Blandy's : Bual Cossart Gordon Vintage 1978

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for the Bual Cossart Gordon Vintage 1978 by Blandy's

Tasting notes

Colour
The wine reveals a clear, brilliant appearance, with mahogany hues shot through with golden and greenish glints, a testament to more than forty years of extended ageing.

Nose
The bouquet is exuberant and highly distinctive, blending spicy notes, hints of tobacco, balsamic nuances and exotic woody accents reminiscent of cedar.

Palate
The attack is powerful and medium-sweet, carried by a remarkable freshness that balances the richness of the wine. The long, intense finish lingers on spicy notes of vanilla.

Food and wine pairings

This medium-sweet Bual, at once rich and fresh, pairs beautifully with desserts featuring dried fruits, candied citrus or spices, such as a walnut tart or a fruitcake. Its vanilla and woody notes also work very well with pastries made with cream or caramel. It also complements blue-veined cheeses served with dried fruits, or can simply be enjoyed on its own at the end of a meal as a meditation wine.

Serving and storage

The Bual Cossart Gordon Vintage 1978 may develop a natural sediment over time, so it is advisable to decant it before serving. It is best stored upright, away from light, in a cool, dry place at a constant temperature not exceeding 16 °C.

An exceptional Portuguese Madeira, the historic signature of Cossart Gordon

The estate

Founded in 1811, the House of Blandy's is today the flagship brand of the Madeira Wine Company, in which it holds the majority stake. Based in Funchal, in the heart of the Terras Madeirenses, the Blandy family remains, after seven generations, the only one of the founding Madeira trading houses still to own and run its original company. The group also brings together the brands Cossart Gordon, Miles and Atlantis, preserving their distinct identities while actively committing to sustainable and responsible viticulture.

The vineyard

The grapes for this wine come from Calheta, the warmest and sunniest area of Madeira. The vines grow there on deep, clay-rich volcanic soils, located between 100 and 300 metres above sea level, rich in calcium and magnesium but low in phosphorus. Trained on latada and espalier systems, they benefit from strong exposure to sun, wind and sea breeze, all factors that shape the typicity of this Portuguese terroir.

Winemaking and ageing

The grapes for the Bual Cossart Gordon Vintage 1978 were hand-harvested and then crushed using the traditional method. This Portuguese wine was subsequently aged for more than forty years using the "canteiro" system, in the Madeira Wine Company cellars in Funchal and Caniçal, a slow ageing method that fosters the development of its remarkable aromatic complexity.

Grape variety

This Madeira wine is made from Bual.