Buying Madeira wines when not in Madeira
Madeira is widely available, but perhaps not as widely available as one would hope. Why this is, is a mystery.
Madeira is increasingly becoming the province of specialist wine merchants and online wine merchants.
Buying Madeira in the UK
While the worthy range of Duke of Clarence or occasionally Duke of Sussex can be found on some supermarket shelves or the Henriques and Henriques Madeira wines may appear from time to time, it really is to the specialists that one should turn to, if looking for a serious choice of Madeira wines.
In the UK that means imaginative independents (who may supply by the means of on-line ordering) or to the specialists who recognise the tradition and quality that Madeira wine offers to discerning drinkers.
The good news is that the specialists have excellent online ordering and can supply worldwide.
Berry Brothers and Rudd are an example of the traditional (the most traditional of traditional), but nonetheless excellent wine merchant that keeps an excellent range of Madeira wines with a very good online offer.
Berry Brothers and Rudd offer their own interesting Madeira wines, steeped in history, as well as excellent Madeira wines from Barbeito, Broadbent and D’Oliveira. Online mail order is available and very efficient it is.
Whisky Exchange in the UK offer a surprisingly good (as a whisky retailer) and hugely imaginative range of Madeira wines, as well as an unbelievably complete range of Whisky, including many whiskies from around the world that have been aged in Madeira casks.
Whisky Exchange offers Madeira wines from Blandy’s, Barbeito and Henriques and Henriques. This is one of the slickest of online retailers and service is swift and very reliable.
Buying Madeira in Portugal
Garrafeira Nacional based in Lisbon, Portugal where their shops (3 to choose from in Lisbon) are a joy to visit offer a superb range of Madeira wines.
Garrafeira Nacional offer wines of amazing age and provenance, so if you are looking for Madeira’s from pretty much any decade of the 20th century (and many older than that) this is a retailer to check.
Garrafeira Nacional carry a good range of today’s Madeira wines as well, offering Barbeito, Blandy’s, HM Borges, and D’Oliveira and Madeira’s newest Madeira Vintners and wines from (the recently closed) Barros e Sousa, along with several other curiosities including Solera Madeira wines.
Buying Madeira in the USA
In the USA Broadbent Madeira wines are available through a range of quality outlets county wide. Broadbent also distribute the excellent Justino range of Madeiras as well. It is no secret that Justino also makes the Broadbent range of Madeira wines, to a specification developed by the Broadbent family, which is aligned to the UK style of Madeira. Perhaps this is why Broadbent Madeira wines are distributed in the UK by Berry Brothers and Rudd.
The Rare Wine Company has an evocative range of Madeira wines made for the US market reflecting the historical connections of Madeira wine and the USA, from the declaration of Independence being toasted to with Madeira wine to the happy accident that is Rainwater Madeira.
Barbeito produce the Rare Wine Company’s range of Madeira wines, but this company also supplies some excellent bottlings from D’Oliveira and an excellent range from Barbeito as well. The Rare Wine company is the principle distributor of Barbeito Madeira in the USA .
Buying online from Madeira
Madeira Shopping.com…based in Madeira offer a range of Madeira wines (and table wines) available to order from their website.
Don’t forget to research the label and understand the styles of Madeira to be sure you get what you want.