D'Oliveiras Sercial 1999, Madeira

D'Oliveira Sercial 1999Region: MadeiraProducer: Pereira D'Oliveira Vinhos Lda.SercialThe driest style with vineyards in the north and south of the island.The top vineyard is Jardim da Serra near Estreite Camara de lobos , but most come from the north at high altitude with a total of 17ha. in plantings.Sercial has a large portion of acidity and at its best requires long barrel aging.Pereira D'OliveiraLuis Oliveira, owner of this legendary winery, is sitting on an unseen resource of old wines. A result of the decision to start exporting only in the 1970s. Before that, the wines were only sold on the island so annual production never exceeded sales. Even today D'Oliveira has only a limited number of importers in the world, thus remaining the patron of his historic collection of old wines. The oldest wines date back to 1850 and are scrumptious.D'Oliveira's wines are "old school" with more oxidation and tertiary notes. However, because the wines are mostly recent bottlings, they have an incredible balance of candied notes and oxidative elements with good integration of alcohol. The aged Madeiras from this fine property are an utter delight and always offer a degree of complexity and elegance that puts them firmly in fine wine territory. Bottled after 25 years in cask, this is complex and nutty with a fresh, zingy vein of acidity running through it, sharpening the richness of the fruit on the amazingly long finish.