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

• Style: Bone-dry, mineral-driven fortified
• Taste: Crisp lemon zest, walnut, saline minerality, dried fruit
• Food: Cured meats, blue cheese, walnuts, poultry
• Occasion: Sunday lunch, date night, aperitif
• Serve: Chilled, 19% ABV, keeps weeks after opening

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

This is fortified wine made serious — bone-dry, bracing, and nothing like the sweeter Madeira you might expect. Sercial, a late-ripening Portuguese variety, thrives in the coolest reaches of Madeira's volcanic hillsides, where it builds acidity and mineral tension that survives a decade in oak. The result is a glass of crisp intelligence: bright lemon zest and saline minerality cut through subtle nuttiness and dried-fruit character, finishing clean and refreshing rather than cloying. At 19% ABV, it carries weight without heaviness.

The Winery — Justino's

One of Madeira's oldest houses, Justino's has been crafting fortified wines since 1870. Today the producer sources fruit from across the island's most celebrated sites — Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, Seixal, Porto Moniz — where tiny terraced vineyards carved into basalt bedrock have shaped Madeiran viticulture for centuries. Grapes ferment slowly at controlled temperature, then age in the traditional Canteiro system using old oak casks, imparting subtle oxidative depth without aggressive woodiness. This 10-year-old Sercial is proof that fortified wine need not be sweet to be compelling.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

Pair this wine with cold meats, blue cheese, walnuts and dried fruit, or enjoy it as an aperitif when you want clarity and grip. It bridges the gap between Madeira tradition and modern dry-wine sensibilities, making it equally at home at a Sunday lunch or date night. Discover more Whites with Oak to expand your fortified repertoire. Madeira's legendary robustness means you can return to an opened bottle over weeks without degradation, making it ideal for unhurried exploration and experimentation. Vegetarian and vegan.