2000 Croft Vintage Port

[Tom D.]

Opened 1/2/2010. Medium dark and very leggy, this was horrible for a couple of hours with no decant, then came around surprisingly nicely. Once the old hay and wet dog blew away, there remained a solid classic core of pure red and blue berries, black pepper and licorice. Fairly tame tannins, but youthful acidity and lots of very hot alcohol. The alcohol settled down after about 24 hours, and this proved extremely nice. Drinkable now with an extremely long decant, but surely a very long life ahead. 93 points.

[Andy Velebil]

the old hay and wet dog blew away

That doesn't sound good, but glad to read it blew off and was otherwise a very nice bottle for you. Have you had a chance to try the 2003 Croft yet?

[Tom D.]

the old hay and wet dog blew away

That doesn't sound good, but glad to read it blew off and was otherwise a very nice bottle for you. Have you had a chance to try the 2003 Croft yet?

Hi Andy.

Haven't had an opportunity to try the 2003 yet. But given the good reviews, I'll probably end up breaking my pledge to stop buying young VP's. I've really been amazed by a couple of 03's I've tried, particularly the Taylor.

The initial weirdness of this 2000 (which was from a 375, I should have mentioned) was a little scary, and I was pleased to see it clean itself up with air. Unless there's evidence of corkiness or another serious flaw, I don't mind giving a wine some time to come around -- I've slogged through plenty of so-so Bordeaux and Rhones that needed a couple hours of air to blow off that strange French brett/funk/terroir (at least with the French it usually does blow off, unlike the Barolos some of my friends love but I'm still trying to appreciate). I usually just can't resist at least a taste when I first open any wine, even when I'm planning on a lengthy decant. I find the evolution with air to be educational for me, especially as I learn about Port.

[Andy Velebil]

You really should break that pledge not to buy anymore young Ports. As good as the 2000 is, the 2003 is even better. One of the best Croft's in probably 30+ years. The Fladgate Partnership has done a lot in a short time to try and get this house back to its former glory.

As for decanting VP's, especially very young VP's, generally need a very long decant to really show their best. At an offline just over a year ago we decanted early 1900's VPs for 3-4 hours, and that was at the recommendation of the winemaker for the past 30 years. It's pretty hard to over decant a younger VP and when in doubt, I'll chose the longer decant everytime.

[Roy Hersh]

I've been preaching extended decant times for 15 years online and there's no question it resonates for nearly all Port enthusiasts. There are VERY FEW times where I would not decant Port. Air is to Port like wine is to dinner ... essential for the greatest of pleasure. The 2000 Croft was a solid vintage for the house and the 2003 made a historical statement, which I thought too when I first had the 1991.