2017 Croft - Porto Vintage Port

Croft was founded in 1588, making it the oldest Port house still active today, with a history that predates most of the wine trade rules that later shaped the Douro. Despite this deep heritage, the house has never been bound purely by tradition, having introduced innovations such as Croft Pink, the first rosé Port. At the heart of Croft's style is Quinta da Roêda, a north-bank estate at the entrance to Pinhão often described as one of the jewels of the Douro, home to some of the oldest vineyards in the valley and the source of the fruit that defines Croft's Vintage Ports. The house is now part of The Fladgate Partnership alongside Taylor Fladgate and Fonseca.

Picking at Quinta da Roêda for the 2017 vintage began on August 31st, the earliest start in over seventy years, after a hot July gave way to cooler August nights that helped balance the ripening fruit. The resulting field blend aged for approximately twenty months in French oak before bottling, and the 2017 is widely regarded as one of Croft's finest releases since the 1960s.

The wine shows a dense, inky core fading to a magenta rim, with a ripe, voluptuous nose of blackcurrant, black cherry, and raspberry giving way to eucalyptus, sage, mint, and grapefruit. On the palate it is full and broadly tannic, dense and long, with a fresh, vibrant finish. Pair it with candied orange peel, a firm aged cheese, or a bowl of salted almonds.