The palest and the driest of the classical Madeira varieties, Sercial is known as ‘Esgano Cão’—‘dog strangler’—on the Portuguese mainland, a nod to its fiery, mouth-puckering acidity. At its best, racy and high-toned, it is a wine of exquisite tension. Despite containing 55 grams per liter of residual sugar, it manifests as dry, its sweetness balanced by an exhilarating, mouthwatering tang of acidity. Pungent with dried orange, roasted almonds and saline spices in youth, Sercial mellows as it matures, taming its acidity and bringing its deep nuttiness to the fore. Extremely rare, there are currently just 16-ha found on the entire island.

The H&H Sercial Single Harvest 2001 is a Colheita bottling: an early-bottled vintage wine. Bright and deep, this edition could easily be mistaken for Verdelho but for the saline/sea smoke signature of its Sercial fruit. More off-dry than dry, its caramelized apricot, tangerine and almond flavors mask impressive extract, the result of its extended time in Canteiro.

Enjoy as an aperitif or pair with raw oysters, Oysters Rockefeller, exotic sushi, swordfish or grana-style, hard cheeses, olives and nuts.