Winery/Producer: Luis D’Oliveira, Pereira D’Oliveira.
Appellation: The Portuguese Island of Madeira, located 400 miles off the coast of Morocco.
Tasting Room and Location:
Pereira D’Oliveira (Vinhos), Lda.
Rua dos Ferreiros, 107
9000-082 Funchal, Madeira
E-Mail: perolivinhos@hotmail.com
Tel. +351-291-220784
Grape Variety Tasted: Sercial (Dry Madeira), Verdelho (Medium dry Madeira), Boal (Medium Sweet Madeira), Malvazia (Sweet Madeira) and the famous 1908 Boal.
Tasting Price: Free tasting
Comments: On an early spring day in late April we arrived in Funchal, Madeira by ship. Armed with several recommendations that said D’Oliveira’s was the Madeira winery to visit we entered their address into my Iphone and followed the blue dot through narrow cobblestone streets right to their door. But before we say more I have to describe the setting. Madeira is without question one of the prettiest islands in the world. With it’s lush green vegetation, steep craggy mountains and the picturesque old European architecture it presents a perfect setting for tasting Madeira wine.
When we stepped into D’Oliveira’s tasting room, a building constructed in 1619, time simply disappeared with the creaky floorboards, hand hewn rafters and heavy aromas of toffee, caramel and wood in the air. Than sitting among old barrels of aging wine and bottles stacked floor to ceiling of wines dating back to the mid 1800’s we tasted the four classic Madeira wines. Each offering a very different drinking experience from the very dry, nutty flavors of the Serial (Dry Madeira) to the smooth, velvety texture of the Malvazia (Sweet Madeira). We looked over the list of wines we could purchase and only because we were limited by what we could carry we made our selection of six vintage wines with the oldest being the famous 1908 Boal. As we were getting our wines Luis D’Oliveira came in and chatted with us, and he could not have been a more gracious host. After we talked he brought us glasses of the1908 Boal and honey cake to taste together…and my only comment is that it was truly Nectar of the Gods that mortals like us could buy at D’Oliveira’s tasting room. The aromas were so rich and complex that the smell alone is worth the price of the wine!!!
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Recommendation from the tasting: Our tasting experience at D’Oliveira’s was MEMORABLE and we strongly recommend both their tasting and the opportunity to purchase Madeira wine from their extensive collection of old vintages. The island of Madeira is like a lush jewel 400 miles off the coast of Africa and not an easy place to visit. However, many cruise ships make it a port and there are planes from Lisbon that would be ideal transportation for a Madeira vacation. But, if you are fortunate to visit the Island of Madeira put D’Oliveira’s tasting room on your “must do” list…we guarantee you will not be disappointed
Just a closing side note, we visited another Madeira tasting room during our one day sojourn to the island and we would say the tasting experience at D’Oliveira’s was A MUST for anyone seriously interested in Madeira wines. Even for a simple tourist experience of tasting Madeira wine their tasting room setting and “old world” hospitality is worth the few extra steps up the hill.