NV Cossart Gordon - Madeira Sercial 5 Year Old (750ml)

Cossart Gordon is the oldest company in the Madeira wine trade, founded in 1745 by Francis Newton, a young Scot who sailed from Gravesend and settled on the island. He was later joined by his brother Thomas and by Thomas Gordon of Balmaghie, and in 1808 an Irishman of Huguenot descent, William Cossart, joined the firm and gave it the name it still carries today. In 1913 Cossart Gordon became part of the Madeira Wine Company, an alliance of the island's historic producers, and since 1989 the Symington family of Oporto has partnered in running the business.

Sercial is the driest of Madeira's four classic grape styles, traditionally planted on the island's higher, cooler slopes where the fruit ripens slowly and keeps its acidity. The grapes ferment fully dry before fortification, and the wine then matures for at least five years in American oak casks stored in warm lofts above Funchal, the traditional canteiro method that gives Madeira its distinctive baked, caramelized character.

The result is pale amber in the glass, with a nutty, citrus-edged nose and a smoky tang from the wood and fortifying spirit. The palate is crisp and bone dry, with racing acidity through a long finish. Serve it lightly chilled as an aperitif, alongside green olives, salted almonds, or a sharp aged cheese.