Clear thinking: Blandy’s fresh approach to Madeira

With its clear glass bottles and colour-coded labels, Blandy’s new 10-year-old range represents a radical rethink of Madeira – while the liquid itself is shaped by the company’s ground-breaking research into maturation conditions. Richard Woodard finds out more.

Words like “unconventional”, “radical” and “disruptive” may not instantly spring to mind when thinking about Madeira, but Blandy’s launch of a new, four-strong range of varietal 10-year-old wines may just change all that – both in terms of the packaging and the liquid itself.

The new line-up – accompanied by the Unconventional Madeira tagline – encompasses the island’s four traditional white varieties and, through them, four distinct levels of ascending sweetness: Sercial (dry), Verdelho (medium dry), Bual (medium rich) and Malmsey (rich). Colour-coded labels reflect the different styles, with warmer hues for the richer wines, and the use of clear glass showcases the contrasting depths of colour of the different wines.

Blandy’s trade partners played an important role in developing the packaging, as CEO and seventh-generation family member Chris Blandy acknowledges. “We’re pretty confident about making wine, since we’ve been doing it for over 200 years,” he says. “But we’ve always had a really tight relationship with our key importers, and they really came in with the packaging – they were very interested and keen to be part of the discussions early on. We can make the best wine in the world, but with something as unknown as Madeira, you’ve got to get the packaging right.”

There’s also a shift back from a 50cl to a 75cl bottle – which, alongside additional hikes in costs and UK excise duty, means an inevitable price increase. Blandy highlights the potential positives for the on-trade in terms of space occupation, but admits that discussions with retailers may be “tough”. He adds: “I’m actually getting to the stage where I feel quite confident that people who buy 10-year-old Madeira know what it is, and they know that it’s pretty much indestructible after it’s opened. So we’re talking about the positives.”

Arguably the most notable packaging change is the use of a clear glass bottle. “It’s a bit like whisky in terms of the idea that the beauty is the colour,” says Blandy. “Right now, we’re hiding that, and we’re not letting consumers see the beauty of the colour and the differences between the styles. So let’s really promote that, so people can see what they’re buying.”

“What they’re buying” is the result of years of research into the intricacies of ageing, and a shift in winemaking philosophy that goes back further still. “We’ve always tried to be a pioneer of any disruptive approach to winemaking,” says Blandy, highlighting the legacy of the Symington family, partners in the running of the Madeira Wine Company (owner of Blandy’s, Cossart Gordon and other wine brands) between 1989 and 2011, after which they retained a 10% shareholding. “The Symingtons’ approach to winemaking back in the early 1990s really revolutionised how we make wine, and Francisco Albuquerque [Blandy’s winemaker] was very much part of that revolutionary approach. They updated the whole vinification plan and the approach to vineyards.”

In 2014, Blandy’s relocated its winery from Funchal to Caniçal on Madeira’s easternmost point, sparking a major research project. Starting in 2016/17, sensors were placed in each of Blandy’s 12 ageing rooms in Funchal and Caniçal, measuring temperature and humidity every few minutes; at the same time, the company monitored how the wines in each of the ageing rooms evolved. “We had a lot of fun with blind tasting,” says Blandy. “We were getting a sense of what people thought were the best wines ageing in different locations.”

Average temperatures were cooler in Caniçal (21.6C) than in Funchal (23.2C); in the hottest rooms in Funchal, however, there was a 3C temperature variation, and a 17% difference in humidity.

The research concluded that all four grape varieties benefitted from beginning their maturation in Funchal. Sercial and Verdelho preferred to spend 50% or more of their ageing in Caniçal, but Bual and Malmsey were better-suited to keep on maturing in Funchal, before moving to Caniçal for bottling. “We knew that different climatic conditions would have some impact, in terms of the temperature and humidity variations,” says Blandy. “But I think we were surprised that it was so varietal-specific.”

The findings have broader connotations for a company that has some 5m litres of wine in stock, spanning from 2024 all the way back to 1920. For the moment, however, the main focus is on the 10-year-old age tier.

“The 10-year-old strategically has always been the category over the last 15 years that we’ve identified as the right category to drive for our promotional campaigns, especially in terms of food pairings,” says Blandy. “It’s to do with the age of the wine, the price of the wine, the complexity and the quality. We think it is that perfect sweet spot to really focus all of our attention on.”

The roll-out of the new range began on the island itself, before moving to mainland Portugal and then onto the UK via an exclusive with retailer The Whisky Exchange. The US, says Blandy, represents a “huge opportunity”, but one complicated by its three-tier distribution system – meaning that it will take some time to move through old stock.

Mention of the US raises the prospect of tariffs, which President Trump has promised to levy on the EU, although the details remain uncertain. Blandy admits that there will be “serious discussions with our importers” if tariffs are introduced, adding that the company is also trying to develop other markets – for example, in Asia.

“At the same time, I still think that Madeira is so niche that, if the whole wine trade is going to be exposed to tariffs, it’s just something that the consumer is going to have to get used to,” he says. “We’ve planned as well as we can, and it’s keeping us on our toes. But if it’s going to affect one, it’s going to affect everyone.”

More positively, Blandy is keen to make the most of next year’s 250^th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, pointing out: “The founding fathers drank a huge amount of Madeira. Washington, Jefferson and Adams – all of them were big Madeira fans.”

So far, Blandy has had meetings with the anniversary organising committee and the Portuguese Embassy. “I don’t think there’s a better marketing opportunity for Madeira wine,” he says. “If we can be front-of-mind when it comes to that, even if tariffs do go up, we’ll have a lot of opportunity to talk about Madeira during the next year.”

Blandy’s is distributed in the UK by Fells. The four new 10-year-old Madeiras are bottled at 19% ABV and have a UK RRP of £40 for a 75cl bottle.

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