Croft Vintage 2016 Port

€ 78.50

Intense purple ruby core with vivid purple rim. The nose displays the ripe strawberry and blackcurrant fruitiness and resiny notes of rock rose and eucalyptus that are the essence of the Croft Vintage Port style. The palate opens with a surge of rich berry fruit flavour and is supported by a dense mesh of close-knit tannins. Although the wine displays some of the plump, rubenesque character of prior Croft vintages, the accent here is on symmetry and finesse. The characteristically exuberant fruit and heady herbal aromas are carefully modulated and the wine is classical in its proportions. An elegant and aromatic Vintage Port, perfectly poised between opulence and restraint.

Food-Pairing

This port is delicious with foie gras, certain cheeses (Gorgonzola, Roquefort), as an aperitif or as dessert wine

Grapes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela, Alicante Bouschet, Sousão

The viticultural year in the Douro Valley began with a very wet spring. In April and May, 249mm of rain fell at Croft’s Quinta da Roêda estate in the Douro Valley, nearly three times the average for the last decade. This rainfall was welcome after the very dry conditions in 2015 and helped restore ground water reserves at Roêda and throughout the Douro Valley. As a result of the cool, wet spring conditions, the ripening season started late. The first colouring of the grapes was observed around 11th July and coincided with the onset of very hot, dry weather which continued until mid-September.

During the ripening season, the weather station at Quinta da Roêda recorded 13 days with temperatures exceeding 40°C. In spite of the heat, owing to abundant ground water reserves and the late cycle, maturation was slow and even. At the end of August, most grapes were far from ripe. In mid-September, a spell of rain helped accelerate and complete the ripening process. In the second half of September and well into October, the weather remained fine, providing ideal harvesting conditions. Low night-time temperatures helped to extend fermentation times and allow for gradual and gentle extraction, a factor which contributed to the elegance and finesse of the 2016 wines and the quality of the tannins. Picking at Croft’s Quinta da Roêda started on 17th September

Alcohol content

19,5 %vol

Store & Serve

Serve at 16 °C. Must be opened 6 to 24h in advance

Vintage port wine can not remain open for a long time, because it oxidizes faster. After opening, maximum 2 days shelf life

Critics & Awards

97/100 - James Suckling

Extremely perfumed with dark-berry and currant aromas. Hints of earth and spices. Full-bodied, round and medium sweet. Hints of resin. Opulent yet restrained. Shows ripe and beautiful fruit with clarity. Try in 2025.

Port Vintage Years

The earliest harvest on record in 2017 followed a growing season of drought and high temperatures, the resultant wines being very concentrated with good structure. 2016 has been a tricky vintage for the growers but ultimately they have been rewarded with super wines with elegance and freshness, good enough to make some growers think twice about a general declaration in 2015 whose wines look very good in their own right. In 2013 the single quintas are fresh with lively fruit character. 2012 is a great single quinta vintage which produced elegant wines with balance and poise. 2011 has produced fabulous wines with freshness and a fruit style which will make them great drinking throughout their evolution. 2009, by contrast, is about power, density and longevity. The 2007 vintage was more elegant with great concentration, length and purity. The very hot summer of 2003 delivered super ripe, intense wines. The Millennium vintage of 2000 was wonderfully rich and ripe, approachable in style but worth keeping. 1997 was widely declared and rightly praised but still a little backward. Wines from the 1994 vintage remain backward due to their intensity. 1992 is also for the long-term, currently quite closed. The concentrated wines of 1991 are still for keeping, though Ports from the lighter houses are just beginning to emerge. The wines of the bountiful 1985 vintage have a great balance of power with sweetness and are drinking now. The appealing style of the 1983s makes them perfect for current drinking. The wines of the 1980 vintage too are much under-rated and very pure. The 1977s, undoubtedly one of the great vintages, have matured well and are firmly in their drinking window, whilst the initially structured wines of 1970 have proved themselves worth the wait and are now at their peak. Lucky indeed are those still fortunate enough to have some 1966s, 1963s, 1960s and 1955s!

Tags: Croft - vintage port 2016