n/v Cruz Reserve Port

[Alan C.]

Gentlemen,

Has there been a more abused Port than Cruz? I've still to try the Ruby Cruz, but the VP wasn't the nightmare I expected, and now I'm drinking the Reserve Cruz.
Its poor. Its watery. It tastes like fruit juice licked off a plastic plate. It has no body and hardly any after taste.

But is it the worst cheap Port I've had? Absolutely not!
This bottle cost £2.50. And I for one will start to stick up fror Cruz. Crap? Certainly. One to share? My God ,No! But the worst reputation in the Port World? You guys have been blessed if this is the worst you've come across.

Alan

[Bjørn Tore Aastorp Ruud]

Hello Alan.
Never saw this producer before in my country. It should be criminal to make this quality.

[Al B.]

So Alan, name some names. What port have you tried that is worse than Cruz (other than spoiled bottles)?

But you have at least one ally. I tried a bottle of Cruz 1989 Vintage Port bought from Morrison's for £8. It was OK, very poor Vintage Port - probably the weakest vintage port I have ever drunk - but it was not undrinkable and was even mildly enjoyable.

At £8 a bottle, it is competing on price with the Grahams 2001 LBV that I opened on Tuesday night and with a decent ruby, like the Warre's Heritage Reserve.

I think that in terms of quality, the Cruz 1989 VP was about the same standard as those others, possibly a little weaker. Was it a disgrace that the IVDP should have forced Cruz to declassify to a ruby or reserve - probably. Would I buy it again - probably not. Would I choose to spend my next £8 on a bottle of Cruz 1989 VP or a bottle of Grahams 2001 LBV? Interesting quandry and one which I am not sure of. If I wanted to open a bottle right away, it might just be the Cruz. However, if I wanted a bottle to open in a year or two then it would certainly be the LBV.

But Cruz is not a disgrace, just an extremely weak producer.

However, I would still love to know what port you have tried that was worse than the equivalent product from Cruz (other than spoiled bottles).

Alex

[Alan C.]

Al-B,

Glad you agreed with the main thrust of my point. (My VP was the 87, and I've commentated on it elsewhere a while back)

Sadly, your 'Name names' point causes me problems. I haven't got a Leather Bound Tasting Notes Book, or similar product. Prior to joining you guys on the Forum, I was a hopelessly disorganised Port Lover who drank it regularly but only tried to remember my current favourite half a dozen favourite Ports. The rest of the world of Port was just an interesting journey, which was mostly forgotten the following morning.
The reason I can be sure I have tasted many many Ports in worse condition than the Cruz, is my sporting and social circles. Heavily into the Private Members World of Golf and other forms of Gentlemens Clubs, I have on countless occassions had decanters of Port, passed to port at the end of evenings.
I always asked for the bottle to accompany the decanter, and nearly always ending up drinking many glasses to finish the evenings, as others declined.
Well there have been some thoroughly unpleasant, watery nightmares out there, that have caused me to decline and scurry home for a glass of my own cooking port.
Now being more name savvy, I will make a note of the next 'Blinder'.

Al-C

[Dave Johnson]

Far and away the worst port I have had this year is the Rocha 99 LBV. A watery sugary disgrace. The rules on the designation "LBV" should be redrawn based on this port alone.
To be fair, this year I also had a great 52 Colheita from Rocha.
Never had Cruz, but you guys crack me up with your comments !

[Robin L.]

I've never tried it but I've heard from many that Messias VP 1984 was one competing with Cruz 1989 as the worst of all time. Does anyone could confirm that they are in the same poor category?

[Alex K.]

Has anybody tried a Cruz Tawny? That would be... errrrmmm... interesting.

[Derek T.]

Has anybody tried a Cruz Tawny? That would be... errrrmmm... interesting.

I have - I was on holiday in France last year and the good stuff I bought from BBR at Heathrow ran out with a few days left before coming home. The local store had 2 kinds of port, Cruz Tawny and something that I have never seen before or since and can't remember the name.

The Cruz Tawny was very nearly undrinkable. I struggled through the pain and finished the bottle straight from the fridge.

Derek

[Roy Hersh]

You deserve the medal of valor for surviving such an experience, willingly.

[Al B.]

[I have - I was on holiday in France last year and the good stuff I bought from BBR at Heathrow ran out with a few days left before coming home. The local store had 2 kinds of port, Cruz Tawny and something that I have never seen before or since and can't remember the name.

The Cruz Tawny was very nearly undrinkable. I struggled through the pain and finished the bottle straight from the fridge.

I bet you now wish that you'd gone for the one that you had never seen or heard of before.

And now you have your BlackBerry, you can log on the FTLOP and ask the collective port wisdom what the best choice would be - Cruz Tawny or Mystery Unknown...

Alex

[Derek T.]

I bet you now wish that you'd gone for the one that you had never seen or heard of before.

I had that one too

Derek

[Marc J.]

Awhile back I was on a ski trip in the local mountains and I noticed that local market carried a brand of port that I had never seen (I can't recall the name). There was a basic ruby & a basic tawny - the price for either of them was $4.00/bottle. I figured I really couldn't go wrong at that price and they did have the offical IVDP seal. WEll, I couldn't of been more wrong! The port was HORRIBLE (read: undrinkable), I tried to power down a couple of glasses but it just wasn't worth it and I was forced to trhrow away the remainder. Lesson learned...I deal isn't always a deal - especially if you end up throwing away 95% of your purchase!

[Ronald Wortel]

But Cruz is not a disgrace, just an extremely weak producer.

Well.... I once came past a very beautiful quinta in the Douro Superior; old vines, great location and great grapes. The winemaker I toured the area with, told me that the quinta is owned by Cruz, and that their best grapes come from that quinta. But.... they only use the quinta to impress their foreign guests. They are flown in by helicopter and get to enjoy the scenery of the Douro Superior while sipping cocktails in the pool. All the grapes are sold to other shippers, because they are of no interest to Porto Cruz. Actually, that does come pretty close to a disgrace for me...

[Todd Pettinger]

Ronald,

That's not a disgrace... that's MARKETING!

(I can't contribute to the Cruz discussion as I haven't seen it around my parts at all.)

Todd

[Al B.]

The Morrisons store closest to where I live has now reduced the price of the Cruz 1989 Vintage Port to £6.99

It sits proudly on the shelf alongside the Cruz LBV 2000 (I think it was 2000) which is offered at £4.99 a bottle.

Interestingly, some of the other ports they had in store that I might be more inclined to buy were slightly more expensive than Tesco or Sainsbury - Fonseca Bin 27, Grahams LBV, Taylor LBV were all there.

Alex

[Alex K.]

I am saddened by Morrison's wine section. The Port is particularly disappointing, whereas Safeway was always pretty good. I seldom buy any wine from them, normally only Champagne on offer or splits for cooking.