 and 1990 Hermitage la Chapelle from Jaboulet side by side. A once in a lifetime opportunity for sure!
Both wines were fantastic with the 1978 being one of the best reds I’ve ever had the pleasure to taste. Smoky, with notes of plum it was pure velvet on the palate. A seamless wine that just kept getting better and better. It still has loads of life left as well. The 1990 may end up being even better, but in comparison to the 1978 it seemed like an infant! If I was lucky enough to own this wine, I’d probably wait a few years before opening it. Both of these wines have that special, almost intangible pedigree to them – similar to top notch Burgundy and First Growth Bordeaux. They go beyond “great Syrah” and when drinking, you are sucked into that “special wine” vortex that I’m sure many of you have experienced.
Next up is the 1990 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese. I was lucky enough to be invited to the house of a different customer who also has been a long time German wine collector to a tasting of 1990 Germans. We had many superb wines that night, but this was far and away the stand out for me. Nice crisp acidity (a hallmark of this vintage) and loads of green apple fruit and a finish that had to last 5 minutes. Just amazing stuff. There is nothing better than mature Riesling when it’s in a good spot, and I continue to be amazed at how well JJ Prum wines age.
Eric Ifune’s 2016 Fortified Wines of the Year
Eric Ifune returns this winter to describe his favorite fortified wines of 2016. I first met Eric at the annual Madeira tastings organized by Roy Hersh (For The Love of Port) and Mannie Berk (The Rare Wine Co.). As you can see in his post, Eric drinks some rather amazing and rare wines, so I am excited to present his thoughts.
I’ve had the great fortune to attend multiple tastings of fantastic fortified wines this year. These are my most memorable in chronologic tasting order.
Henriques & Henriques Boal AB
A wine from the stock of the late John Cossart, the former head of H&H. This is a distinct wine from the famous H&H duo of the Grand Old Boal and the WS Boal. Probably from the early 19th century. Recorked in 1952 and 2011. The bottle itself is very old, a three part molded hand blown bottle approximately 150 years old.
A pale gold, green, amber color. Beautifully iridescent. A lovely, delicate floral fragrance with almonds and pralines. Just the barest hint of VA. Very, very long with limes and pralines on the finish. Just a lovely, gentle old Boal. Really beautiful. Not as dense as the WS or Grand Old Boal but fine and delicate.
The hand written labels are by Ricardo Freitas of Barbeito who reconditioned the Cossart Wines.
1898 Barbieto MMV Verdelho
Bronze gold green color. A meaty, savory aroma of cabbage, nuts, pralines. It smells better than it sounds! A very lean, acidic style of Verdelho which I love. Flavors of lemons and tangy pralines. A very, very long lemony finish. Just mouthwatering.
1863 Barbeito MMV Malvasia.
These wines originally belonged to Ricardo Freitas’ mother, Manuela Vasconcelos, who ran Barbeito before Ricardo.
Bronze green, gold in appearance. Very fragrant and floral. Just the barest hint of VA. Savory and delicate on the palate. High acidity with wonderful balance. Did I say I like a lot of acidity in my Madeira? A gentle style of Malvasia. Very long with a finish redolent of tangerines.
1880 Barbeito MMV Malvasia.
This was commercially available via the Rare Wine Company. The majority of this wine was the mother wine of Barbeito’s excellent 40 year old Malvasia “Mae Manuela” blend that Ricardo Freitas created in honor of his mother. The remainder was bottled as a straight 1880.
Very dark, almost opaque with an olive oil meniscus. Dense and rich aromas with iodine, saline, savory and sweet flavors. Very dense, intense and rich. A complete contrast to the 1863. Musky, caramel and toffee. A great, concentrated Malvasia if somewhat monolithic.
1795 Barbeito Terrantez
A very famous wine. I’ve been fortunate to have tasted this on several occasions over the past several years. Originally the property of the old Hinton family on Madeira, then owned by Oscar Acciaioly. Half was obtained by Barbeito and placed back into wooden casks for oxygenation. It was bottled a few at a time and slowly released to the market. The last of it was 23 bottles filled and sold in 2006. This particular bottle was from September 2000.
Dark bronze color with a green, gold rim. Huge and complex aromas of limes, oranges, toffee, and toasted nuts. On the palate, intense and electric. Great acidity. Not particularly sweet but beautiful balance. Huge depth and complexity. A long citric finish. Just wonderful!
1895 D’Oliveiras Malvasia
This was bottled in 2014. D’Oliveiras has the largest stocks of really old wine left on the island. They still have some of the 1850 Verdelho in cask! They will bottle wine as they need it. This was very dark, opaque in appearance. Smoky and dense aromas with citrus and molasses. On the palate, dense but not particularly sweet. Nice acidity. Flavors of grapefruit, lemons, honey, nuts, and toffee. Long, musky finish.
1810 Borges Sercial
This was one of the famous wines that Henrique Menezes Borges purchased in the mid-19th century and passed on down to his descendants and not as part of the company holdings. These family wines were thought to be in wood for approximately 100 years. They were bottled from demijohn in 1989. Two demijohns of this 1810 Sercial yielded 45 bottles.
Bright copper, gold, green color. Spicy aromas, a bit spirit. Toast, nuts, and apples on the nose as well. Rich and fruity on the palate. Almost black fruited. High acidity. Beautiful balance. An almost Verdelho level of sweetness due to the extreme concentration. A long, scintillating finish. A bit atypical for Sercial but still a real beauty.
Herdade do Mouchao Licoroso 1929 Solera
Herdade do Mouchao is an Alentejo estate with an almost cult status in Portugal for their table wines. They also make a vinhos licoroso which is the generic Portuguese term for a sweet fortified wine. Mainly Alicate Bouchet grapes. I think of them with penultimate organic viticulture. No monoculture here, the estate is a patchwork of vineyards, old forest, cork oak groves, pasture for sheep and poultry. Lots of biodiversity.
This particular wine is tasted at the estate from cask. It was refreshed several times, hence the solera designation. The average wine age is 45-50 years old. Impenetrable dark color with a browning rim. Very fresh aromas of walnuts, citrus fruit, figs. The barest hint of VA. Very thick and viscous on the palate, but fresh with great acidity. Not overwhelmingly sweet. Lots of lime, grapefruit, brown sugar and toffee. A very long nutty, figgy finish. Just wonderful stuff!
Quinta do Mourao San Leonardo “60” White Port
Quinta do Mourao is a Port producing Douro estate. Known in the industry for their large stocks of old, superb wood aged Ports. The famous houses would purchase old, wood aged wines from them to beef up their own stocks. The Quinta releases their own wines under the San Leonardo label. Not seen in the States until just recently when they obtained an importer based in Los Angeles. Their range of Tawnies of indicated age: 10, 20, 30, and Over 40 are among the best in their respective categories. They have older stocks as well. This is one of White Port. Technically, this is a White Tawny Reserve since there is no official category older than over 40 years. It is over 60 years in average age and so has the proprietary name “60 White.” This is not released in the States yet, probably this coming year. Tasted with the importer. Amber, gold color shot through with green. Spicy aromas with orange and toffee. Almost like a Christmas cake. Waxy on the palate, almost like an old Chenin Blanc. Very rich with huge complexity and depth. Lots of balancing acidity. A long finish with honey, limes, and tangerines. Eye opening as to the heights of White Port.
Quinta do Mourao San Leonardo “100” Port.
Another release tasted with the importer. This is wood aged with an average age of 102 years. Also a Tawny Reserve with the proprietary name of “100.” Very dark color with a gold green rim. Toffee and roasted nuts. Almost painfully concentrated. Huge and intense but balanced with huge acidity as well. Toffee, caramel, brown sugar on the palate and finish. This is a wine to be savored in small amounts it is so rich and concentrated.
1970 Taylors Vintage Port.
Oporto bottled. Decanted a few hours before and tasted single blind. Dark core, just starting to go tawny at the meniscus. Spicy with leathery, citrus, and strawberry aromas. I really like the smell. On the palate, dense and rich. Sweet, but perfectly balancing acidity. Very long with tangerines and other citrus fruits.
1970 Dows Vintage Port
Tasted side by side with the Taylors, also decanted a few hours beforehand and tasted single blind. Also Oporto bottled. Even darker than the Taylors. Ruby rim. Young, spicy, plummy aromas. Black fruited, smoky. Very powerful, rich, and tangy. Tasting much, much younger than a 1970. Great balance. I think I like the Taylors a hair more to drink now, but might prefer the Dows in some years.
Cockburn’s Crusted Port bottled 1929 by Averys.
I’ve not heard of a crusted Port from 1929 let alone seen one. Now I can say I’ve tasted one!
A crusted Port is a bottled aged Port from several years. This was bottled in 1929 so presumably it is a blend of several years prior. Decanted approximately an hour or two beforehand. Beautiful iridescent rose, tawny colored. Still fresh aromatics, savory-sweet with red fruits. Rich and velvety mouthfeel. Indeed the mouthfeel was exceptional! Dense with glycerin. Not a heavy weight, but a beautiful elegant wine. Bright, firm, and vigorous despite the age. Great balance and length. Conversation about the table is convinced there is a lot of 1927 vintage in this wine. 1927 was a very high quality, long lasting, and prolific vintage. Indeed, not all of it was bottled as vintage port; hence the consideration this bottle contained much of it.
1900 Jose Maria da Fonseca Moscatel de Setubal
Very dark with a brilliant gold-green rim. Musky and savory aromas. High toned and minty. On the palate it is dense, rich, and sweet but with excellent acidity to balance. Sweet, long, rich finish. Textbook Moscatel. IMO, Setubal makes the best Moscatels in the world.
1937 Warres Colheita Port
Bottled in 1997. Dark, opaque core fading to a tawny then olive oil rim. Smoky aromas with lime zest and a hint of VA. Rich and concentrated on the palate. Buttery mouthfeel. Limes and brown sugar flavors. Great balancing acidity. Long and concentrated.
1961 Krohn Colheita Port
Bottled in 2008. This was before Taylors, Fladgate bought out the Weise & Krohn company. Dark, tawny colored. A bit of VA on the nose, but lots of toffee and citrus as well. Very rich and sweet. Not the concentration as some of the older Colheitas, but beautiful and perfect balance. Long and satisfying. If you can find any of this still on the market, I’d snap it up!
Quinta do Mourao San Leonardo “60” Port.
Another wood aged Port from Mourao. I was fortunate to try this on two separate occasions about a week apart. Again, a Tawny Reserve, this time over 60 years of age. This is the red version in contrast to the white one listed above. Similar notes for the two times. The first taste was from a limited edition 750 ml bottle. The second from the regular release 500 ml bottle. Dark, opaque center with a copper-gold rim. Smokey and citric nose. Dense and sweet with huge complexity on the palate. Toasted nuts, lemons, tangerines. High levels of balancing acidity. A long, lemony finish. These old wines from Quinta do Mourao are a revelation as to the heights great wood aged Ports can achieve. One might think they could use them to beef up their Tawnies of Indicated Age, i.e. 10, 20, 30, and Over 40 years; however, their Tawny Ports are terrific as they are, and these older wines are extra special.
The Sensational Sercial Dinner: 1875 through 2008
I was careful to note I drank from a magnum of 1976 Lanson, Champagne and even took a picture of the bottle of 1996 Louis Roederer, Cristal Champagne and Jacque Selosse, V.O. Champagne Extra Brut. However, my tasting note for the 1998 Dom Perignon, Champagne “racy, yeasty, rich, mineral wine flavors” is unaccompanied by a picture. This might sound haphazard but Champagne is the first thing drunk after the all-day Sercial Madeira tasting. The need to refresh oneself with Champagne and talk to old friends leads to a sort of frenzy. Everyone jockeys for a pour of Champagne. It is not a time to take note.
Dinner is seated, at a very long table. The pace of wine is measured by the sommeliers who impose a logical order on what is drunk. Every guest is encouraged to bring a magnum of mature wine or preferably two bottles of the same. This is not always possible so there is a large variety of red wines. I take pictures and jot down brief impressions so I may recall the evening later on. There were only two off bottles this night the 1959 Joh. Jos. Prum, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, feine Auslese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and 1978 Heitz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Martha’s Vineyard, Napa Valley. In Germany 1959 is a legendary vintage and in America both Joh. Jos Prum and Heitz Martha’s Vineyard are legendary wines. In some punishing coincidence a friend brought a bottle of 1975 Martha’s Vineyard to my house this year. It was off too. Damn and double damn.
Of the good wines, they fell into two camps. Those which are too young to follow a tasting of 19th century Madeira and those which are appropriately mature. In this latter category two particular bottles stand out: 1966 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien and 1875 Isaias W. Hellman, Angelica Wine, Cucamonga Vineyard, San Bernadino County. The 1966 Ducru sports a fantastic nose. I find some old wines have a sweaty aspect to their nose almost like aromatic umami and this bottle did as well. The flavors were equally attractive with that sweet concentration of flavor from age. It does not just taste mature, it tastes different.
My experience with Californian wine only includes vintages into the 1960s. I can assure you the last wine I would have expected at dinner was not just a pre-Prohibition Californian wine but one from the 19th century. In a particularly unforgiving act of arson in 2005, some 4.5 million bottles of wine were destroyed including 175 bottles of Hellman Angelica and Port wine, certainly most of the remaining stock. I can only imagine a handful of bottles survive to this day. Now scarcity alone does not make for a fine wine, what is in the glass does. With a bit of volatile acidity and dust on the nose the 1875 Hellman may have given slight pause but in the mouth this is an unctuous, powerful, and mouth coating wine. I managed to prolong the pleasure for a few more weeks because I was allowed to take the empty bottle home. There was still damp sediment in the bottle so I stoppered it. Every few days I would smell the bottle to swim once again in 19th century aromas.
2002 Dauvissat, Chablis Grand Cru Le Clos
Imported by Vieux Vins. The yeasty nose makes way to minerally, white and yellow fruit flats. This seductive wine is rich with a hint of yeast, ripe tannins in the finish, and fat in the aftertaste.
2008 Domaine Coche-Dury, Meursault
Alcohol 12.5%. This is a fresh, lean wine that tastes yeasty and older in the mouth. IT leans towards pure lemon flavors.
2007 Domaine Coche-Dury, Meursault
Alcohol 12.5%. This is a grippy, concentrated wine with fresh acidity. A little weight comes out with air but this is all about lemon tartness. To match the flavor is a fair amount of acidity.
1959 Joh. Jos. Prum, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, feine Auslese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
Imported by O. W. Loeb & Co. Corked! D*mn!
1970 Domaine Dujac, Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes
Imported by Frederick Wildman. Alcohol 13%. The dark, garnet color matches the rather mature nose. In the mouth this is a very dry wine with old perfume mixing with linear, red fruit, The structure is still there, out living the fruit, as this gentle, old wine dries up.
1967 Odero, Barolo
A Chambers Street Selection imported by T. Elenteny. The nose is a little stinky, which I find attractive, before aromas of candied cherry come out. This is old-school lively, with structure from the ripe tannins. Perfect for what it is.
1961 Burlotto, Castello di Verduno, Barolo
The foxy, earthy flavors come with initial concentration. It is a dry wine offering more flavor than the Oddero. Maturity has brought old-school flavors, a sweet aspect, and earth. It wraps up with drying, textured tannins.
1967 Cordezuma, Barolo
A Chambers Street Selection imported by T. Elenteny. The color is young, almost cranberry-ruby in color. In the mouth this is a simpler wine which is tart, citric, and bears less fruit.
1981 Lopez de Heredia, Vina Tondonia, Rioja
An odd wine with almost mushroom flavors, yeast, and floral pork (WTF!). The acidity is bound up with the modest bit of structure.
1990 Prunotto, Barbaresco Montestefano
Alcohol 13.5%. Tobacco. Young!
1995 Guigal, Cote-Rotie La Landonne
A Thomas Gruenig Selection imported by Torion Trading Ltd. Alcohol 13%. This is way too young. Structure, drying, and bracing at this point.
1995 Guigal, Cote-Rotie La Mouline
A Thomas Gruenig Selection imported by Torion Trading Ltd. Alcohol 13%. This is aromatic with a fine nose just beginning to take on mature aromas. In the mouth the red fruit is starting to soften a touch. Overall this is a focused wine with powerful structure through the fresh finish. Young.
1989 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien
Imported by Johnston. Alcohol 12.5%. The mature Bordeaux notes are starting to escape but this is still so young.
1989 Chateau Lynch Bages, Pauillac
Shipped by SDVF. Imported by South Wine & Spirits. Alcohol 12.5%. This is more open with cassis, minerals, and fat. Nice.
1966 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien
Shipped by Raoul Lucien & Co. Imported by Combeau-Collet & Cie. Alcohol 12%. The fantastic nose is aromatic and a touch sweaty with cranberries and red fruit. It develops some old-school perfume. In the mouth the flavors have some sweetness to them before the drying finish. A lovely wine at 50 years of age.
1966 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Pauillac
Shipped by A. de Luze & Fils. This is less giving, more linear, soon shutting down to simple, cranberry, and red fruit flavors. It is firm and tight in the mouth with a shorter finish.
1978 Heitz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Martha’s Vineyard, Napa Valley
An off bottle.
1992 Harlan Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Young and primary.
1937 Niepoort, Colheita Port
Imported by W. J. Deutsch Co. Alcohol 19%. There is a sweet start with flavors of black tea and wood. There is a fair amount of noticeable acidity before the slightly harsh finish.
1875 Isaias W. Hellman, Angelica Wine, Cucamonga Vineyard, San Bernadino County
Though there is some volatile acidity on the nose, it is fine and articulate, with a bit of dust matching its age. The fruit tastes so different. This is a powerful and lip coating wine which is still racy and sweet. The fruit persisted through the dark finish. With air this unctuous wine, with its plentiful residual sugar, builds glycerin and baking spices. In great shape!
Ricardo, the author, and Mannie
The Sensational Sercial Tasting 1875-1800
On April 30, 2016, I attended The Sensation Sercial Tasting in New York City. This was the fifth in a series of definitive annual Madeira tastings organized by Mannie Berk (The Rare Wine Co.) and Roy Hersh (For The Love of Port). It was only one year prior that I was fully immersed in the world of fine, old Madeira when I attended The Majesty of Malvasia tasting.
A single glass of old Madeira can perfume a room for hours. Some 400 glasses containing 20 different wines for 20 people is downright intoxicating. However, tasting Sercial can be a bit difficult for the naturally high acidity level combined with lower residual sugar can produce a trying wine. Some of the wines would have been better with food for the sheer quantity of piercing acidity. Other wines were quite sweet, leaving one taster to jokingly comment that perhaps the “S” does not stand for Sercial.
My four favorite wines spanned the century and also support the notion that either a purported single vintage or a blend can produce outstanding wines.
1875 Blandy’s Grabham’s Sercial
1864 Henriques & Henriques Sercial
1808 Braheem Kassab (BAK) “SS”Sercial
NV Henriques & Henriques Reserva “H.H.” Sercial
All of these wines are historic but two of them have particular American connections. The 1810 Monteiro Old Sercial Reserve is mid 20th century bottling of a house whose wines were imported into America since at least the late 18th century. There is also the elegantly bottled and labeled 1852 Sercial Selected by General Sherman on his visit at Madeira, 1871. It is not the most exciting wine to drink but certainly one very important to taste. There are but few surviving American bottled Madeira in existence. As a result there are no living experts experienced with this type of Madeira. I will follow up with a short post detailing a bit more history behind the Sherman Sercial.
Advertisement for Monteiro Madeira from 1796.
It is also important to point out that at least one of our wines was fake. The 1869 Blandy’s Sercial is not known to have been at auction. Though the red lead capsule bore the Blandy’s name, it covered both a T-stopper and a contemporary paper seal. There is also some question about the 1825 “S” Sercial. It is purportedly a Braheem Kassab (BAK) Madeira but it lacks the embossed capsule. I shall focus in on these bottles in later posts.
You will find my tasting notes below in the order tasted. Though we sat down to all of the wines, we tasted through them in flights. As usual, we silently tasted through the flight then openly discussed the wines. For me, far more important than the tasting descriptors, are the unique insights provides by a handful of the attendees. While the provenance of a wine in general speaks to the legitimacy of the bottle and storage conditions, with Madeira it also speaks to how the wine was raised. Great old Madeira is not the product of one person, it is the result of multiple generations. From the original blending of wine from multiple families to the different people or families who cared for the wine from cask to demijohn to bottle and perhaps back to demijohn before final bottling. Unlike 19th-century example of ex-chateau Bordeaux, Madeira may also purposely spend portions of its life in different buildings, gently influencing its character.
While my tasting notes will clearly reflect my preferences, it is the bottle histories that are more important. Mannie Berk compiles these histories in the tasting book we each receive. You may find excerpts from these histories in Richard Mayson’s notes in his post Sensational Sercial. Roy Hersh publishes his tasting notes from in The World of Fine Wine Magazine. More of the histories will appear in his article. I will update this post once he has done so for this tasting.
Tasting organizers Mannie Berk and Roy Hersh.
Flight #1
1875 D’Oliveira Sercial
Amongst the darkest of this flight but still brilliant. The pungent nose was finely articulate with underlying sweetness balanced by fresh, high-toned aromas. In the mouth is piercing acidity at the start which returns on the throat in the aftertaste. There is a fine, developing flavors with a certain earthy accent and dried herbs in the aftertaste. It is very acidic in the end. It is a little bit rough right now suggesting the need for further development. ****
1875 Blandy’s Grabham’s Sercial
The aromas are lower lying with web tobacco, inviting one to take another sniff of the complex and long-lasting aromas. There is a sweeter start with fine cedar and wood intertwined. There is watering acidity which carries the butterscotch flavors through the sweeter, tobacco accented aftertaste. This is a fine, old Madeira with very good balance leaning towards some sweetness. ****(*)
1870 Ricardo Vasoncelos Sercial “RV”
The nose is funky, sweat which is not pungent, and dark and sweet aromas. It responded with air becoming more properly pungent. There is a rounded, glycerin marked start with integrated acidity. The wine tastes older but sports a racy end just as the acidity shows through. With air the wine does improve leaving a sense of fruit at the start and a wood note. ***(*)/****
1869 Blandy’s Sercial
This has the lightest color of the floor but is almost slightly cloudy. It smells like old wine mixed with lactic funkiness. In the mouth are the leanest and driest flavors encountered. The flavor lacks through the aftertaste when heat comes out. Not Rated.
Flight #2
1865 Torre Bella Sercial
This is just lightly the darkest of the new flight. The nose offers up some must then a combination of dried and fresh floral aromas, perhaps lavender, and eventually sweet potpourri. The wine is salty and savory with rapier like acidity. The acidity almost hurts the mouth, overpowering the lavender flavor. Both spirity and hard to drink. Poor.
1864 Torre Bella Camara de Lobos Sercial
There is a piercing nose of sweet fruit with a touch of wood. This wine is richer with a core of concentrated flavor. The piercing acidity moves through the dry, citric finish only to return on the back of the throat. The wine offers more acidity than fruit but shows substantially better balance than the 1865. In fact, it comes across as lively. ****
1864 Henriques & Henriques Sercial
The pungent nose is complex with sweeter aromas that are gently sweaty and not distracted by a lactic hint. The wine is tangy with a fruity start. There fruity weight continues with dry floral notes and a mid level of acidity compared to the others. This emphasis the fruit before the very dry finish. It has a hint of wood. It reminds me of the Grabham and is clearly the best of the flight. ****(*)
Flight #3
1862 D’Oliviera Sercial
This wine is pungent and fully aromatic, bringing forth articulate sweet fruit. This is a full-bore wine with a fruitier start and a fair amount of acidity before the wine rounds out. The sweetness seems separate from the wine leaving a sense of oddity. Despite the wood note the wine is simpler by the middle. ****
1860 H. M. Borges Sercial
The high-toned nose is hard to describe with a menthol-like and floral set of aromas. Haunting in a way. There is a sweet start to this round wine then a tobacco and floral accented middle. Caramel flavors come out in the finish as well as a little tannic and grippy personality. The acidity hits the back of the throat leaving an aftertaste which is sweeter than expected. ****
1860 Avery’s Sercial
The nose low-lying with dense aroma eventually becoming more pungent with air. There is a vigour start with savory flavors that become drier towards the finish before acidity marks the path down the throat. The start is great with some fat that makes for a great promise. But the wine shows less balance in the end. Better in flavor than in aromas. ***
Flight #4
1855 Adegas do Tormeao “S”
The nose is a little lactic with some tea and sweet aromas eventually smelling like an old wine. The nose is consistent with the soft and simpler start and even the short finish. There is a little sweet black fruit with some texture on the sides of the mouth. Better in flavor. **
1852 Sercial Selected by General Sherman on his visit at Madeira, 1871
The nose is higher-toned with leather and peat notes suggesting spirit. The peat follows through in the mouth where the wine is thicker than expected. It is gently fading and short in finish but managed a savory note and some balance. Curious. **
NV Henriques & Henriques Reserva “H.H.” Sercial
This wine is clearly in good condition with attractive, pungent aromas. In the mouth this flavorful wine builds in power with wonderful integration. There is a citric grip in the middle with a very fine, racy mineral note. The acidity is only noticeable in the finish. This is ultimately exuberant with sweet concentrated and a slightly short finish. ****(*)/*****
1810 H. M. Borges Sercial
The lightest of the four in this flight. The nose is freshly pungent, aromatic and strange. The nose is echoed in the mouth with tangy, rather salivating acidity, and a bright, alcoholic finish that continues into the hot aftertaste. This is the most powerful wine of the flight but is unfortunately becoming unknit in the end. Wood hint. ***(*)
Flight #5
1827 Perestrello Sercial
A unique nose of sweet pizza crust. Again, the nose echoes in the mouth but in rounded, soft form. The softness and low acidity continues for a bit but the wine eventually tightens and becomes a little racy. ***
1825 “S” Sercial
There is a subtle nose of menthol, tea, and funk. This is a ripe, rich fine wine with a complex blend of wet and dry florals before the stemmy, short finish. The flavors clearly taste older with unique brighter fruit leaving a bizarre impression that is still tasteful. ***
1810 Monteiro Old Sercial Reserve
There is some sweetness followed by a lactic hint, butterscotch, and foxy aromas. The wine is a little chewy with noticeable acidity, a short finish, and a tobacco note in the aftertaste. **(*)
1808 Braheem Kassab (BAK) “SS”Sercial
The nose is fresh but not rich with some smoke. The saline start bears sharp acidity. The wine is powerful with both mineral and citric flavors. It is a little short in the finish but a beauty to drink. ****(*)
1805 Teixeira Sercial “Roque”
Perhaps the darkest wine of all this nice. The somewhat pungent nose mixes heavy aromas of butter and sweet cookies. The wine is saline and almost salty with powerful pungency. The acidity burns through this potent and piercing wine. There is some prune flavors too. ***
1800 (believed Araujo) Sercial
The gentle yet good nose smells like old wine and leather. The wine starts with a little pungent vibrancy with lively, old flavors. The watering acidity carries through as the wine settles down to a foxy finish. The finish is a little short but the wine is balanced and enjoyable. ****
“very Scarce” Sercial in America at the turn of the 19th century.
On April 30, 2016, I attended The Sercial Tasting in New York City. This was the fifth in a series of definitive annual Madeira tastings organized by Mannie Berk (The Rare Wine Co.) and Roy Hersh (For The Love of Port). This post is the article I wrote for the tasting booklet.
During the late 1700s and early 1800s, Madeira was typically ordered not by grape variety but by level of quality: from India and New York Market at the low end, to Old London Particular at the high end.
But it was always possible to buy a small barrel of single-varietal Madeira, especially Malmsey, Bual and Sercial. And for at least one early U.S. President, James Madison, Sercial was particularly prized.
Madison had developed a life-long love for Madeira, typically ordering the finest and oldest London Particular quality. As Secretary of State under President Thomas Jefferson, he expanded upon his usual orders by purchasing a hogshead of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite Brazil quality Madeira. When Madison became President after Thomas Jefferson in 1809, he purchased the remaining bottles of Jefferson’s Madeira that lay in the White House cellar.
But that wasn’t all he did to stock the White House cellar. Just one week into his Presidency, he placed an unusually large order of Madeira including old and new London Particular, Tinta or Madeira Burgundy, Malmsey, and Sercial. The Sercial was the only type of Madeira in his order described as “very Scarce” and as such was shipped in a quarter-cask. This is the first known order for Sercial amongst our Founding Fathers and one of the earliest in America.
Madison placed another order for Sercial a year later in 1810. Still being scarce, it could only be sourced from the private stock of Count Joao de Carvalhal who was considered the richest man on Madeira with “the best plantations.” Madison received his order the following year in 1811 and found the wine “very satisfactory.”
It is possible that Madison had to wait until he was President to afford Sercial. The British Factory established the prices for all Madeira shipped from the island by British firms. Madison paid £60 per pipe for old London Particular and the equivalent of £72 per pipe for Sercial. A year later in 1811, the Factory maintained the price on London Particular but the price of Sercial rose to £94 per pipe. Sercial was the most expensive type of Madeira which could be purchased.
Sercial was believed to stem from German vines at Hockheim and at times was called Madeira Hock. It only grew well at particular locations and altitudes on Madeira. Sercial was considered “superior to any dry wine, much esteemed on account of its scarcity and high flavor.” It was, however, unpalatable when young, requiring six to eight years before becoming drinkable. James Madison’s Sercial was seven years of age thus considered ready to drink. If scarcity raised the price then the requirement for age drove it up even further.
Advertisements for Sercial in American first appear in 1799 when one butt was offered for private sale. It is not until 1805 that Sercial was periodically advertised for sale. These advertisements continue through the beginning of the War of 1812 between American and Great Britain. It is possible the war prevented James Madison from placing a third order. Sercial essentially disappears from advertisements until 1816 when trade largely resumed. It now fetched a price of £100 per pipe.
James Madison’s Presidency lasted only one more year after the resumption of Madeira imports in 1816. We do not know why Madison did not continue his orders for Sercial. One possibility is that there was no affordable old Sercial to be had. In a normal year it could be difficult for a shipper to obtain even just two or three casks. In 1816, drinkable Sercial would have been from the 1809 or 1810 vintages. These were amongst a run of four bad years.
Count João de Carvalhal was considered to have wines as fine as any other on the island. In 1801, he purchased and developed the Palheiro estate in the hills near Funchal (and now owned by members of the Blandy family). It is here that Count Carvalhal kept his store of wine. When the Portuguese royal family moved back to Portugal from Brazil, a power struggle broke out. The new governor of Madeira confiscated the Palheiro estate, sending some 700 pipes of Count Carvalhal’s old wine to Lisbon.
The Madeira of Carvalhal was soon to return to America. “Carvalhal, vintage 1815, confiscated and sold under Don Miguel, in 1828” appears on wine lists and auction announcements beginning in the 1840s. The most famous of all Carvalhal wines is the 1808 Lomelino Carvalhal Sercial. This was the “highlight” of Sir Stephen Gaselee’s Madeira collection, bottles of which still survive to this day.
Incredibly, this vintage would have lain in Count Carvalhal’s cellar when James Madison’s Sercial orders were filled. It was not yet ready to drink so James Madison was sent the 1802 vintage.
“shipped by M. Pintard to the E. Indies in ’93”: George Washington’s India Madeira Wine
With peace negotiated between America and Great Britain at the end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington resumed his habit of personally ordering his pipes of Madeira direct from the island. Ten years later in 1793, during George Washington’s second term as President, he accepted the first of two orders for Madeira which traveled to India before making the long return journey to America. Known as “India wine”, no other Founding Father received such Madeira.
Great Britain was already at war with France when the first pipe left Madeira. With British money and ships spread thin, both in fighting wars and maintaining colonies in Asia, the British were weary for the Americans to resume their alliance with France. As a result, the British tolerated American ships trading with their colonies in India. It was to Calcutta, capitol of British India, that George Washington’s first pipe of “India wine” was destined for.
During the Revolutionary War, the international Madeira wine trade changed significantly. When Madeira shipments to America plummeted, the Madeira houses sought to make up this deficit in part by expanding trade to India and China. The share of Madeira sent to this eastern market rose to 40% of the entire trade. During the ocean voyages the holds of these ships, with the pipes of Madeira inside of them, could reach temperatures as high as 120F.[1] It was soon found that this India Madeira was favorably improved.
With the negotiation of peace in 1783, American merchants soon sent their ships to India after first making a stop at Madeira. There were British and French colonies in India providing a ready market for the wines of Madeira. The British East India Company carried pipes of Madeira in their own ships but the private American trade was tolerated. On the day after Christmas, 1784, the first American ship to call on India arrived at Pondicherry. She was the United States of Philadelphia, a small part of which was owned by the wealthy merchant Thomas Willing. A decade later the firm of Willing & Francis was regularly trading between America, Madeira, and India. Willing & Francis carried the second order of India Madeira for President George Washington and his Secretary of War Henry Knox.
George Washington’s First Order
Madeira. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
There were different grades of Madeira and George Washington largely ordered the best and most expensive. He was rather blunt often requesting “your very choicest (old) Madeira wine”.[2] What he was sent was London Particular.[3] This was the highest grade which was followed in decreasing quality and price by London Market, India Market, New York Market, and Cargo. To ensure the quality of his wine George Washington ordered his pipes to be sent direct from Madeira.
On two occasions President George Washington received London Particular Madeira which had been sent to India and back. The first order was set in motion during November 1793, when John Marsden Pintard wrote George Washington that he had shipped him one pipe of “very choice old wine” which would travel from Madeira to India then to Boston.[4] The India Madeira was priced at £40 Sterling which made it more expensive than the “choice old wine” at £38 that John Marsden Pintard sent at the same time direct from the Island to America. This new type of Madeira was no doubt rare at the time and distinct from the India Market quality. Neither Thomas Jefferson nor James Madison ever received India wine.[5] John Marsden Pintard acknowledged this unusual order suggesting “Should you not think proper to take the pipe that is gone to India” then it could be sold to someone else.
The pipe John Marsden Pintard dispatched from Madeira was first destined for Benjamin Joy in India. Benjamin Joy was a merchant from Massachusetts who was appointed US Consul at Calcutta in November 1792. He received the pipe in November 1793 upon which he held on to it for he never had a safe opportunity to send it on to America.[6] The East India Company was in effect the government in Calcutta. In April 1794, they refused to recognize Benjamin Joy’s consulship but allowed him to continue business activities. It was his health problems that eventually convinced him to return to Boston. Benjamin Joy brought the pipe back to America by November 1795.
John Marsden Pintard
Lewis Pintard was based in Philadelphia where he imported Madeira wine. His brother, John Marsden Pintard, nephew of Elias Boudinot, a former president of the Continental Congress, went to Madeira to set up a business during the fall of 1782. John Marsden Pintard soon became connected to the house of John Searle & Co on Madeira listing himself as “of the House” in his Application for Office of Commercial Agent in 1783.[7] The Searles and Pintards were related by marriage and business. John Searle’s son James Searle moved from Madeira to Philadelphia in 1762 and was importing wine by 1771.
The first American ship to visit India was the United States of Philadelphia.[8] She had originally set sail for China but first stopped at Madeira in April 1783. Trade with Madeira resumed after the Revolutionary War but a commercial treaty had not been established with Portugal. As a result Congress had not appointed a commercial agent to Portugal. Under Portuguese regulations a ship could only be cleared to depart with a visa from an agent or consul. To do so the governor of the Madeira gave temporary commission to John Marsden Pintard.[9] He noted this commission in a letter to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and went on to become the US Commercial Agent to Madeira on October 31, 1783.
John Marsden Pintard boarded the United States within half an hour of it weighing anchor.[10] He invited the Captain, Supercargo, and Surgeon to stay at the house of Searle where he resided.[11] The director of the house convinced the captain that a better price would be obtained for any Madeira sold in India rather than China. Some two weeks later the United States left Madeira for India with a cargo of 125 pipes of Madeira from John Searle & Co. The Madeira was shipped on credit with a bill payable to Lewis Pintard.
The journey of the United States to Pondicherry and back to Philadelphia took an extraordinary long time with many lives lost to scurvy. The majority owner of the United States was in financial difficulties thus could not pay the larger than expected wages of the seaman. The Admiralty Court ordered the ship to be auctioned off. As this could not satisfy all of the wages the cargo was sold too. There was then the question of the debt to John Searle & Co which Lewis Pintard presented for payment. With only one-fifth of the Madeira bill paid the matter was turned over to attorneys, the results of which are unknown.
John Marsden Pintard wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1784 that the house of John Searle & Co. had “Vast connections in the India trade”.[12] In 1786, when the British East India Company looked for a Madeira supplier for their colonies in India, the house of John Searle & Co won the very first bid. The Searle’s were extensively involved in the India Madeira trade.
George Washington first purchased a pipe of Madeira from John Searle of Madeira in 1763.[13] One year later in 1764, George Washington requested one more pipe.[14] It would be nearly 20 years later until John Searle would send more Madeira to George Washington. Due to the news of peace between America and Great Britain, John Searle wrote George Washington on April 3, 1783, that he was “inform’d that choice Old Madeira are exceedingly Scarce & Dear in the United States”.[15] A month later in May 1783, Lewis Pintard wrote to George Washington that he had received word of this shipment from his “relation” John Searle. John Marsden Pintard, apparently learned by February 1786, that the Searle’s previously sent Madeira to George Washington, offered to send more.[16] George Washington refused the offer being well-stocked since peace was established.[17]
John Marsden Pintard stayed as Commercial Agent until 1786. Shortly before he returned to New York he offered to send a pipe of Madeira to George Washington.[18] It was received by August 1786.[19] For the next several years he remained in the Madeira trade, periodically advertising pipes of Madeira for sale.
In 1787 and again in 1789, under the guise of the recently ratified Constitution, John Marsden Pintard continued his application to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to become US Consul to Portugal. He noted how he was associated with the only American house on Madeira. He was appointed US Consul to Madeira in June 1790. Once in Madeira he established the firm of Pintard, Weston & Co to sell and ship Madeira by the end of the year.[20] In January 1791, he wrote Thomas Jefferson applying both for himself and his partner Samuel Weston for the Consular position in Lisbon.
That John Marsden Pintard decided to setup his own business could be due to the changing fortunes of the firm John Searle & Co which soon failed in 1792. Peter Mondosa Drummond, Administrator at Madeira, was responsible for settling the affairs of the firm. He advertised the failure of the firm in American newspapers during 1793 and 1794.[21]
George Washington’s Second Order
A Perspective View of Fort William, in the Kingdom of Bengal. 1760. Wikipedia.
The second order for two more pipes of “India wine” was placed before George Washington’s first pipe ever arrived.[22] It is unusual, for George Washington was ordering very expensive Madeira of a type which he had never tasted. I have yet to find any correspondence with him describing the virtues of “India wine”.[23] It seems that this order came about as the result of timing on two parts.
In 1793, France declared war against Great Britain.[24] That same year the charter of the British East India Company was renewed guaranteeing Company control of all British ships trading between the Atlantic and Asia. The Company set freight rates and the volume for private trade that could be shipped. This was very expensive, so British merchants began to invest and trade using the American ships which traveled to the East Indies.
The British tolerated this trade because they did not want the Americans to reactivate their 1778 alliance with France. In the Caribbean British privateers were seizing American ships as prizes. Coupled with the presence of British occupied forts in America, the anti-British sentiment was high. The Jay Treaty avoided war between Great Britain and America by recognizing American neutrality in the wars with France. It also allowed formalized American trade to both the West and East Indies as well as negotiated a lower tariff paid to the Company for such trade. The Treaty was negotiated in 1794 and passed by the Senate in June 1795.
Bartholomew Dandridge, George Washington’s secretary, heard that the firm of Willing & Francis of Philadelphia had outfitted the sloop Ganges for India trade. Bartholomew Dandrige wrote John Marsden Pintard on April 14, 1795, that the sloop was to soon depart Philadelphia under Captain Tingey for the East Indies by way of Madeira .[25] The proof of ownership for the ship Ganges was signed on May 2, 1795.[26] The intent of Willing & Francis appears to trade with India under the protection of The John Jay Treaty.
John Marsden Pintard was directed to put two pipes of the best Madeira wine on the ship when it arrived at the Island. The Ganges departed Madeira for Calcutta during the middle of July 1795.[27] She departed Calcutta during February 1796[28] and after 92 days she returned to Philadelphia on June 1, 1796.[29] George Washington kept his two pipes stored at the firm’s counting house.[30] He had been advised that the wines would improve better there than in a cellar.[31]
The freight charges for the first India pipe was £15 compared to the £3 3s direct from Madeira.[32] That made one pipe of India wine £55 compared to £39 13s. The freight for the second two pipes came to just over £66 or £33 each.[33] Thus these pipes of India Madeira cost a staggering £71 each, not regarding duties and drayage.
We now know that George Washington was not the only one to have an order of Madeira on the Ganges. General Henry Knox, Secretary of War, also had two pipes.[34] We know this for the unique coincidence that Mannie Berk, The Rare Wine Co., owns the bill of lading for General Knox’s pipes of India wine. Dated July 16, 1775, John Marsden Pintard sent “Two cased pipes of Madeira Wine” with Captain Tingey of the Ganges to the East Indies and on to Philadelphia.
Invoice to General Henry Knox for Madeira wine from Willing & Francis. Dec 31, 1796. NYPL.
General Knox’s bill of lading can now be coupled with a bill for Madeira wine from Willing & Francis held by the New York Public Library. Together, they shed new light on George Washington’s expensive India wine. General Knox bill is dated December 31, 1776.[35] It details that for those two pipes, the most expensive Madeira duties were paid at $0.56 per gallon for 391 gallons.
The freight for General Knox’s pipes was £20 each compared to £33 each for George Washington. The former were simply “cased” whereas the later were in “dble cases”.[36] In order to prevent the theft of such expensive wine, the pipes or casks themselves were often placed inside a larger wooden case. George Washington was exceedingly cautious as he placed his Madeira inside two increasingly larger cases. Madeira typically shipped in 110 gallon pipes. Henry Knox’s single case raised the volume to approximately 196 gallons each. George Washington’s double cases would have occupied over 320 gallons each.
George Washington was willing to pay such extraordinary prices not only because Madeira was “one of the most expensive liquors” but that old Madeira “is not to be had upon any terms”.[37] Keenly aware of the scarcity of his India wine he instructed Oliver Wolcott Jr. to pay the duties “for the whole quantity” of the double cases rather “than have them uncased for the purpose of measuring the” present contents.[38] He did not want to risk the wines being stolen or adulterated.
George Washington wanted his old Madeira “reserved..for my own use when I get home” as it was “not easy to be replaced”. It was in March of 1797 that George Washington retired from his Presidency and returned to Mount Vernon. According to his Household Account books, that very same month he paid Willing & Francis the duties on the two pipes of Madeira as well as the drayage.[39] George Washington’s personal goods were shipped from Philadelphia to Mount Vernon so there is a bill of lading.[40] It is noted in the margin, ”No. 21.22. Two pipes Meda. Wine not mentioned in the No. of Casks-“.[41] George Washington brought his rare India wine back home to Mount Vernon.
[1] Hancock, David. “An Undiscovered Ocean of Commerce Laid Open”, The Worlds of the East India Company. 2002.
[2] “From George Washington to John Searle, 21 May 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11315. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[3] “To George Washington from John Searle, 15 July 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11598. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[4] “To George Washington from John Marsden Pintard, 20 November 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-14-02-0267. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 14, 1 September–31 December 1793, ed. David R. Hoth. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, pp. 408–409.]
[5] I can find no advertisements for India Madeira during this period.
[6] Benjamin Joy to Bartholomew Dandridge, November 4, 1795. George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799.
[7] George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 7. Applications for Office. 1789-1796
Applications for Office, 1789-1796. 1783? URL: https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw7&fileName=gwpage122.db&recNum=1017
[8] The Beginnings of American Trade with India, 1784-1812 Author(s): Holden Furber Source: The New England Quarterly , Vol. 11, No. 2 (Jun., 1938), pp. 235-265 Published by: The New England Quarterly, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/360708
[9] John Pintard. April 3, 1783. George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 7. Applications for Office. 1789-1796. URL: https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw7&fileName=gwpage122.db&recNum=1019
[10] Postscripts to the Voyage of the Merchant Ship United States Author(s): William Bell Clark Source: The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Vol. 76, No. 3 (Jul., 1952), pp. 294-310 Published by: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20088377
[11] Log and Journal of the Ship “United States” on a Voyage to China in 1784 Author(s): Samuel W. Woodhouse Jr. Source: The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 55, No. 3 (1931), pp. 225-258 Published by: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20086772
[12] John Marsden Pintard to Benjamin Franklin. May 16, 1784. Franklin Papers. URL: http://franklinpapers.org/franklin//framedVolumes.jsp?vol=41&page=605
[13] “From George Washington to Robert Cary & Co., 26 April 1763,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-07-02-0125. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 7, 1 January 1761 – 15 June 1767, ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990, pp. 202–205.]
[14] “From George Washington to John Searle, 30 January 1764,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-07-02-0171. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 7, 1 January 1761 – 15 June 1767, ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990, p. 285.]
[15] “To George Washington from John Searle, 3 April 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-10986. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[16] “To George Washington from John Marsden Pintard, 24 January–5 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0444. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 3, 19 May 1785 – 31 March 1786, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994, pp. 521–523.]
[17] “From George Washington to John Marsden Pintard, 20 May 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-04-02-0071. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 4, 2 April 1786 – 31 January 1787, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, p. 67.]
[18] “To George Washington from John Marsden Pintard, 24 January–5 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0444. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 3, 19 May 1785 – 31 March 1786, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994, pp. 521–523.]
[19] “From George Washington to John Marsden Pintard, 2 August 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-04-02-0177. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 4, 2 April 1786 – 31 January 1787, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 188–189.]
[20] John M. Pintard to Tobias Lear. 19 January 1791. GLC02794.012 The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859. URL: http://www.americanhistory.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/John-M–Pintard-to-Tobias-Lear-regarding-invoice-for-Madeira-wine/GLC02794.012
[21] Date: Wednesday, April 23, 1794 Paper: American Minerva (New York, New York) Volume: I Issue: 118 Page: 3
[22] Bartholomew Dandridge to John M. Pintard, April 14, 1795. George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799.
[23] There is however, reference to Madeira which went by way of China. When George Washington complained in 1786 to Henry Hill about the cost of his Madeira from Lamar, Hill, Bisset & Co., Henry Hill responded that age is “essential to the perfection of an original good growth”. However, the Madeira he tasted sent by John Searle & Co via China was “a mean one”.
[24] Chapter Title: The India Trade Book Title: So Great a Proffit Book Author(s): JAMES R. FICHTER Published by: Harvard University Press. (2010) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x0k5c.11
[25] Bartholomew Dandridge to John M. Pintard, April 14, 1795. George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799
[26] DS dated 2 May 1795. “proof of ownership of a ship or vessel.” Certifying ownership of the ship Ganges. Signed twice by Tingey. Naval History and Heritage Command. URL: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/manuscripts/t/thomas-tingey-letter-2-may-1795-ownership-of-ganges.html
[27] Date: Thursday, September 10, 1795 Paper: Philadelphia Gazette (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Volume: XII Issue: 2147 Page: 3
[28] Date: Wednesday, May 11, 1796 Paper: Aurora General Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Page: 3
[29] Date: Thursday, June 2, 1796 Paper: Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Issue: 5350 Page: 2
[30] “From George Washington to Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 6 July 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00698. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[31] “To George Washington from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 4 July 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00688. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[32] “To George Washington from John Marsden Pintard, 20 November 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-14-02-0267. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 14, 1 September–31 December 1793, ed. David R. Hoth. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, pp. 408–409.]
[33] “To George Washington from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 23 July 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00768. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[34] General Henry Knox was a prior customer of John Marsden Pintard. See the correspondence at THE GILDER LEHRMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
[35] http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4b568cc0-067a-0134-bd0a-00505686a51c#/?uuid=4b568cc0-067a-0134-bd0a-00505686a51c
[36] “From George Washington to Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 13 June 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00621. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[37] “From George Washington to William Pearce, 23 November 1794,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-17-02-0135. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 17, 1 October 1794–31 March 1795, ed. David R. Hoth and Carol S. Ebel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013, pp. 201–205.]
[38] “From George Washington to Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 13 June 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 6, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00621. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]
[39] Washington’s Household Account Book, 1793-1797 Author(s): Tobias Lear and Bartholomew Dandridge Source: The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Vol. 29, No. 4 (1905), pp. 385-406 Published by: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20085306
[40] “To George Washington from Tobias Lear, 20 March 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified October 5, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-01-02-0029. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1797 – 30 December 1797, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, pp. 37–39.]
[41] George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799
Tobias Lear to George Washington, March 20, 1797, with Shipping Report
Camo knit wine koozie for icy days
For those cold winter days when you are afraid your bottle of wine will cool down too much, I recommend the wine koozie. This camo knit, low version, is hand-knit by my niece.
Hogshead - A Wine Blog 