Tinta Negra Medium Sweet Frasqueira (bottled 2017, 20yo) 1997

Bottled in 2017 at 20 years barrel aged, defining it as a Frasqueria (min. 20 years in barrel). Aged via the canteiro process, which stacks barrels in warehouses, where the wine is gently warmed to create madeira's distinct style. 100% Tinta Negra, with between 80-100g/L residual sugar. 

Tinta Negra perfectly pitched. It smells like a wander through the island - the briary wild bushes, the cool and damp soil, the faded ripe citrus and old orchard leaves all steeped together as a living, breathing sense-picture. As ever with good Madeira, it’s a wine to hold very still so the scent memories can wander out and say what they will ... There’s a touch of fruit flesh roundness, and the red-floral aspect tells of the black grape underlying, but these soon yield to Madeiran tangents, save the ongoing line of fine fruit ski. Delightfully leathered tannin, spiced and seasoned, radiates a sweet-sour perfume and closes onto a tickle of rainwater acidity. This is a brilliantly poised, perfectly judged medium-sweet.