white grape

Sercial

Warm, humid Atlantic island climate of Madeira.

Known as: Sercial de Madeira

Sercial is the driest of Madeira's noble grapes, prized for the piercing acidity that lets these fortified wines survive ocean voyages and decades of ageing.

Estufage and canteiro ageing ('cooking' the wine in warm lofts) produce its characteristic searing, nutty, saline profile — a wine that is practically immortal once bottled.

For the buyer, Sercial is where Madeira begins: dry, electric and shockingly food-versatile.

Flavour & Aroma Profile

Aroma

citrussea airnutcaramel

Flavour

lemonsaltwalnuttobaccobruised apple

Food Pairing

· almond tart
· Manchego
· smoked ham
· curry
· blue cheese

Notable Sercial Wines

All wines →

Curated top picks first, then other wines made from Sercial.

★ Top Pick

fortified

Blandy's 10 Year Old Sercial Madeira

Madeira · 2024 (representative vintage)

Blandy's 10 Year Old Sercial Madeira is an fortified wine from Portugal, in the Madeira region (A volcanic Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic, roughly 700 km west of Morocco.), made principally from Sercial. The driest style of Madeira — a wine 'cooked' by heat and age into extraordinary, immortal complexity.

$30–$45 est. retail

white

Madeira Sercial Riserva

Madeira · 2024 (representative vintage)

Madeira Sercial Riserva is an white wine from Portugal, in the Madeira region (A volcanic Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic, roughly 700 km west of Morocco.), made principally from Sercial. a reserve-tier Madeira sercial that represents the region's premium bottled expression.

$35–$65 est. retail