N.V. Broadbent Terrantez Madeira Old Reserve

Broadbent Selections Inc., is a Richmond, VA, wine importer and producer. It produces or imports several dozen labels from nearly everywhere in the world where wine is made. The company was founded in 1996 by Bartholomew Broadbent, a wine expert and the son of Michael Broadbent, the noted English wine writer and reviewer. Today Broadbent Selections focuses on importing wines from small, family-owned producers in South Africa, Argentina, Lebanon, Australia, Germany, Spain, New Zealand and Chile. In addition the Broadbent company produces wine, port and Madeira under the Broadbent name. Broadbent Ports and Madeiras are especially noteworthy since Michael Broadbent, considered the elder statesman of the English wine world, is known for his deep appreciation of Madeira and Port.

Portugal is best known for its two legendary fortified wines, Port and Madeira, but it also produces significant amounts of red and white table wine. In most years it ranks around the 10th or 11th largest wine producer in the world. In 2013, for instance, Portugal was the 11th largest producer just after Germany. Wine has always been produced in Portugal and in fact the country was the first to organize an appellation system, which it did in 1756, nearly 200 years before the French set up their appellations. The highest quality wines are labeled D.O.C. for Denominaçào de Origem Controlada. Many of the most innovative winemakers today, however, are avoiding the appellation system, which they deem too stifling for modern winemaking practices. The Douro Valley is the nation’s most important wine producing region, and it is the capital of Port production. The Portuguese island of Madeira, located 400 miles west of Morocco, is the nation’s other famous wine region, having produced Madeira for export for more than 400 years. Many red and white wine grapes grow in Portugal, though the best known is Touriga Nacional, the red grape used for Port and, increasingly, high quality table wines. Touriga Nacional produces dark, tannic, fruity wines.