1970 Croft Vintage Port

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Glenn E.
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1970 Croft Vintage Port

Post by Glenn E. »

Another one of the 8 bottles that I won winebid.com for $85 each ($105 with buyer's premium and shipping). I had intended to give it a 6-hour decant, but got busy with the barbeque and forgot until right before we left. That meant it only got ~3 hours, but it doesn't seemed to have hurt it at all.

The cork was a concern - it started to twist freely in the neck as I inserted the worm of the corkscrew and then easily pulled free in one piece. The bottle wasn't a leaker, though, as the fill was into the neck. But it probably would have become one soon. I was very concerned that the Port would be badly oxidized, but that wasn't the case.

1970 Croft VP
3.0 hour decant

Color: Medium red/garnet, showing just a hint of age at the rim. (Some yellowing.)

Nose: Black cherry, Bing cherry, and a little bit of milk chocolate. Possibly some very faint orange or tangerine, but it is very faint.

Palate: Medium full entry, nicely smooth texture. Tannins are faint but present - very little texture from them, but still a little bit of drying on the tip of the tongue and cheeks. Well-balanced acidity, which in this case means it is fairly light. This is a subtle Port, but that doesn't mean it is lacking. It is very rich and complex, but it is difficult to pull out any individual flavors. Possibly some very ripe strawberry and some very light tart cherry. The bottle disappeared quickly because it was so intriguing yet also so easy to drink.

Finish: Warm and pleasant. Good length, but not what I'd call long.

Score: 92 points. An excellent Port and a fantastic showing given the condition of the cork. I will be very happy if the remaining bottles also show this well.
Glenn Elliott
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