Multi: Croft Vertical

[Eric Menchen]

For my birthday I invited a bunch of Port loving friends over for a vertical tasting of Croft. They provided most of the food (I still had fun picking out the cheese course--and less work for that one ), and I provided the Port. We started with the Port and followed with the meal, all courses chosen to go with your preferred Port. The main course was prime rib accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes, wild rice, and a medley of herb roasted vegetables. For the cheese course I picked out Cambozola, Oregonzola, and a Wensleydale with Cranberries. Dessert was a dark chocolate cake.

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Ribbons on the bottles corresponded to the decanters. I told my guests about the Bishop of Norwich and by the end of the evening each decanter was associated with someone.

1970 Croft Vintage Port: This was tonged and decanted about 30 minutes before tasting. This was a wonderful bottle, well integrated, smooth, and delicious. It was surprisingly red for a 1970, and very clear. It had some bits of tawny. For many this was their WOTN. It might have been for me. I think this bottle was at its prime.

1991 Croft Vintage Port: Decanted for 4.5 hours. The first few sips of this were very disappointing, and I wasn't the only one thinking this. And I had such high expectations. The color was perhaps less red than the 1970, but it was really hard to judge as it was a bit cloudy. Around the fourth or fifth sip things started to improve. This had a distinct earthy flavor. As the meal rolled around this really opened up for me and others. It went well with the main course, and by the end of the night it was jostling with the 1970 for WOTN. The 1970 was the first bottle polished off, and this one soon followed.

1994 Croft Vintage Port: Decanted 5 hours. Initially I liked this better than the 1991. It had plenty of jammy fruit and an overall nice character. I detected some eucalyptus aromas. One of my guests found it to be quite chocolaty. In the end the 1991 surpassed it, however. This is a nice 1994, but I have had many others that are better, with more complexity and character.

2005 Croft Quinta de Roeda: Decanted 7 hours. I threw this into the mix for fun, and because I really wanted to see if I should be buying more of this while it still can be readily found. This is a fruity, jammy big Port. There is plenty of tannin, but it is still drinkable. Color was the darkest and deepest, as to be expected. This went pretty well with the main course, and really shined with the Oregonzola cheese. This was the only bottle to last the evening, with one glass for the next day. The next day it really hadn't changed much that I could tell. I could drink more of this now, but I'm going to try to resist for at least two years. I think in five this might be really nice. Should I buy more? I didn't come up with an answer for that. It can be found in the US for under $35, so I am still tempted.

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[Roy Hersh]

Great job Eric. It is nice to see has created yet another ambassador of Port wine in another area of the country (world).

I realize you are just getting the group going, but a suggestion for some day in the future. After each flight in a tasting or before unveiling bottles when done blind ... get a group score and also show your own so a ranking can be done for your tasting of favorites. Putting scores into posts like yours above would provide a tad more data points for the geekiness in us. Also, should you want to write up tastings like this with photos of the gang, food, Ports etc., I'd be happy to publish it as a Guest Corner article in the FTLOP newsletter if that is something you'd like. 2-20 pages ... it is all good.

[Roy Hersh]

Now more to your TNs and post itself.

I am glad you selected the bottles you did for this flight. Excellent and going old to young was the right thing to do with these specific bottles.

You know my thoughts on all of these Ports already, but I did want to add, two things. The 1991 needs and deserves 7-8 hours of decant time and it will show better sooner during a tasting. Love it. Next. 2005 Roeda, do you really need to think about it at that price? Find an excuse and it can be something like, "tomorrow." Seriously, this is going to be a stud and will drink well early and for decades to come. Yummy stuff, no doubt. Grab 2 cases at that price if you have the space and discretionary income. M. Menchen did a nice job with that photo of her hubby and friends during the bday bash. Then again, I remember you mentioning that she as a camera/photography buff.

[Moses Botbol]

1970 Croft is good, but I would put at 60% ranking for the whole 1970 vintage. Suprised to hear the wine was not darker. 1991 Croft, I will keep my mouth shut as I would like to buy another case. I can't remember if I have had 1994 Croft, but I would expect it to be good.

I can't think of one Croft vintage of the 20th Cent. that is past its prime. Certainly something from 1950 or older, what are you waiting for, but they are still solid.

[Eric Menchen]

I have more of the 1991 Croft, so I'll try to remember to decant longer next time.

As for the 2005 Quinta de Roeda, Roy you make it sound like a simple yes-no question, but it is much more complicated than that. Sure, for around $35 it is a steal, but so is 2005 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas, 1994 Burmester, and 2000 and 2003 Quinta do Crasto. These are all in the same ballpark, and for just $5 more you can find 2003 Churchill's, 2003 Niepoort, and 2007 Gould Campbell. Do I need more 2005 Croft Quinta de Roeda relative to those, and to all the other wonderful Ports out there? That is the more difficult question.