2009 Cedro do Noval

The 2009 Cecdro do Noval is 50% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca and 10% each of Syrah and Tinta Roriz. I haven't seen this in a while, but it was mightily impressive on release. Let's check in. Showing fine mid-palate finesse—that's pretty much what you get in every Noval, typically including the Ports—this has dry flavors on the finish and fresh aromatics. It is vibrant and shows plenty of grip on that finish, too. It is even a little bit too hard. It shows little or no complexity, though, maybe a touch of beef. As it sits in the glass, it expands a bit and shows more muscle, plus some hints of other things. This really needed an hour of air or so to show its stuff. At that point, everything was better, from complexity to power. Overall, this remains a fine example of a go-to bargain. Take the aging curve in stages, but it seems to have plenty of life left. In fact, it seems rather young.