(T&C) - My first taste of Madeira was a Sercial style, estimated to have come from the early 1800s. It was sweet and sour with a distinct nuttiness, layered with a saturated flavor of apricot jam and just a touch of salty minerality. It was divine, strange, and mesmerizing at the same time.

I had found myself at a Christie's collectors "potluck," where each guest was invited to bring a bottle of Madeira from his or her collection to share. Dinner was in the private dining room at Boulud Sud, an esteemed New York restaurant that hosts a notable wine list of its own. After enjoying 19 different vintage Madeira wines I was hooked on the complexity of the liquid gold that— depending on the grape, age, and style—ranges in flavor from earthy to sweet, and fruity to briny.

As we tasted through all 19 of the mind-bogglingly-old wines, I found myself wondering what in the world is Madeira and how can it possibly be this old?

History

Before we get into why you should be drinking Madeira, a bit of context: Madeira is a rocky and devastatingly beautiful island that is part of an archipelago 500 miles off the coast of Portugal, once a critical stop for ships heading in or out of Europe on their trade routes. Madeira is also a delicious and complex fortified white wine that is often served with dessert and typically has flavors of toffee, roasted coffee, roasted nuts, cooked fruit, and browned sugar.

The island of Madeira was settled in the 15th century with prisoners from Portugal and later with settlers who brought grape vines with them from Europe. In the years following, the island of Madeira was known as "The Island of Wine." The earliest documentation of wine production is 1485, an industry that quickly became a powerful and profitable commodity for the English crown.

Madeira was first fortified with brandy in the 18^th century, a process used to stop fermentation of the grapes, thereby allowing it to be transported and stored in barrels without refrigeration. Ships traveled from mainland Europe to the island and would stock up on wine before continuing on to their final destinations which included The East and West Indies, Africa, South America, and North America.

Barrels of the wine were used as ballast in the ships and would age as the ships crisscrossed across the oceans, naturally heating and cooling with the different climates. It is exactly this process that makes Madeira so incredibly unique: "While light, heat, and oxygen are typically the three enemies of wine, heat and oxygen are part of what makes Madeira what it is, says wine writer Allison Levine. The Madeira wine trade peaked in the 19^th century, and miraculously, some of these bottles still exist and can be enjoyed today.

North America became a favorite and extremely profitable market for Madeira wines – Americans developed a taste for Madeira, and there was a great demand for wines in the colonies where they were initially unable to grow their own vines. Additionally, the wine benefited from extra time in the barrel while at sea, enhancing the wine's signature fruity baked and oxidized taste. Famously, George Washington celebrated his inauguration as the president of the United States with Madeira, and for years following, Americans toasted their independence with a swig of the boozy wine.

Collectors of vintage Madeira are a small group, but one that understands the value of their investment. "Madeira at auction offers collectors and enthusiasts the opportunity to access bottles with extraordinary [histories] at a price point not dissimilar to a prestige cuvée champagne. In our sale last December, we offered bottles from the mid-19th century with estimates starting around $300-400. There isn't really any other category within wine which offers such exceptional riches," says Christie's wine specialist Noah May.

"In addition, Madeira has already been through an oxidative process and doesn't oxidize once opened, so like a bottle of whiskey or Cognac, it can be enjoyed for months if not years. That means that a $400 bottle with a history that might run back to the time of Abraham Lincoln offers better value than anything on the market."