H.M. Borges Madeira

Today we are pleased to highlight our inventory of one of Madeira's great shippers, H.M Borges. One of only seven remaining shippers on the island, it was founded in 1877 by Henriques Menezes Borges, a passionate connoisseur and collector of the island's wines, and is today run by the fourth generation of the Borges family, the cousins Maria Isabel and Maria Helena. The house style of each shipper is apparent in the ranges of wines of determined minimum ages (5, 10, 15 and 20 year-old etc.), and through tasting these ranges you can tell that the Borges wines tend towards the slightly richer side of the spectrum for each grape. There is also a strong sense of tradition here, with most wines showing considerable concentration alongside vibrant balancing acidity that nicely balances their richness.

The following are the wines remaining from the offer sent on Thursday, October 31, 2019. Please enter your desired quantities and click the 'Add' button.

Producer	Vint.	Wine	Price	Qty	Order
		Madeira & Sherry
H. M. Borges	NV	10-year old Boal Reserva Madeira Ex-Domaine	$39.99	25
	VM 87 (10/2019): The 10-Year-Old Boal has 77gm/L residual sugar. Antique bureau and orange blossom feature on a nose that would benefit from more delineation. The palate has a pleasant viscous opening, though I would prefer more complexity, particularly on the slightly predictable finish. Neal Martin.
	NV	10-year old Malmsey Reserva Madeira Ex-Domaine	$39.99	25
	WS 90 (11/2012): Rich and smoky-tasting, with concentrated glazed apricot and butterscotch flavors full of vanilla bean notes. Features sage honey, with a hint of coffee, on the long finish. Drink now through 2030. 2,000 cases imported.   WA 88 (11/2019): The latest release of Borges's NV Malmsey 10 Year Old exhibits aromas of mocha, marmalade, candied cherries and sultanas. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, with a generous core of sweet fruit, ripe acids and a nicely defined finish. It's a creditable Malmsey.
	NV	10-year old Sercial Reserva Madeira Ex-Domaine	$39.99	7
	VM 91 (10/2019): The 10-Year-Old Sercial has 49gm/L residual sugar and was matured in French and American oak. It has an attractive rancio bouquet with touches of lemon thyme and sage, all quite focused and energetic. The well-balanced palate kicks off with a tang of marmalade and mandarin and reveals punchy stem ginger notes toward the finish. This is rather excellent. Recommended. Neal Martin.
	NV	10-year old Verdelho Reserva Madeira Ex-Domaine	$39.99	12
	WA 90 (11/2019): The NV Verdelho 10 Year Old offers up an inviting bouquet of clear honey, sultanas, buttered peaches and English walnuts, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping palate that's elegant and charming, concluding with a nicely defined finish. This is among the finest bottlings in Borges's 10 Year Old range.
	NV	15-year old Boal Madeira Ex-Domaine	$59.99	29
	WA 90 (11/2019): The latest release of Borges's NV Boal 15 Year Old offers up complex aromas of dates, mocha, warm spices and caramel. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with a sweet and inviting core of fruit, lively acids and a long, expansive finish. This is a charming, gently oak-inflected Boal that's showing well.
	NV	15-year old Malmsey Madeira Ex-Domaine	$59.99	13
	JG 91 (1/2014): The Fifteen Years Old Malmsey from H. M. Borges is excellent as well and one really gets the sense from the limited range of this tasting that the house really excels with the sweeter styled bottlings. The complex bouquet wafts from the glass in a mélange of fresh figs, cherries, molasses, fine soil tones, orange zest and a lovely, spicy topnote. On the palate the wine is typically full and broad-shouldered, with a very fine core, crisp acids, excellent focus and balance and a long, quite sweet, but also tangy and complex finish. Good juice. 2014-2025.
	NV	15-year old Sercial Madeira Ex-Domaine	$59.99	26
	WA 88 (11/2019): The NV Sercial 15 Year Old reveals aromas of sultanas, dried apple, butterscotch and caramel. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny textured and lively, with racy acids but quite a giving profile, concluding with a delicately saline finish. Only moderately concentrated, it's a creditable effort.
	NV	15-year old Verdelho Madeira Ex-Domaine	$59.99	25
	VM 88 (10/2019): The 15-Year-Old Verdelho has 55gm/L residual sugar. The light, airy bouquet features citrus fruit and ginger; smoked walnut surfaces with time. I like the delineation here. The palate has a spirituous entry, displaying just a little volatility, with a mixture of honey, ginger, pear and lemongrass on the feisty finish. Fine. Neal Martin.
	NV	20-year old Malvasia Madeira Ex-Domaine; Bottled 2017	$79.99	36
	WA 93 (11/2019): Matured in 650-liter barrels, the NV Malvasia 20 Year Old from H. M. Borges is showing well, wafting from the glass with notes of sultanas, flambéed bananas, demerara sugar and iodine. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, voluptuously textural but tangy, with good concentration at the core and a nicely integrated profile, concluding with a long and lingeringly intense finish. This superb Malvasia was bottled in 2017.
	NV	20-year old Verdelho Madeira Ex-Domaine; Bottled 2011	$79.99	21
	JG 92 (1/2014): The twenty year-old Verdelho from Borges is another strong effort, though again, it is a tad sweeter in style than many of the Verdelho blends one will taste from other lodges. The deep and complex nose delivers a fine mix of fresh apricot, orange, woodsmoke, chestnuts, a fine base of soil and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bdoied and very wellbalanced, with a fine core of fruit, excellent complexity and grip and a very long, tangy and nicely focused finish. This too is a very well-made bottle- why are the cousins not showing us more of their portfolio, as we are fans? 2014-2075.
	NV	30-year old Malvasia Madeira Ex-Domaine; Bottled 2015	$119	33
	WA 94 (11/2019): The NV Malvasia 30 Year Old is exquisite, wafting from the glass with aromas of walnuts, pecans, mocha, sultanas, rock salt, beeswax and candied peel. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and effortlessly complete, with a satiny-textured attack, bright acids and, above all, beautiful integration of all its components, concluding with a wonderfully long, resonant finish. This comes very recommended, and readers should note that it really fills out with 24 hours in the decanter.
	NV	5-year old Reserve Dry Madeira Ex-Domaine	$21.99	26
	WA 88 (11/2019): The latest release of Borges's NV Reserve Dry 5 Year Old offers up aromas of sultanas, candied citrus peel, lemon zest and smoke. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, lively and fleshy, with racy but nicely integrated acids and a saline, elegantly mordant finish.
	NV	5-year old Reserve Medium Dry Madeira Ex-Domaine	$21.99	28
	WA 88 (11/2019): The latest rendition of the NV Reserve Medium Dry 5 Year Old exhibits a generous bouquet of figs, brown sugar, raisins and mocha. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming, with ripe acids, a sweet core and a harmonious finish. This is a creditable effort.
	NV	5-year old Reserve Medium Sweet Madeira Ex-Domaine	$21.99	29
	WA 86 (11/2019): The latest release of the NV Reserve Medium Sweet 5 Year Old offers up a rich bouquet of raisins, toffee apples and English fudge. On the palate, it's broad, fleshy and open-knit, with a sweet palate that's creditably balanced but a little short on character and complexity.
	NV	5-year old Reserve Sweet Madeira Ex-Domaine	$21.99	34
	WS 89 (11/2012): Supple, featuring nutty hints to the dried berry, cherry and apricot flavors. Honeyed notes enliven the juicy finish. Drink now through 2025. 2,500 cases imported.   WA 86 (8/2012): The non-vintage Reserve Sweet 5-Year-Old is deep auburn in color. The nose is very aromatic with scents of caramel, burnt sugar and creme brulee, although it is not quite as clean as it should be. The palate is fresh and vibrant on the entry with notes of candied orange peel, citrus fruit and marmalade. It offers much more than the nose: well-balanced and focused with a lovely spicebox and fig-tinged finish. This is a fine sweet Madeira compromised by the aromatics.   VM 85 (10/2019): The 5-Year-Old Sweet carries 115gm/L residual sugar and is made through the estufa system. To my taste, the bouquet is too caramel-dominated and lacks the definition necessary to offset that richness. The clean palate offers nougat and crème brûlée notes, moderate weight and a slightly smudged finish. Nothing terrible, but nothing special. Neal Martin.
	1977	Bual Madeira Ex-Domaine	$179	36
	WA 91 (11/2019): The 1977 Boal continues to show well, offering up aromas of tangerine, sultanas, beeswax furniture polish and a touch of old cognac. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, bright and tangy, with good mid-palate depth and concentration, racy acids and a long, mouthwatering finish that's just a touch spiritous. While more dimension and integration would see this score higher, it's a very creditable Boal from a challenging period in the island's history.
	1979	Sercial Madeira Ex-Domaine	$219	36
	JG 94 (1/2014): The 1979 Borges Sercial is an Outstanding wine, which was just recently bottled. The deep and very vibrant nose wafts from the glass in a complex blend of tangerine, cloves, cherries, a nice touch of spices meats, salty soil tones and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and very well-balanced, with an excellent core of fruit, superb soil signature, tangy acids and superb length and grip on the focused and elegant finish. The house style for slightly sweeter renditions of each category really works well here with this Sercial, as the touch more sweetness nicely buffers the acidity and gives a seamless and very refined palate impression. High class juice. 2014-2100.
	2005	Tinta Negra Colheita Madeira (500 ML) Ex-Domaine; Bottled 2017	$44.99	34
	WA 87 (11/2019): Revealing aromas of honeyed peaches, sultanas, macadamia nuts and brown sugar, the 2005 Colheita Rich Tinta Negra is medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, with a sweet core of fruit, ripe acids and a rather brief finish. This is just a little simple.