2007 Croft Vintage Port -- cask sample

[Glenn E.]

Tasted blind at Roy's house, July 17, 2009. (With a follow-up for the cask samples on July 20, 2009.)

9 Vintage Ports, 7 Tawnies and Colheitas, and 2 Madeiras. 5 guys. 1 night. Port heaven!

Bottle #1: 2007 Quinta do Vesuvio Capela Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #2: 2007 Niepoort Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #3: 2007 Croft Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #4: 2007 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #5: 2007 Graham Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #6: 2007 Warre Vintage Port (finished bottle)
Bottle #7: 2007 Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port Vinha Velha (cask sample)
Bottle #8: 2007 Fonseca Vintage Port (cask sample)
Bottle #9: 2007 Duorum Vintage Port (cask sample)

2007 Croft Vintage Port (cask sample)

Day 1
Color: Another solid purple Port with a slightly redder tint. A full 1/4" fade at the rim, though, so not as opaque as the others.
Nose: Medium purple fruits, hard boiled egg, and some alcohol. (The egg isn't strong, but it's there.)
Palate: Tangy purple fruits. Medium body and good tannins. Acidity seems fine. A powerful Port, but something feels off.
Finish: A fruity, tangy, even finish. Some green apples show up late. Quite nice.

Initial score: 86-89. I still felt that my palate was off at this point.

Day 2 & 3 - I didn't taste on day 2 or 3 due to prior commitments

Day 4
Color: Once again the red tint seems to have fled, leaving a nice medium purple. Significantly more opaque than on day 1, now at 2/16+".
Nose: A nice medium purple fruit medley, but overshadowed by significant alcohol. It's not medicinal in nature, but it's quite strong.
Palate: Now medium sweet with a full body. The grip and acidity are good. Grapey, with blackberries to add roundness. There's a faint bitter or sour note hiding in the background.
Finish: fruity and grippy, even but not smooth. The tannins feel somewhat grainy in the finish.

Final score: 89-92 points.

Final comments: This is the third time I've had the Croft, and while this bottle seemed fine it wasn't nearly as good as the one I had the pleasure of tasting at McCarthy & Schiering on Queen Anne Ave in Seattle. That bottle makes this one seem rather pedestrian, but I have this one scored pretty much exactly the same as my other extended tasting, so my feeling is that 89-92 is probably the correct range and that something else was making the McCarthy & Schiering bottle just seem better.