Verdelho
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2040
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Smoked salmon, roasted duck, hard cheeses like Comte
✨ Technical Specifications
The Verdelho of Pereira D'Oliveira represents one of the most compelling expressions of Madeira's medium-dry style. Sourced primarily from the cooler, high-altitude vineyards of the island's northern coast, such as São Vicente, the Verdelho grape thrives in volcanic soils kissed by salty Atlantic winds. D'Oliveira subjects these wines to the traditional canteiro aging process, storing them in seasoned oak casks in warm lofts where they undergo gentle, decades-long oxidation and evaporation. This slow concentration yields a wine of astonishing complexity, marked by a signature smoky undertone, bright acidity, and notes of dried apricots, orange peel, and beeswax. Historically, Verdelho was the most widely planted noble grape on the island before the phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century, and D'Oliveira's library of old Verdelho vintages is unmatched, preserving liquid history in every bottle.
🍾 About the Producer
Pereira D'Oliveira (widely known simply as D'Oliveira) is one of Madeira's most historic and revered independent shippers, established in 1850 by João Pereira D'Oliveira. Anchored in central Funchal within cellars dating back to 1619, the house is directed by the fifth and sixth generations of the D'Oliveira family, with managing director Luís D'Oliveira and head winemaker Filipe D'Oliveira preserving ancestral practices. While historically cultivating vineyards in São Martinho, the house now sources grapes from over one hundred long-contracted growers farming rugged, steep volcanic terraces across the subtropical Atlantic island. D'Oliveira's vinous signature is defined by exceptional power, bracing natural acidity, and unmatched oxidative concentration achieved through classical canteiro aging in ancient oak vats. The lodge holds one of the planet's most formidable libraries of vintage Madeira, bottling centuries-old Frasqueiras on demand, led by monumental vintage bottlings of Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Malvazia Cândida, and extraordinarily rare aged expressions of Terrantez, Moscatel, and single-harvest Tinta Negra.
🍇 Grapes
Verdelho
🍷 ABV
19-20%