Blandys Duke Of Sussex Dry Madeira

Blandys Duke Of Sussex is a Dry Madeira made on the island of Madeira by the Blandy family. It is bottled as a 3 Year Old Madeira and dry Madeiras are often served chilled as an aperitif.

For 200 years, Blandys Madeira has been synonymous with quality Madeira wine. The Blandy family has played a leading role in the development of Madeira wine throughout its long history and members of the family continue to live on Madeira, maintaining a tradition that goes back to 1811. In 1989 in order to further expand the global market, the Blandy’s approached another Anglo-Portuguese family, the Symington Family (owners of Port Houses Dow, Warre, Graham and Cockburn amongst others) and offered them a partnership in the newly named Madeira Wine Company (MWC). This partnership continues today and in 2011 the Blandys and the Symingtons signed an agreement giving the Blandy family control of the (MWC). The Symington remain minority shareholders. Today, Michael and Chris Blandy, 6th and 7th generation members, continue to work in the company, maintaining a tradition that spans over 200 years.

Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Portuguese Madeira Islands and, due to its unique vinification method, which involves heating the wine in special warehouses, it is one of the world’s longest-lived wines and Vintage Madeira makes a superb birthday or anniversary present. This vintage Madeira has been aged in seasoned American oak casks in the traditional “Canteiro” system, whereby the casks were gradually transferred from the top floors of various wine lodges, where it is naturally warmer, to the middle floors and eventually to the ground floor where it is cooler during its maturation. The Canteiro method is only used for the highest quality Madeira, these wines are aged without the use of any artificial heat, being stored by the winery in warm rooms left to age by the heat of the sun. The Madeira wine is regularly racked and when it reaches the desired stage of maturity it is bottled. Vintage Madeiras will have a bottling date as well as the vintage (harvest year) on it. All old and vintage Madeiras are bottled under Madeira Wine Institute supervision.

Traditionally Madeira varies in style and sweetness depending on the grape variety that the Madeira is made from. Sercial produces the driest style, the rarer Terrantez and Verdelho produce a Medium Dry style, Bual (sometimes call Boal) produces a Medium Rich style and Malvasia (also known as Malmsey) produces the richest and sweetest styles. Madeira is a complex, interesting wine and is made in virtually every vintage. Due to the unique “estufagem” process Madeira improves for days after opening and will also keep, once opened, for a month or more in a decanter.