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Aruga Branca Envelhecida Madeira

This is a well matured wine fortified with brandy apparently.

Also my first ever Madeira and not a big fan.

Madeira wine is a fortified wine originally made in the Madeira Islands in the mid-Atlantic ocean. It's a Portugese archipelago so the wines are sometimes called Portugese wines.

Madeira wines came about in the days of the Dutch East India Trading company around the 16th Century. Wine was carried on board the ships, often on the top deck and so was subjected to extremes of weather including hot, sunny days.

This is usually a bad thing for wine but when the ships came back from their voyages many people found they liked the taste (especially the English I believe who made this kind of wine very popular in those days), so a new style of wine was discoverd.

Now the wine is aged and heated not on ships but often on tables left out in the sun, etc.

Because of the heat and the aging process Madeira wines can last much longer than conventional wines, some have been drunk 150 years later and were still very drinkable.

However, for my first tasting of Madeira, all I can say is "It smells like port but much more bitter".

Not a glowing review.

I have only tried Japanese Madeira style wine, so will try to find some genuine Portugese ones to try.

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