Madeira Leacock's Reserva Seco Fortificado

Description

John Leacock sailed to Madeira from the United Kingdom after his father’s death in 1741, and at the age of 15 became the youngest apprentice at the Madeira trading firm Catanach & Murdoch, remaining there until his contract expired on 11 March 1749. During his apprenticeship he kept in constant contact with an old friend, John Patient, who at that time lived in Charlestown, South Carolina, and suggested that they start trading themselves. Leacock agreed, marking the birth of what is now a globally famous company. In 1925, the wine industry was going through tough times, so both Leacock’s and Blandy’s joined forces and became members of the Madeira Wine Association, which is now the Madeira Wine Company. Leacock’s is today one of the company’s flagship brands, with its main markets in the United States, the Scandinavian countries, and the United Kingdom. The Madeira Wine Company originally was an association of several Madeira wine producers who decided to unite their forces to strengthen their purchasing and production capabilities. The association was founded in 1913. During years of discord, the former family businesses of Blandy’s and Leacock merged, followed immediately by a dispute involving Miles and Cossart Gordon, thereby creating the largest producer and exporter of Madeira wine. Whatever its size, maintaining the unique characteristics and style of each individual company remained at the heart of the association’s focus. By the late 1970s, the interests in the Madeira Wine Company—by then known as such—had been reduced to just a handful of the original families, with the Blandy family holding the controlling share. In 1989, the Blandy family, needing to strengthen the sales and marketing side of the business, invited the Symington family from Porto, Portugal, to join them in partnership. 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 correspond to the image shown. (Illustrative image only)