Dedicated to the wonderful island of Madeira, its wines, its wonderful cuisine and its welcoming people.
Old bottlers and old bottles
Old bottlers and old bottles
A large number of Madeira wine producers have disappeared over the years, some have amalgamated with others many brands have gone. here we look at images of Old bottlers and old bottles. Some of the bottlers still exist today, but with very different labels.
This page shows some of the old labels I have come across on my travels in Madeira and in my research on line.
I find some of the art work and labeling quite lovely and they hark back to the day when Madeira wine was much better appreciated around the world.
Below we see Madeira from A. Izidro Gonsalves, a 1926 wine from the Adega Co-oP and a CVM wine. The shelves show wines from Veiga Franca and on the some old Solera wines from Antonio Eduardo Henriques. All long gone.
We see aged bottles of Leacock’s and their famous St John’s wines, Borges, Cossart and Gordon, Miles Madeira, all of which still exist, though with more modern labels.
We see D’Oliveira’s wines produced with grapes from Camera de Lobos and wines bottled by Barbeito from 1919.
Companhia Vinicola da Madeira (CVM) was established in 1870 by Antonio Izidro (Isidoro) Gonçalves, now long gone but this old bottler and their old bottles of Maderia can still be found.
1907 Madeira Boal Solera Antonio Eduardo Henriques, now part of Henriques and Henriques since 1960.
An 1863 Madeira Wine: a Malmsey Solera dating from 1863 by Leacock. Quite when this bottle was filled from the Solera is unclear from the label.
An 1840 Madeira Boal from H. M. Borges described as Medium sweet labelled under the “vinho generoso” meaning literally a generous wine. Madeira wine bottlers do like to emphasise the sharing and conviviality nature of Madeira wines.
A Madeira label from Cossart and Gordon emphasising that the wine came from Camara de Lobos and telling us in Portuguese that they are the oldest shipper of Madeira wine. Quite what the wine is we are not told by the label.
Miles Madeira meio seco, medium dry, a rather tired label and there is no mention of the grape used to produce this wine.
Leacock Sao Joao or St John a famous wine. One of the few Madeira wines to mention the location of the vineyard where the grapes are produced. Saint John is still available as a rich or sweet wine, in quite a different label….it is blue.
1890 Madeira A Izidro Gonsalves. A wine maker long gone, this is a Sercial wine and described as a colheita dating from 1890. an interesting example.
A 1924 Madeira made with Sercial grapes by D’Oliveiras. A dry – seco Sercial wine again being described as a generous wine with an agreeable palate.
1940 Madeira D’Oliveiras referencing Camara de Lobos as the source of the grapes, would be my assumption as D’Oliveiras is based in Funchal. The company name given is the founders full name who set the company up in 1850.
An 1890 Madeira Verdelho Velho Solera dating from 1890 by J.H.Gonçalves, which is part of HM Borges now. Verdelho Velho means old Verdelho. There are no operational Soleros today in Madeira.
An 1880 Madeira wine described as a Malmsey (not as a malvazia) by C.V.M. (Companhia Vincola da Madeira), sadly long gone. Probably aimed at the UK market.A Madeira Wine Bual Reserve Saint John by Leacock. A nice example St John of what is likely to be a medium sweet madeira wine as it is made with the Bual grape.
A 1920 Madeira wine: Doce or sweet with the sobriquet of Caves De S.Pedro by H.M. Borges. This is an attractive label with detailing in the background. The Borges wine lodge has some attractive artwork displaying the history of Madeira.
A 1918 Verdelho Madeira by Barbeito. Barbeito still uses a similar style of labelling for its wines. Barbeito mix tradition and innovation very effectively.
These old bottlers and old bottles of Maderia illustrate the long history of Madeira wines and how the wine industry has evolved and changed over the decades.
