Critics Average score from professional wine critics and publications.
93
/100
Reviews
12
professional
Vintages
1
1927
Fortified
93/100
Bastardo
NV
Community Reviews
1616
Reviews
92.7
Avg Score
96
Highest
Taster #1078
· Jun 1, 2025
90/100
Bottled 2006. Certainly a weaker iteration of these old d'Oliveiras wines, but perhaps that's to be expected from a middling Madeirense grape. Very light on the nose, with some candied citrus, and maybe even some lychee spice, but missing more of the darker, caramelized aromatics that I would want in an almost-100-year-old Madeira. The palate is of relatively light disposition -- it has the lightness of a Terrantez, but is clearly missing the gravitas.
1927 vintage
Taster #8492
· Sep 18, 2016
94/100
A private dinner (Restaurant Blandford Comptoir, London, UK) : Bottled 2006. Deep and concentrated but more transparent than the Bual 1907 that preceded it, flowers and fresh oak, white almond, medium dry, orange, with hints of vanilla and nuts, slightly austere on the palate but much less so than 10 years ago when I first tasted it, but it still remains slightly terse and hard.
1927 vintage
Taster #6781
· Apr 10, 2016
93/100
Light brown color. Good stone fruit and slightly sweeter flavors. Some almond and citrus peel as well. An earthier style than other types of madeiras, and seems like you can see the Trousseau in it. But perhaps I am imagining that. Smooth, piquant, well balanced. Not as intense as other madeiras, but in a way almost refreshing!
1927 vintage
Taster #1502
· Sep 11, 2014
94/100
Drinking a glass of this years ago at Coi in San Francisco really got me intrigued with Madeira. The bottle I finished recently was very similar to that glass. It was consumed periodically over a year while being recorked and stored at 58F. As other tasters have noted, it has some similarities with a sercial-- the sweetness level and the acidity. There seemed to be more of a woody, earthy, exotic spice element than most sercials and verdelhos in memory, …
1927 vintage
Taster #6886
· Jan 10, 2014
Quick taste. Very deep and mellow nose with mild volatility. Super-rich, very well balanced, concentrated, fine acidity. Coffee, lemon. Very long. Very impressive!
1927 vintage
Taster #7606
· Dec 27, 2012
95/100
A stunning Madeira that is still young but shows wonderfully now with great richness and complexity.
1927 vintage
Taster #7606
· Oct 6, 2012
96/100
A solid glass at the bar at Babbo, NYC. This is a robust, deeply concentrated Madeira with wonderful flavors of molasses, Indian spices, dried oak, varnish, caramel, etc. Thickly-textured with grippy acidity so its lush and structured at the same time. The complexity on the finish is mind-boggling. A great Madeira that should still improve. 96+
1927 vintage
Taster #3385
· Apr 13, 2012
90/100
At D'Oliveiras. Nose a bit foursquare for such an old wine, about as dry as an ancient verdelho, hints of caramel and toffee held together by wicked acidity. Good, but think it is lacking a little "je ne sais quoi". Probably wouldn't be as interesting if it wasn't such a rare grape.
1927 vintage
Taster #2693
· May 28, 2011
Heady and warm. Seawater and pear accents - very little impression of sweetness throughout. Firm, with dry finish. Very nice.
1927 vintage
Taster #7062
· Jan 21, 2011
sadly, no notes. But the absolutely perfect pairing is this with apple pie. truly divine.
1927 vintage
Taster #7071
· Dec 14, 2007
93/100
Scott & Kate's (Burlingame, CA) : Decanted two days. Upon opening, a strong VA component with "nail polish remover" scents. This VA element dissapated somewhat with air. Maple caramel color, with a greenish watery tint on the rim. Highly expressive nose of nut skin, dried orange/lime zest, and caramel with a lingering VA note (in a good way). The flavors follow through in the mouth but without the bulldozer-like impact of the gorgeous nose. Super sharp acids that provide a …
1927 vintage
Taster #3469
· Nov 23, 2007
93/100
Gold with green hints. Soaring, facinating nose of caramel, coffee, orange peel, maple syrup. Richly flavored, acidity pronounced but sweet and luscious. Mom and Dad loved it!
1927 vintage
Taster #7071
· Mar 10, 2007
89/100
Madeira @ The Caucus Room (Washington DC) : This wine had quite a dry nose, almost like a Chinon. Chalky and mineraly with some dried red fruits and nut-skin. Nice bitterness to the finish. An intellectual rather than hedonistic wine. This is same wine as 1927 Adegas do Torreao, but bought and bottled later by D'Oliveira. GOOD.
1927 vintage
Taster #5317
· Jan 7, 2007
Roy Hersh's Majestic Madeira Extravaganza (Seattle, WA) : Verdelho color, light, shimmery. No sign of red here. The piquant nose shows some mandarin orange. Mmm, nuts, lime, impressive acidity and quite tart. There is a tea/tannic personality that was not reminiscent of the earlier wines. This has a rich finish but a very acidic palate and is in fact more dry than the lightest of the Verdelho we tasted (1885 Barbeito). This wine would have been right at home with …
1927 vintage
Taster #2546
· Jan 7, 2007
92/100
Roy Hersh’s Great Seattle Vintage Madeira Tasting (Kaspars Catering, Seattle, WA) : Light tawny brown color; soft, intriguing maple syrup, pecan, vanilla extract, brown sugar and lemon tea nose; soft, plush texture but surprisingly tight and angular palate that lacks the complexity suggested by the nose, with tawny acid, a notion of balsamic vinegar and a sense of wood; medium-plus finish (Bastardo is a red grape)
1927 vintage
Taster #8492
· Nov 30, 2006
93/100
An evening with Michael Broadbent (Christie's London) : Bottled 2006. Very oaky, deep, austere like a Coliseo Amontillado, needs at least two days in the decanter, dry and impenetrable, impressive, challenging even but certainly not charming. Sercial-like acidity. Immense potential.
1927 vintage