1975 Croft Vintage Port

The 1975 Croft Vintage Port is pale tawny in colour. The nose is fully mature, rather one-dimensional with touches of wild strawberry, honey and cigar box. It is certainly missing some vigour. The palate is medium-bodied, well balanced but lacking sophistication and depth. A touch of white pepper, raisin and cherry towards the finish, this is actually better than I anticipated but certainly a step down from the better Ports of the previous decade. Drink now. Tasted in the Factory House in Porto for "Taylor's - The Story of a Classic Port House" book.

Croft never seems to get much publicity since the wines, while always very good, sometimes even excellent, never quite reach the superb level of the top houses in Oporto. However, Croft seems to do surprisingly well, often rivaling the top ports, in the less glamorous vintages such as 1975 and 1966. The 1975 is almost as good as Croft's 1977. Both the 1975 and 1977 are rich, creamy, intense ports that should be fully mature within 10-12 years, relatively soon for a port.

Croft never seems to get much publicity since the wines, while always very good, sometimes even excellent, never quite reach the superb level of the top houses in Oporto. However, Croft seems to do surprisingly well, often rivaling the top ports, in the less glamorous vintages such as 1975 and 1966. The 1975 is almost as good as Croft's 1977. Both the 1975 and 1977 are rich, creamy, intense ports that should be fully mature within 10-12 years, relatively soon for a port. Jan 1989, www.robertparker.com