Verdelho Reserva Velha 10 years

Barbeito (Vinhos Barbeito), founded 1946 in Funchal by Mário Barbeito de Vasconcelos - a former accountant who built the company on stocks of aged Madeira just as the post-WWII industry was at its lowest ebb. Run today by Mário's grandson Ricardo Diogo Vasconcelos de Freitas, who joined the company in 1991. The winery moved from Funchal to a purpose-built facility in Câmara de Lobos in 2008. Since 1991, Kinoshita International (Japan) has held a 50% stake.

Under Ricardo, Barbeito is widely credited as Madeira's "game changer" - the first producer to bottle vineyard-specific Tinta Negra and single-vineyard Sercial, Boal, and Verdelho; champion of the slower, costlier canteiro method (cask ageing in warm lofts) over estufa heating; creator of the "Signature" line built around historic vineyards and forgotten varieties.

This bottle is the Verdelho 10 Year "Reserva Velha" - "Reserva Velha" being the Madeira DOP designation for wines aged a minimum of 10 years in cask (next tier is Extra Reserve at 15+). 100% Verdelho, the medium-dry Madeira register ("meio seco"). 19.2% ABV, ~71 g/L total sugar. Aged canteiro in French oak casks; multi-cask blend (not a single cask). Source vineyards: São Vicente and Prazeres. Continuous press; fortified with 96% grape spirit at the desired sugar level.