What is Solera Madeira Wine?

There are many types of Madeira, but recently I was asked by a customer about Solera Madeira Wine and I have to say I didn’t know too much about it, so I did a bit of research.

Solera Madeira is a distinct, old, rare and captivating style of fortified wine. Unlike Vintage Madeira, which is made from a single vintage, Solera Madeira 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 it does not mirror it 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.

How is Solera Madeira Made?

Madeira wine from a single vintage form the basis for Solera Madeira. In early production, one tenth of the contents of a cask were taken out and replaced with the same amount of a younger wine. This process could be repeated up to a further ten times and then the contents of that cask had to be bottled. Originally the wine used for re-filling the barrels could come from 10 consecutive years but for later Soleras 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.

  by  Paul Mannix 

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.

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 difficult concept to grasp and buyers should really 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 definitely worth tracking down but there are not many left now. They remain an intrinsic part of Madeira wine history. 

See our current list of Madeira wines.