1991 Croft Vintage Port

[Miguel Simoes]

Decanted 8 hrs.
Still plenty of fruit and tannins showing. Far less though than glass of 1991 Fonseca Guimaraens I had back in Dec at The Yeatman.
Felt like this bottle of 91 Croft was half way bw its youth and adult age. Not that it was closed, just not focused like on would wish. Like a 10 yr tawny, not entirely resolved.
Still yummy though.
A day and a half later it has faded some and feels more like a reserve ruby.

91 points

[Andy Velebil]

Been quite some time since I last had this but it was a pretty darn good and young vp at that time. You are actually probably right it being in that between stage and as a result not showing its best right now. Curious to try this in a few years and see if its come out for the better of the spot its in you mentioned. Or not....

[Miguel Simoes]

Yeah, been having a few bottles in their early 20s lately and been consistently disappointed.
Refocusing now on older ones. Sad it took me this long to realize it though, only 25-30% of my (small) stash is ~30 yrs or older.
My palate might be like Glenn's, who seems to either really like them v young or v old.

[Andy Velebil]

The middle years can be tough. Some of the 1994's are now in a spot at the moment and not showing particularly well. I had a 1994 Vesuvio last week and it was quite spirity and lacking in the normal large fruit. Pretty consistent with other experiences I've had in the past couple years of this VP. I'm in the camp of stay away from these upper end beauties for a few more years.

[Glenn E.]

The middle years can be tough. Some of the 1994's are now in a spot at the moment and not showing particularly well. I had a 1994 Vesuvio last week and it was quite spirity and lacking in the normal large fruit. Pretty consistent with other experiences I've had in the past couple years of this VP. I'm in the camp of stay away from these upper end beauties for a few more years.

Yep. I've never really understood the "rule of thumb" that a Vintage Port is "mature" at 21 years of age. There are a lot of humans who aren't mature at 21!

My rule of thumb is 30 years old. By then even the bruisers - like most 1994s - will have settled into a gentle aging profile. The best won't be mature yet, but they'll be starting to show what they're going to be like when they mature. At 21 only the mid- and lower-tier Ports are really doing that.

I used to be <5 or >50, but I've mellowed a bit. Now the youngsters are appealing up until 7-8 years old, and I've started to enjoy VP as "young" as 30. A lot of the early '80s Ports are very nice right now, for example. But those oldies from the '50s and '60s still win out overall.

[Moses Botbol]

I don't plan to touch '91 Croft until 2031. Made the mistake of drinking a couple bottles already. Fantastic port; could be one of Croft's best vintage since 1970.

[Roy Hersh]

100% agree with Moses on this one, however, I have consumed several of these in the past two years (2-3 bottles) and they were drinking really well for me with a six or seven hour decant. Either way, it is going to age beautifully from here, but I think they are ready to be tried if you have more than just one or two.