Blandy’s Bual 1966 was aged for 49 years in seasoned American oak casks and as with all the family’s vintages, this wine started its ageing process in the warm high attic floors of the lodge in the centre of Funchal. Over the 49 years, the wine passed down from the warmer top floor of the Blandy’s Wine Lodges, the “Sotão de Amendoa” where it spent the first 10 years, to the second floor for 20 years and finally to the cooler first for the remaining 19 years. The art of finding the right balance between concentration and the freshness of the wine lies in the winemaker’s decision when to transfer the wine to the lower cooler north facing floors of the lodge.
Reviews
Elegant, filled with rich buttery and nutty notes to the dried tropical fruit, apricot and baked apple flavors. Creamy midpalate, with a long, sumptuous finish filled with white chocolate, citrus zest and mineral accents, delivering hints of pepper.
Deep amber in color, it has a harmonious nougat, Chinese tea, walnut and dried fig-scented bouquet that unfolds wonderfully in the glass - so complex and mercurial. The palate is smooth and viscous on the entry, almost candied with dried orange peel, mandarin, walnut and a touch of peach skin. The acidity is beautifully judged here and lends this Bual the tension to counterbalance the richness and density on the finish, so that it almost seems weightless on the effortless finish.
Generous in its flavors of treacle, orange and olive, this is a rich and smoky after-dinner drink. It tastes of figs and Christmas pudding, its spicy sweetness a match for salted almonds.