94+ John Gilman - View from the Cellar

"The 1969 Sercial from d’Oliveira was bottled in 2008, with the casks having been part of the purchased the historic cellars of Adega do Torreão in 2002. The wine is really stunning on the nose, soaring from the glass in a beautiful blend of leather, caramel, a touch of orange peel, sweet almonds, cinnamon, cherries, a really lovely base of soil and a delicate topnote of rancio. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with the powerful personality of youth, great focus and mid-palate intensity and outstanding focus and grip on the very long, tangy and perfectly balanced finish. By Madeira standards, this is still a fairly young wine, but I have absolutely no difficulties drinking it today! A really superb and refined bottle. 2010-2150+." (04/14)

92 Neal Martin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 1969 Sercial is also ex-Adegas do Torreao and, again, the quality shows through. It has a comparatively straightforward bouquet of honey, white chocolate, rosewater and a touch of honeysuckle. It opens nicely with aeration. The palate is delicate, but nicely composed on the entry with impressive weight and volume. There is a cutting seam of fresh ginger that is neatly interwoven into flavors of marmalade and Satsuma fruit. It softens nicely towards the finish without losing freshness and delineation. It was in 1850 that Joao Pereira d’Oliveira founded his company. He initially sold wines to other shippers, and it was not until the 1970s that they began to sell Madeira wines under their own label (though they continued to sell and buy lots, to and from other shippers.) It is a small company, but there are plentiful stocks of reserve wines. Their policy is to bottle on demand, which means their vintage wines can invariably benefit from extended cask aging. Let us begin with their reserve wines, which are mainly Tinta Negra Mole and are matured under estufugem."