Madeira Cossart Gordon Bual Reserva Fortificado

Description

Cossart Gordon & Co was founded in 1745 and is the oldest company in the Madeira wine trade. Francis Newton, a young Scottish sailor, set out from Gravesend in Great Britain and arrived in Madeira on 12 September 1745, founding the firm. His younger brother Thomas joined him from 1758 to 1763, and later another Scot, Thomas Gordon of Balmaghie, also arrived in 1758. The Cossart family has been among the most influential on the island for nearly two centuries. The most authoritative book on Madeira, *Madeira The Island Vineyard*, was written by Noël Cossart, a former senior partner of the firm born on the island in 1907. Today, Cossart Gordon Madeira is still considered the finest available. The Madeira Wine Company was originally an association of several Madeira wine producers who decided to combine forces to strengthen their buying and production capabilities. This association was founded in 1913. During years of disagreement, the old family businesses of Blandy's and Leacock joined together, followed immediately by the dispute over Miles and Cossart Gordon, thereby creating the largest producer and exporter of Madeira wine. Regardless of size, preserving the unique characteristics and style of each individual company remained the association’s focus. By the late 1970s, the interests in the Madeira Wine Company, as it became known, had been reduced to only a handful of the original families, with the Blandy family holding the controlling stake. In 1989, the Blandy family, needing to bolster the sales and marketing side of the business, invited the Symington family from Porto, Portugal, to partner with them. This partnership has continued to the present day, allowing the Madeira Wine Company to play a leading role in the development of the Madeira wine trade. The bottling year may not match the image shown. (Illustrative image only)