Croft, Vintage Port, 2017

Name: Croft, Vintage Port
Brand: Croft
Price: 321.1 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1977 1991 2016 2017

justerini & brooks tasting note

Wild blue hedgerow and blackcurrant fruit and notes of sage and mint on the nose, the palate has remarkably good acidity, even if the fruit character verges more toward succulent prunes, raisins and raspberries. Exotic and rich, with enormous concentration, it finishes mellow and velvety, wrapping up all those tannins in beautifully clear fruit.

critic reviews

95/100Mark Squires,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2017 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for approximately 20 months in French oak. It comes in with 97 grams of residual sugar. This was only seen before bottling previously. Now, with some bottle aging, it looks super, superior to the 2016, also reviewed, and a fine 2017. It is, of course, extremely young. It's tight but not astringent (at least with decanting); the fruit is as if just crushed, and it is beautifully balanced. This is not even close to showing all it has. Throw it in the cellar. You can drink it now, but you'll just be wasting it. Right now, this and the 2016 are close, but I predict this will pull ahead with every passing year.

DRINKING WINDOW 2027 - 2065

date of review 08/2022

94/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2017 Croft Vintage Port was picked from August 31, the earliest since 1945. Deep purple in color, the nose is initially standoffish, checking you out before opening intense black plum and crushed violet aromas, orange blossom and veins of Seville orange marmalade. Yet it is extremely well focused, disguising the warmth of the growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with a luxuriant, velvety smooth opening that lacquers the mouth. Beautifully balanced, effortless even, it gently seems to roll across the senses towards its surprisingly controlled, clove and bayleaf tinged finish that leaves a discrete tingling sensation on the tongue. Superb and probably one of the 2017 Vintage Ports that will drink sooner than others. Total production is 3,900 cases.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2060

date of review 06/2019