25 Nov Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Pumpkin Pie Paired With Broadbent Madeira Reserve 5 Years Old

The one thing I look forward to at the Thanksgiving table is the pumpkin pie. My mom makes a crust from scratch and the filling is creamy with pumpkin and spice notes. So when it came time to pick a wine to pair with the pumpkin pie, I knew exactly what to do. I opened up a bottle of Madeira as I wanted something with both sweetness and acidity to pair with the pumpkin pie. It was a delicious pairing and that is why Pumpkin Pie paired with Broadbent Madeira Reserve 5 Years Old is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

Madeira, the beautiful fortified wine from the island of Madeira in Portugal, is most commonly enjoyed as an after-dinner digestif. But Madeira is versatile. With different styles, ranging from dry to sweet, it pairs beautifully with a variety of dishes, ranging from savory to sweet. To pair with my pumpkin pie, I selected a Reserve 5 Years Old Madeira from Broadbent.

Michael Broadbent, the famous British wine critic, is considered the world’s most experienced taster of Madeira and called Madeira his “desert island wines.” He was the inspiration for his son,  Bartholomew Broadbent, to start a line of Madeiras. Broadbent collaborated with Justino Henriques, the most important producer of classical Madeira. Justino’s Madeira is one of the oldest companies on the island, as well as the largest producer of Madeira. Founded by Justino Henrique Freitas in 1870, the family-owned company was sold in 1981 to former army Colonel Siegfredo da Costa Campos, who fell in love with the property and upgraded it. In 2008, the colonel died, and in 2009 French company La Martiniquaise purchased Justino’s Madeira.

The Broadbent Madeira Reserve 5 Years Old is made from Tinta Negra, the only red grape variety used to produce traditional Madeira wine. While the most known Madeira grape varieties Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, and Malmsey wines are varietally labeled, Tinta Negra actually makes up 90% of the production of Madeira. Tinta Negra produces Madeiras that range from dry to sweet and is predominantly used to make 3 and 5 year old wines.

The Broadbent Madeira Reserve 5 Years Old is aged in oak casks for at least 5 years. The Reserve 5 Years Old is a Fine Rich style. It is rich with aromas of caramel, cocoa, and orange rind, as well as sweet spice and nutty notes. On the palate, the wine is full bodied and smooth and the sweetness and acidity are balanced. The sweetness, which was not overpowering, was a match with the the pie which also is not very sweet; the sweet, rich aromas of the Madeira harmonized with the spices of the pie; the acidity of the wine cut through the creaminess of the pie, leaving a clean, fresh feeling on the palate.

I will be opening more bottles of Madeira to try with other dishes as I love the versatility of this wine.