Wine of the week: the most magical Douro white in existence

published 30 October 2020

2019 Cedro do Noval, Vinho Branco, Noval, Douro, Portugal

This wine is a genuine star of the small screen. If all goes to plan, last night on Amazon Prime the first episode of series three of The Wine Show aired, and Cedro Branco stole the show. There was a cast of superstars, but I only had eyes for this epic white wine, which hits the shelves today. There is very limited stock in the UK and I am told that Cambridge Wine Merchants, South Downs Cellars, Carruthers & Kent and Clarion Wines are all groupies hanging around the stage door expecting stock to come their way, but for now the only website lucky enough to have stock is Secret!

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Quinta do Noval is a legendary property, making legendary wines, and the 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port is the finest I have ever tasted. But this wine is not fortified nor is it a wine that requires age to mellow its charms. Made from 65% viosinho and 35% gouveio and fermented and matured in French oak, of which 20% was new barrels, this is a thrillingly daring white wine. At a refined 13.5% alcohol, Cedro is a cleverly balanced creation and it echoes top-flight Chablis in terms of flavour intensity and pristine freshness. But under the bonnet, there is a very different engine, powered by wild herbs, waxy citrus pith and stone fruit. Its flavour confounds the senses and tantalises your taste buds. In short, this is the most magical Douro white in existence.

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Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.