H.M Borges Terrantez 'T' Vintage 1877
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I probably should focus totally on what’s in the glass, the 1877 Terrantez, a monumental wine and a memory for life. A wine bought by the company’s founder Henrique Menezes Borges shortly after he started the partidista business of H M Borges in….yup, 1877. A wine believed to have been transferred from cask and into 70 liters demi-johns in 1900. A wine which was bottled by the fourth generation of Borges during 2013. But I can’t. Just can’t. There’s so much more in this glass than the 1877 Terrantez.
Recently I asked a good friend if he would have been as passionate about wine if it was only all about the wine – and not the people behind it. He hesitated, just as I did myself. After a long discussion we came to the conclusion that the wines we enjoy the most, always include a story. Not only a terroir tale but just as much fond memories of visiting the places we drank. And with whom we shared the wine with. Or even more, developing a friendship with the people behind it. Because people fascinate us, we’re curious of others life stories, experiences and knowledge. Take away the social in wine…what’s remaining if you can’t share?
1877 Terrantez HM Borges
So when Isabel Borges pours me the 1877 Terrantez, it’s so much more. Here I am, at the old mill which the company bought in the 1920’s, being served a wine from their private cellar; a very special wine from the founding year. Even cooler; it’s the fourth generation of Borges pouring me the Terrantez which Henrique Menezes laid down so many years ago. The circle is complete so to say. Isn’t that just pure awesomeness in times when so many wine properties becomes anonymous businesses instead?
The 1877 tells me its life story. And I’m listening. Can’t have been much Terrantez around in 1877 considering the beating it took when powdery mildew arrived in the 1850’s. Don’t think any grape suffered more from that than Terrantez. After all, before Oidium it wasn’t particularly difficult to cultivate. And then the phylloxera came during the 1870’s. A plant louse. The 1877 is probably among the last Terrantez with its own roots and not grafted on resistant American vines.
The wine is intensely concentrated but yet balanced and with a nuanced bouquet. Its amazing freshness is unusual for the age but probably related to the quite short time in cask and much longer in demi-johns which arrests the evaporation. On the nose there’s a gorgeous touch of vanilla, yes, I’m quite fond of that in old Madeira wines, and instantly I think American casks. Or was the wine perhaps aged in newer casks? Nobody knows. After all, it’s been in demi-johns for 113 years before bottling. Isabel tells me that she thinks her great grandfather most likely bought it from the grocery of Mercearia Central, just as the other old legendary wines which are in the family possession. On the palate it’s multi-layered, intense, yet refreshing and with a smoky oolong touch. Pending somewhere between semi-dry and semi-sweet. A delicate saltiness as well, fresh walnuts, bitterness and oriental spices. Yup, that’s Terrantez for sure. It’s so alive and the finale just refuses to let go. Wow what a storyteller, this 1877 Terrantez from H M Borges.
In december 2014, H M Borges released 3 bottles for sale at a very special auction held by Christie’s. The price landed on roughly 1,600 euros a bottle. Probably not your average bottle price, but considering the wine was 137 years old back then, the provenance top-notch and the rarity….then it’s easier to understand. When, or if any more bottles will be released by Helena and Isabel Borges, only time will tell.
I know, few will taste the 1877, but read this piece more as a testimony to the social aspects of wine, the greatness of sharing and how we love when there’s a story linked to a wine. After all, these are experiences most of us can relate to. No matter if it’s a young or old wine, an inexpensive or one that is painfully overdrawing the credit card.
Source: http://madaboutmadeira.org/hm-borges-1877-terrantez-storyteller/