1973 Madeira Leacock's Verdelho Fortificado

Description

John Leacock sailed to Madeira from the United Kingdom; after his father's death in 1741, he became the youngest apprentice at the Madeira trading firm Catanach and Murdoch at the age of fifteen, remaining there until the end of his contract on 11 March 1749. During his apprenticeship he was in constant contact with an old friend, John Patient, who then lived in Charlestown, South Carolina, and suggested that they start trading themselves. Leacock agreed, marking the birth of the now world‑renowned company. In 1925, the wine industry was facing difficult times, so Leacock’s and Blandy’s joined forces and became members of the Madeira Wine Association, which later became the Madeira Wine Company. Leacock’s is today one of the company’s flagship brands, with key markets in the United States, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. The Madeira Wine Company originally formed in 1913 as an association of several Madeira‑wine producers who united to strengthen their buying and production capabilities. During the years of discord, the old family companies of Blandy and Leacock merged, followed shortly thereafter by a dispute involving Miles and Cossart Gordon, creating the largest producer and exporter of Madeira wine. Whatever its size, preserving each company’s unique characteristics and style remained central to the association’s focus. By the late 1970s, the company’s ownership had narrowed to just a handful of the original families, with the Blandy family holding the controlling stake. In 1989, needing to bolster sales and marketing, the Blandy family invited the Symington family from Porto, Portugal, to partner with them—a partnership that continues today, enabling the Madeira Wine Company to lead the development of the Madeira wine trade. The bottling year may not correspond to the image presented (image purely illustrative).