NV Rare Wine Co. (Vinhos Barbeito) - Madeira The Chief Justice's Medium Dry

The Rare Wine Co. built its Historic Series around a simple idea: reviving the styles of Madeira once favored in early America, where the wine was toasted at the signing of the Declaration of Independence and served at the inaugurations of presidents from Washington onward. Each bottling in the series is named for a historic American figure or city with ties to that era, and this one honors John Marshall, the influential early Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The wine is produced in partnership with Vinhos Barbeito, a Madeira house known for crafting some of the island's driest, most precise expressions.

True to Barbeito's house style, this Medium Dry Madeira favors restraint and focus over overt sweetness. It is fortified partway through fermentation to halt sugar conversion, then aged through the island's traditional slow, warm maturation process, which concentrates flavor and builds the wine's signature savory complexity over time.

The result is an amber-hued Madeira with aromas of dried fruit, orange peel, and toasted hazelnut, layered with warm spice. The palate is elegant and balanced, with bright acidity carrying the flavors through a long, lingering finish. It pairs beautifully with aged hard cheese, roasted nuts, or a not-too-sweet fruit tart.