Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Bruno Ferreira

For many years the Henriques’ family was the largest owner of Madeira wine, having the first vines been planted by order of Infante D. Henrique in the year 1425. Founded in 1850, by the hands of João Gonçalves Henriques, it went from a family tradition to an enterprise. After his death in 1912, a partnership was made between his two sons, Francisco Eduardo and João Joaquim Henriques, giving birth to the name Henriques & Henriques.

In 1968, with the death of the last of the Henriques, João Joaquim Henriques, aka “João de Belém”, and the fact of not having any successors, the company was inherited by his three friends and collaborators: Alberto Nascimento Jardim, Peter Cossart (which has performed 53 harvests in the company) and Carlos Nunes Pereira.

In June 1992, a huge investment was made in the construction of new facilities in Câmara dos Lobos as well as new vinification center in Quinta Grande where in 1995 a new 10 hectares vineyard was planted. This makes H&H one of the few Madeira’s wine producers to own its own vines.

Peter Cossart’s son, John Cossart, was the one who took hold of the company’s management but would end passing away in 2008. Recently the French multinational La Martiniquaise (Justino’s Madeira owner) became the main shareholder of H&H. The former now holds 70% of Madeira wine total production and Dr. Humberto Jardim is still a C.E.O. in H&H.

Some of the oldest Henriques & Henriques’ wines were in the first group of great Madeiras that I had the chance to taste and which aroused in me the interest for Madeira wine. Oddly they were all Boal, for example the Old Wine Boal 1887, the Solera Boal 1898 or the Reserva Velhíssima W.S. Boal which is a part of a “Fantastic Four” whose diminished quantities don’t permit it to be tasted anymore.

After the visit, I had the chance to taste several wines, a quick highlight for the simple Monte Seco Extra Dry 3 Anos, made of Tinta Negra, full of Fino de Jerez’s reminding touches, without the characteristic flower’s touch, suggesting us that it’s an ideal pal for appetizers, with a simple approach, direct and quite dry. Other wines have already been properly approached by Olga Cardoso in a previous article.

H&H Verdelho 20 Anos
The recently marketed Madeira 20 anos have the particularity of an ever-changing lot as well as minimal quantities availability’s. For that, some editions are indeed exclusive and one of a kind. In this case a Verdelho, a variety that’s capable of maintaining its aromas and fruity flavors for a long time, a feature that quite stands out on this well-shaped wine. Tropical fruit with fresh passion fruit, pineapple in syrup, spices, old wood, lacquer, honeyed and complex, emanating a harmony between freshness and concentration. Matching mouth, present acidity with an initial fruit taste that opens into an unctuous and concentrated set, some dry fruits as a complement, long and persistent ending.

H&H Century Malmsey Solera 1900
One of this producer’s emblematic wines which has lost in time the Solera’s age that originated it, probably from the XIX century . The rest are only details which only enrich and sharpen the will to have it on our glass and behold such precious liquid. A wine that transpires in complexity, old cask’s wood, dried fruits, fig raisins with nuts, honey and a nose warmth conferred by an unctuous yet fresh sensation at the same time. Cigar box, unfolding in thin layers of aromas and flavors, velvet mouth marked by freshness, concentration and a tremendous elegance. Some wines are unforgettable and this is certainly one of them.

H&H Verdelho Reserva Ribeiro Real N.V.
This wine and the moment that involved its tasting are the very essence of Madeira wine, something unique, enthralling, and I would say impossible even, of happening anywhere else in the world. To understand why, keep in mind that the person in charge of leading the taste, never in her 19 years of work in H&H had tasted said wine, such is its rarity. Lost in time is the record of its true age, though it all points to the second half of XIX century.  From vineyards located in the area known as Ribeiro Real, the more than fifty years it spent in “Canteiro” made it concentrated, glyceric, also gaving it an exquisite and profound bouquet. To the naked eye it’s perceptible a beautiful green crown. The rest is a true monument to the Verdelho variety, bottled in 1957, with the aroma of the old wood where it aged. Lacquer, splashes of candied orange/grapefruit, iodine, plenty of freshness and elegance in a deep and mysterious set. Perfectly synced mouth, mid-dry, tasteful concentration compensated with a dragged minerality along a palate revitalizing acidity. A repeating grapefruit touch right at the ending. Remarkable, unforgettable.

Contacts
Sítio de Belém 9300-138
Câmara de Lobos
Madeira – Portugal
Tel.: (+351) 291 941 551/2
Fax.: (+351) 291 941 590
E-mail: HeH@henriquesehenriques.pt
Site: www.henriquesehenriques.pt