1990 Sercial
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Tasting notes
The 1990 Sercial was matured for 32 years in old casks and contains 55g/L residual sugar, limited to 1,206 bottles. Burnished amber in color, it has an appealing bouquet with hazelnut, smoke, light oxidative scents and a background note of pressed white flowers. The palate is well balanced with sour lemon, Seville orange marmalade and penetrating lemongrass notes that fire up the front of the tongue, mellowing toward a cohesive and prolonged finish. Maybe a bit more grip would not have gone amiss; nonetheless, this Sercial is delightful.
Critic scores
Average Score
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Tasted from a mini sample bottle. Sercial grown on vineyards in Calheta, on the south coast of the island. Aged 32 years in very old oak casks. TA 11 g/l, VA 0.9 g/l, RS 55 g/l, pH 3.21. 1,206 bottles, 204 half bottles, 80 magnums, 15 jeroboams and 3 melchiors released in 2023. Stunningly dry, stunning elegant. An electric shock of a wine. Saline, smoky, dagger sharp. Quinine salts and bitter almonds. Tastes like a lip-curling sneer, like a caustic comeback, like a lick of contempt, like a tango dance between two people smouldering with anger and chemistry. And then, on the finish, a kiss. Cherry dipped in lemon sherbet. (TC)