07 Feb Please The Palate Wine of the Week: D’Oliveira 1995 Tinta Negra Madeira Medium Dry

Do you have a special bottle of wine that you have been holding on to, waiting for that special occasion to drink it? Then when you finally open it, you realize that it did not age well? Perhaps that was because it was meant to be drunk younger, or perhaps that was because you did not store it properly? Well, there is one wine that you never have to worry about holding on to for too long or storing in the wrong place. And that wine is Madeira. It is not necessarily a wine that gets better with age but stays delicious no matter its age. So, as I celebrate another year around the sun and reflect about getting another year older, I decided to sip some Madeira, a wine that does not show its age. That is why the D’Oliveira 1995 Tinta Negra Madeira Medium Dry is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About Madeira

Madeira is a very special wine. It is a fortified wine from an island with the same name. To make Madeira, the fermentation is stopped by added alcohol before the wine is completely dry. Then, while the wine is aging, it is exposed to oxygen, as well as heat, two things wine is typically kept away from. But not Madeira. The result is a beautiful, elegant, delicious fortified wine that is indestructible, both before opening and after opening. It is a wine that you can accidentally leave in a hot car and you will no harm it. And, once it is open, you can enjoy it for years to come. Madeira is a special gem of a wine.

About D’Oliveira

Pereira D.Oliveira was founded in the 1880s by João Pereira D’Oliveira. Over the years, the company has absorbed other shippers, either by marriage or acquisition but it is still owned and managed by the same family. D’Oliveira is believed to have a vast library of older wines. With vintages from the 1800s and the 1900s, D’Oliveira offers Malvasias, Buals, and Sercials, as well as rarer grapes such as Terrantez, Bastardo, Moscatel. And they have Tinta Negras from 1929 and 1995. 

About Tinta Negra

On the island of Madeira, there are six main grape varieties: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, Malmsey, Terrantez, and Tinta Negra. Of the six grapes, Tinta Negra is the only red grape grown throughout Madeira and it is actually the most grown grape on the island. Tinta Negra represents 85% of the plantings in Madeira. Tinta Negra produces dry, medium-dry, medium-sweet and sweet wines but often the name is not written on the bottle. Tinta Negra is the grape used in age-statement Madeiras, such as a 5-year, 10-year, 20-year. But a few producers, such as D’Oliveira, have begun producing varietal bottlings of Tinta Negra.

Tasting Notes and Food Pairing

I enjoyed a glass of this Madeira and then put the supplementary cork that came with it back in the bottle. I store the bottle upright and love that I can enjoy this wine for many more years. Any time I want, I can pour a small glass and enjoy it. Madeira is a treat and I treat myself with it.

Where to Purchase

The D’Oliveira 1995 Tinta Negra Medium Dry retails for $200-250. Visit Wine-Searcher.com to find a store to ship to you.

Learn More

Want to know more about the basics of Madeira, then check out this video from Crush On This: What is Madeira?