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Reasons to try Blandy’s 10-year-old-range
Madeira producer Blandy’s has launched a 10-year-old range that showcases four white grape varieties: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malmsey.
The range, which also spans four styles – dry, medium dry, medium rich and rich – has been created under the guidance of CEO and seventh generation family member Chris Blandy, together with award-winning winemaker Francisco Albuquerque.
But what else makes it stand out? To begin with, each varietal undergoes an ageing process in Blandy’s 16 different ageing rooms located across two distinct sites – The Blandy’s Wine Lodge in Funchal and the winery in the cooler climate Caniçal on the eastern-most tip of the island.
Sercial and Verdelho are then moved to Caniçal for the final three to five years of ageing while Bual and Malmsey remain in the warmer temperatures of Funchal and are only moved to Caniçal for bottling.
According to Blandy, this unconventional winemaking approach is part of the company’s “refreshed approach to producing and consuming Madeira” and to additionally show the potential when creating “more interesting and complex styles of wine which are exceptionally food friendly and great in cocktails”.
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Speaking to the drinks business, Blandy said: “Blandy’s Madeira has always carefully trodden the line between respecting its generational heritage and tradition whilst also looking to disrupt and to break the mould. We’ve seen this happen in recent history and I think it’s really important to continue to embrace that – which is where the idea for Unconventional Madeira comes from.”
Blandy told db: “We’ve poured all of our energy, data and understanding of the wines and how they age to help them be the very best version of themselves. We want our wines to shine and have the space to develop the characters and flavours that are unique to them. Similarly, we want Madeira drinkers to feel free to drink the wines as they like.”
Explaining more about the releases, Blandy highlighted how “the four wines in the new 10-year-old range have been aged based on the unique individual qualities of each variety to really showcase what makes each style so unique”. He noted also how “experience and a real understanding of how our wines age best over time is one of the many benefits of being the seventh generation in a family-owned business” and admitted “we are also making great strides in our understanding of how our wines are being impacted by the island’s changing climate”.
Blandy added: “There is a 1-2ºC average temperature difference between Funchal (23.2ºC) and Caniçal (21.6ºC), but when you compare the hottest rooms in Funchal, the difference in average temperature goes up to 3ºC., with a 17% increase in humidity as well. With this information, our highly trained winemaking team hopes to further develop our understanding of how wine is being affected by the island’s changing climate”.
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