A Madeira aged 110, still lovely

MADEIRA is a classic dessert wine, beloved of the British - and the Americans. (It was the wine with which they toasted their independence in 1776!) To my surprise and delight, my host last week produced a Madeira for dessert wine. It was stunning.

D'Oliveras Madeira 1905

Medium-hued orangey-brown, transparent and very clear, with that very fine, delicate, rich-sweet aroma of candied orange peel, soaked in alcohol. Each mouthful swallowed sent waves of delicate aromas wafting up the back of the throat into the nose, seductively reinforcing the memory of the aroma, leaving the palate refreshed by the fine acidity. The lightness of texture and transparency of flavours, the delicate balance were pure delights to be savoured. What a wine! At 110 years old, so fresh, still at its peak, and looking as if it could go on for another century. The wine of the evening!