Mannie Berk | Alex Liddell's 1998 book, Madeira, made famous the four ancient, yet undated, Madeiras that Henriques & Henriques have had on their list for years. Liddell called them the “Heavenly Quartet” thanks to their wonderful quality. But what isn't widely known is that these four wines were simply the most abundant of a larger group of wines that date back to before H & H's foundation in 1850. While the Heavenly Quartet has been continuously available for sale for many years, there are a number of other H & H wines from the same period that long ago vanished from H & H’s inventory. But like the Leacocks and Blandys at the MWA, Peter Cossart, H & H's longtime managing director, took examples of the greatest wines out of the company inventory for his personal collection. His son John inherited these wines on his father's death in 1991. And on John's death, the collection was sold by John's children to The Rare Wine Co. The bottle we're tasting today belonged to John. Its age is indeterminant, but John believed that this group of wines was already considered "old" when H & H was founded in 1850 and some may date to the late 18th century. Like the other wines in the John Cossart collection, this wine was aired for about six months in demijohn, before being rebottled and recorked in late 2011.

Roy Hersh | Only my second bottle from the “Heavenly Quartet." Medium caramel color with a straw-yellow rim, decanted for 48 hours. Tightly coiled early on, but coaxing helped to deliver inviting notes of baked apple and pears, sea salt, apricot, cashew, and cinnamon sticks. Lightweight, delicate, smooth, and medium-dry stylistically, with penetrating acidity, this gracefully portrayed a venerable Verdelho with precision and complexity throughout. The salty hazelnut aftertaste lingered for minutes, and the overall balance of this sleek and seductive Madeira was superb. | 18.5