Croft Vintage Port (375ML half-bottle) 2017
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Winemaker Notes
Inky core fading to a magenta rim. A seductive nose, ripe and voluptuous with depth and density. Plump, juicy blackcurrant, black cherry and raspberry. The nose is then drawn into a vortex of complex aromas in which resiny scents of eucalyptus blend with notes of sage and mint with hints of grapefruit and a mellow spiciness. On the palate, firm, sinewy tannins are wrapped in a thick envelope of dense, velvety texture. This is one of the most exotic and beguiling wines of the vintage. It is a weighty wine, dense and deeply colored, with the concentration and stamina to ensure a long life in bottle.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blueberry, blackberry and dried violets on then nose that follow through to a full body, firm and chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. This shows grip and some green, wet earth undertones on the finish. Stuctured. Try in 2026.
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Wine Spectator
A beauty in the making, with waves of dark currant preserves, warmed fig and steeped blackberry fruit, all infused with chai spice, tobacco, singed alder and espresso cream accents. Very grippy on the finish, but this is long and smoldering too. Best from 2035 through 2060.
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Decanter
The predominantly south-facing Quinta da Roêda provides the cornerstone of this vintage Port, the best from Croft since the 1960s - and it's well priced too. It's surprisingly demure on the nose with underlying plump, juicy plums and cherries. It's similarly voluptuous on the palate initially - in true Croft style - with a wonderfully ripe, broad tannic core rising in the mouth. It's dense and rather gorgeous all the way through to a fresh, vibrant finish. Drinking Window 2030 - 2060
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Robert Parker's 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. Best After 2027
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Wine & Spirits
Croft’s Quinta da Roêda is sited on the north side of the Douro at the entrance to Pinhão. David Guimaraens reports that Roêda was the first Fladgate Partnership estate to begin harvest in 2017, on August 31. He caught the fruit while it still had detail, though much of that complexity is masked for now behind a blackout curtain of youthful tannins. The wine is sleek, with bosky cherry flavors and a massive structure, needing a day to show its luscious fruit and integrate it into a compact, juicy black sphere. On the third day open, the wine’s restraints are slightly less tense, the flavors hinting at licorice and black cherry with a mellow schist reverb. Beautifully knit, this is the most compelling and ageworthy Croft Vintage yet, under the Fladgate Partnership.
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Wine Enthusiast
A beautifully juicy wine, packed with firm tannins and with great black fruits already in balance. The wine has style, never hinting too much at power, but instead going for complexity. Drink from 2030.
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The House of Croft, founded in 1678, was one of the earliest shippers of Port wines and since the seventeenth century, has been renowned for the excellence of its production.The family first became involved in wine shipping through their connection with a distinguished family of merchants, the Thompsons of York. The Thompsons had been trading with Portugal since 1660 and when Thomas Croft married Frances, daughter of Sir Stephen Thompson, it was only natural that the two families should combine their business interests in the wine trade.
Near river, rail and road transport and lying against a backdrop of rugged mountainous scenery, Roêda is considered to be the finest Port estate in Portugal. And today, it is from its own famous Quinta da Roêda, in the centre of the Douro valley, that Croft annually sends down to its lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia the fine wines that constitute the best of Croft's production.The twentieth century directors and managers of Croft & Co. have assiduously pursued the fine quality and reputation they inherited. The House of Croft has continued to play a dominant role in the development of the Port trade, both in Portugal and internationally.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.