Vintage Port

[JeffRenner]

It has already been exposed to oxygen and air and heat, when first made and rolling around in barrels in sultry Old Madere before bottling.

Agreed - after all, oxidized wine is referred to as being "madeirized."

I'd like to share a favorite poem on the topic of Madeira by the British musical comedy duo Flanders and Swann. I wish you could hear it as performed. There are some wonderfully clever word plays in it. The odd numbered verses are read in couplets - i.e., two lines at a time.

Sadly, I have their album "At the Drop of a Hat" on vinyl and my turntable is out of commission, so I can't even hear it myself.

Note that they dispute that it keeps once opened, but that was clearly for the sake of argument.:grin:

Jeff

Have Some Madeira, M'Dear

(Flanders and Swann)

She was young! She was pure! She was new! She was nice!

She was fair! She was sweet seventeen!

He was old! He was vile and no stranger to vice!

He was base! He was bad! He was mean!

He had slyly inveigled her up to his flat

To view his collection of stamps,

And he said as he hastened to put out the cat,

The wine, his cigar and the lamps:

'Have some Madeira, m'dear!

You really have nothing to fear;

I'm not trying to tempt you-that wouldn't be right.

You shouldn't drink spirits at this time of night;

Have some Madeira, m'dear!

It's very much nicer than Beer;

I don't care for Sherry, one cannot drink Stout,

And Port is a wine I can well do without;

It's simply a case of Chacun a son GOUT!

Have some Madeira, m'dear!'

Unaware of the wiles of the snake in the grass,

Of the fate of the maiden who topes,

She lowered her standards by raising her glass,

Her courage, her eyes-and his hopes.

She sipped it, she drank it, she drained it, she did;

He quietly refilled it again

And he said as he secretly carved one more notch

On the butt of his gold-handled cane:

'Have some Madeira, m'dear!

I've got a small cask of it here,

And once it's been opened you know it won't keep.

Do finish it up-it will help you to sleep;

Have some Madeira, m'dear!

It's really an excellent year;

Now if it were Gin, you'd be wrong to say yes,

The evil Gin does would be hard to assess

(Besides, it's inclined to affect m' prowess!)

Have some Madeira, m'dear!'

Then there flashed through her mind what her mother had said

With her antepenultimate breath:

'Oh, my child, should you look on the wine when 'tis red

Be prepared for a fate worse than death!'

She let go her glass with a shrill little cry.

Crash, tinkle! it fell to the floor.

When he asked: 'What in heaven ... ?' she made no reply,

Up her mind and a dash for the door.

'Have some Madeira, m'dear!'

Rang out down the hall loud and clear.

A tremulous cry that was filled with despair,

As she paused to take breath in the cool midnight air;

'Have some Madeira, m'dear!'

The words seemed to ring in her ear

Until the next morning she woke up in bed,

With a smile on her lips and an ache in her head-

And a beard in her earhole that tickled and said:

'Have some Madeira, m'dear!'

[BourbonJoe]

Two good inexpensive Australian ports are 1. Benjamin 2. Clocktower Tawny.

Joe

[bluesbassdad]

If you'd care to hear "Have Some Madeira, M'Dear" on CD, performed by The Limeliters (1960's folk group), go here.

Although they lacked the college-boy charm of The Kingston Trio and the folksy, political sensitivies of Peter, Paul and Mary, The Limeliters became my favorite group during the folk boom. The soaring tenor voice of Glenn Yarbrough, which embodied one of the most intense vibratos I've ever heard, somehow combined with two quite ordinary baritones to create the effect of a much larger group. On their hard-driving numbers they would often end with barbershop quartet-style chord modulation at the end, with Yarbrough's voice standing out like a wind-whipped flag on a 100 ft. pole, uniting everything below it.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[gr8erdane]

That Madeira can be kept indefinitely is great news to me. I had balked from buying it to use in a recipe I learned while working as a prep cook back in college. Always figured I wouldn't use it enough to justify buying a bottle so have substituted other wines for it and have always found it lacking. Now I can buy with confidence!

[Gillman]

Dane, I have a bottle partly opened which was first tasted about 6 months ago, and it's as good now as then. They say with Madeira that all the bad stuff that can possibly happen to a wine has already occurred (in its production - intentionally to give it that raisiny taste), so it is almost indestructible. I have some that I'll try to remember to bring to sampler. I use it to flavour some of my blends but it is nice to drink on its own too.

gary

[gr8erdane]

Thanks for thinking of me Gary, but I've had Madeira on its own and frankly would prefer to use it for my recipe for stuffed mushrooms. Of course the place where I learned the recipe only used a cheaper Madeira, Paul Masson I believe, but I have tried using many other red wines in its place and none have done justice. Possibly a good one might not taste right to me as well?

[Gillman]

Well it's got that raisiny-like taste, it's great with veal or lighter meats (to cook them with). I could see it going well with mushrooms, too. Oh well, we'll have to stick at Gazebo with a tableful of prime bourbon and rye from numerous decades. Life is rough.

Gary

[TNbourbon]

...Oh well, we'll have to stick at Gazebo with a tableful of prime bourbon and rye from numerous decades...

Not so, Gary -- I intend to present the above-mentioned bottle of 1933 Malmsey (pictured here):

Also, I have a bottle of generic Blandy's 5yo Malmsey which has been in bottle for a decade or more, to which to compare.

I've had Madeira on its own...Of course, the place where I learned the recipe only used a cheaper Madeira, Paul Masson, I believe...

Umm, Dane -- it might say 'madeira' on the Paul Masson bottle, but...:skep:

[Gillman]

Well that is fantastic/amazing/incredible, thank you Tim, what a treat that will be!!

Gary

[elkdoggydog]

You guys may find this article interesting. I learned some stuff from it, but I don't know much about madeira anyway. Ignore the LATimes url- it ran in the Chicago Tribune- same conglommerate.

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/foodanddrink/sns-fddrink1-wk3,0,6631087.story

[TNbourbon]

Thomas Jefferson was another Founding Father fan of Madeira -- there is a hand-signed 1800 bottle of Jefferson's in the collection/stock of the Rio Hotel/Casino's wine cellar and tasting room in Las Vegas. Speaking of dessert wines, I also salivated a while over the Chateau d'Yquem 1855-1990 vertical, noting multiple bottles of the famed 1921. We included a later d'Yquem in our 'flight' at the tasting bar.