The Great Island Madeira Tasting

These pictures show just part of the archive of sales ledgers bequeathed to the Madeira Wine Company by Noel Cossart, author of one of the most authoritative books on the wine (along with Alex Liddell's more recent work). They date from 1774, 21 years before the oldest wine we tasted was made, and seem to me to illustrate most appropriately the historic nature of this extraordinary drink.

The notes below on 43 of the finest madeiras back to 1795 were taken at an extraordinary tasting on the island last week described in The miracle of madeira and What a tasting...