Justino’s 10 year old Sercial, NV Madeira HALF

Nose is delicate with notes of dried fruits, orange zest and hints of furniture polish. Burnt sugar, cloves, gingerbread on the palate. Rounded in the mouth with a dry finish, nuttiness and dried sultanas on the finish. 

Country: Portugal Region: Madeira Grape: Sercial

ABV: 18% Bottle Size: 37.5cl Vegetarian, Vegan

Additional Information: In existence since 1870, Justino's is one of the oldest producers of Madeira. Today, Justino's is owned by the French company La Martiniquaise, who built a new winery, located in Cancela, Santa Cruz, in 1995.

Traditionally, varieties like Sercial were grown in the cooler north, while Malvasia and Boal were planted in the warmer south. Today, site selection and improvements in viticulture allow for more flexibility, meaning Sercial can be grown in the south and Malvasia in the north and the fruit is sourced from six locations across the island.

Almost all of the vines are planted on the traditional miniscule terraces, known as 'poios' and are pergola trained. Soil is of volcanic origin and composition varies depending on the altitude; low soils are darker and more compact (higher levels of iron); higher is more rocky. 

Grapes destemmed, crushed and pressed. Fermentation at a controlled temperature of 16ºC in stainless steel stopped under 7 days by the addition of a neutral grape spirit (96%) in order to maintain the desired sweetness degree, in this case, 56.6g/l. 

Vinification strictly adheres to traditional methods, with the wine aged in old oak casks in the "Canteiro" system. After maturation the wine underwent racking, fining and filtering before the blend was assembled and bottled.