Very polished and ripe with intense mocha and spice aromas and powerful flavors of blackberry French roast coffee and black olive. The long finish is filled with effusive dark chocolate and Asian spice notes with hints of toast and cream. Drink now through 2020. -KM

The 2009 Touriga Nacional is revisited this issue as part of the vertical presented. One of the lusher and bigger Tourigas in this report--2009 was a warm year--this seems full-bodied, relatively speaking, for this graceful bottling. Palate-coating, vigorous, vibrant and very youthful, this has a lot of stuff going on and it easily has the capacity to age well, meriting an extension in the drinking windows. The texture is velvety and very sensual. If I had a quibble here, the alcohol does seem a bit obvious here and there. It is only listed at 14.5%. That said, it still shows well and nothing is dramatically out of place. This doesn't project quite the same finesse that the 2008 does, its predecessor in this vertical, but its rich feel compensates well. - Mark Squires