I have a bottle of Colombo sweet Marsala that I paid maybe $10.00 for.
I also have a bottle of 15-year-old Blandyâs sweet Malmsey Madeira that I paid about $35.00 for because I wanted to taste this wine that has been famous for centuries and that Georgian-era British merchants made fortunes on.
And the taste of the two is almost indistinguishable. If anything, next to the Marsala, the Madeira is a bit thinner and blander. Once finished, I will save the bottle and not bother actually buying it again.
Flavor profile of sweet Marsala: raisin (makes sense, it does start out as grapes), nuts, winter holiday spices. Itâs best to break the seal on the bottle and then let it sit for a month or two before really drinking, as itâs a fortified wine and there is a LOT of hard alcohol that will hit you up front otherwise. Itâs 18% ABV which equals 36 proof.
The Madeira is 19% ABV/38 proof. It doesnât need as much breathing time, but again, itâs a pleasant but underwhelming cousin in flavor.
