There are many types of Madeira, but recently I was asked by a customer about Solera Madeira Wine, and I confess to not knowing very much about it. Consulting Trevor Elliott’s excellent book, “The Wines of Madeira” did not contain much information either, so I did some research.
Solera Madeira is a distinct, old, rare and captivating style of fortified wine. Unlike Vintage Madeira, which is made from a single vintage, it is crafted using a fractional blending system similar to the Sherry Solera System. Although production of this type of Madeira shares some methods with Sherry and Malaga, production does not mirror them completely.
This style of Madeira is no longer allowed by EU regulations and was banned in the 1980s. However, some of these rare bottlings are still available in Madeira, and they do occasionally make their way over to the UK.
Madeira wine from a single vintage forms the basis for Solera Madeira. In early production, one tenth of the contents of a cask was taken out and replaced with the same amount of a younger wine. This process could be repeated up to ten times before the contents of that cask had to be bottled.
Originally, the wine used for refilling the barrels could come from 10 consecutive years, but for later Solera wines, the wine used would be from 10 consecutive good vintages. This gradual layering of different vintages creates a harmonious and constantly evolving flavour profile, imparting a level of complexity and depth that is unique to Solera Madeira.
“Madeira wine kegs, Old Blandy’s Wine Lodge, Funchal, Maderia, Portugal” by Paul Mannix, CC BY 2.0
More recently, modern Solera Madeira follows the model of the Sherry Solera more closely and much more wine is allowed to be removed and replaced. This allows for a greater production, but many people feel that new Solera Madeiras do not have the complexity and sought-after qualities of the old Soleras.
When you see a Solera Madeira, it will have a vintage on it, such as the Blandys Verdelho Solera 1870 pictured above. Only a small amount of the wine in the barrel will be from the original 1870 vintage; however, the other wines will still be of a similar great age. This can be a challenging concept to grasp, and buyers should be made aware that this is not a single-vintage product. It should be noted that you never see single-vintage Sherries.
These Madeiras are worth tracking down, but there are not many left now. They remain an intrinsic part of Madeira wine history.
See Fareham Wine Cellar’s current list of Madeira wines.
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