Henriques & Henriques - Rainwater 3 Year

The history of Henriques & Henriques goes back to 1425, when, according to legend, Infante Dom Henriques planted the first vines on the island of Madeira. However, the firm Henriques & Henriques was founded in 1850 as a partidista — someone who buys stocks or makes their own wine and sells it to the larger shippers — from the family's vineyard holdings on the island. In 1925, H&H began to bottle and export Madeira made entirely from their own vineyards, something unique among producers and shippers. To this day, Henriques & Henriques own the largest single vineyard on the island — the 10-hectare Quinta Grande — and boast an impressive selection of vintage and solera bottlings dating from before 1925 in the family's cellars. Perhaps most important, H&H have been in the vanguard of vineyard plantings and preservation of the noble grapes of Madeira: Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia. Their age-statement varietal wines are viewed as the benchmark of quality.

Henriques & Henriques' Rainwater Madeira is made from 100% Tinta Negra, which undergoes a 90-day estufagem, followed by minimum three years of aging in large casks. Historically, Rainwater was an elegant, refined style of Madeira that resembled a Verdelho but lighter with less oxidative flavors. H&H's Rainwater emulates this style, producing a wine of finesse and delicacy but with structure and balance with flavors of dried fruit, subtle spice notes and orange zest. Enjoy on its own before a meal, use in cocktails, or have a glass with a plate of assorted meats and cheeses with assorted nuts and olives.