NV 10-Year-Old Malvasia, Justino's Madeira

• Style: Sweet Fortified
• Taste: Dark chocolate, toffee, caramel with cocoa finish
• Food: Blue cheese, chocolate desserts, walnuts
• Occasion: Sunday lunch, date night, after dinner
• Serve: 19% ABV, sip slowly at cellar temperature

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

Pour this Malvasia and the room fills with dark chocolate, toffee and candied depth. The 10-year age in oak has bestowed a soft, richly textured character that coats the palate with mellow warmth and closes with lingering cocoa notes. At 19% ABV with 110g/L residual sugar balanced against 7.1g/L acidity, the wine delivers sweetness that tastes earned rather than cloying — weight without harshness, never tiring on the palate.

The Winery — Justino's

One of Portugal's oldest fortified producers, Justino's has been crafting wines since 1870. Today the house sources grapes from steep volcanic terraces across Madeira's island, from São Jorge to Porto Moniz, where basaltic soils impart mineral backbone beneath caramel and chocolate. Their modern winery in Cancela combines ancestral vinification with advanced temperature control in the traditional Canteiro system — a practice that marries old-world restraint with careful sourcing from the island's finest vineyards. This decade in oak represents their commitment to layered, approachable character.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

This is a wine that rewards sipping slowly, whether marking an occasion or discovering why Madeira has endured as a category for centuries. Pair it with blue cheese, walnut or hazelnut desserts, chocolate tart, or serve as the meal's finale — the wine's staying power (it keeps indefinitely, even opened) makes it endlessly flexible. The robustness of Malvasia allows for endless experimentation with food pairings and drinking occasions. If you've yet to explore the depths of fortified Portuguese wines, this is the gateway — richer and more layered than most, yet approachable on the first taste.