Croft Port

One of the original founding port houses, Croft traces its origins to 1588 when the company was established in England by Henry Thomson, a member of the Merchants Company of York. The Croft family, which joined the partnership in 1736 and gave the firm its present name, served the Port trade with great distinction. The reputation of Croft as a Vintage Port producer derives to a large extent from its ownership of Quinta da Roêda, one of the finest estates in the Douro Valley, and from such legendary wines as the Croft 1945, recognised as one of the finest of that landmark year. In September 2001, Croft became part of The Fladgate Partnership, the family group which also includes the famous Taylor and Fonseca Port houses.

The palate is round and velvety and the dense but well integrated tannins are wrapped in a cloak of succulent berry fruit flavour. The jammy fruit carries through into the finish where it is lifted by an attractive crispness and pungency. Ideally drunk between 2020 and 2050.

A pile of crackers and a hunk of vintage stilton.

The altitude of the vines (1,312ft and 656ft) means that the grapes ripen slowly, giving them time to absorb the peppery aromas of the neighbouring garrigue scrubland, and to develop length and complexity around a magnificently balanced structure.