1945 Croft Vintage Port
Posted: 00:45 Wed 27 Jun 2007
1945 Croft Vintage Port - tasted April 2006
I met Alex Bridgeman in London today to conclude a deal we had arranged on a great case of VP. Alex very kindly handed me a Sharwoods Curry Sauce jar containing a dark reddish brown liquid and announced that it was a sample from this bottle of Croft 1945 - what a guy.
Although Alex told me it was a gift for my partner Jo and I it devastates me to tell you all that Jo wasn't feeling too well tonight and passed on the chance of a taste
I tasted this at 7 pm, exactly 24 hours after Alex decanted it. The note below was written before I read Alex's TN from the previous evening.
The colour was a dark reddish brown, like a young tawny, with an almost clear rim. The wine was bright and clear and when swilled around the glass it stuck to the sides like an old colheita. I got a treacle toffee and slightly spirited nose and not much fruit to speak of.
On entry it brought a tingling sensation to the front of the tongue which soon developed into burnt caramel and anicede. The mouth feel was remarkably smooth, thick and viscous.
The finish was very long, starting out quite hot and fading off into a dry palate and a sweet cheek watering end.
To me this was like my [limited] experience of old aged tawny’s and colheita’s rather than VP. Perhaps this is due to the bottles history which, from what Alex describes does not appear to have been ideal. That said, it was a very, very nice wine.
This was a very special glass of port to me, not simply because it is 61 years old but because of Alex's remarkable generosity.
Thanks, Alex, I hope you and Elizabeth enjoy the rest of the bottle.
Derek
PS: In case anyone out there is feeling sorry for Jo, I have to tell you that as soon as I poured this nectar into a glass she proceeded to stink the house out with nail varnish remover - you don't feel sorry for her now, do you?
I met Alex Bridgeman in London today to conclude a deal we had arranged on a great case of VP. Alex very kindly handed me a Sharwoods Curry Sauce jar containing a dark reddish brown liquid and announced that it was a sample from this bottle of Croft 1945 - what a guy.
Although Alex told me it was a gift for my partner Jo and I it devastates me to tell you all that Jo wasn't feeling too well tonight and passed on the chance of a taste
I tasted this at 7 pm, exactly 24 hours after Alex decanted it. The note below was written before I read Alex's TN from the previous evening.
The colour was a dark reddish brown, like a young tawny, with an almost clear rim. The wine was bright and clear and when swilled around the glass it stuck to the sides like an old colheita. I got a treacle toffee and slightly spirited nose and not much fruit to speak of.
On entry it brought a tingling sensation to the front of the tongue which soon developed into burnt caramel and anicede. The mouth feel was remarkably smooth, thick and viscous.
The finish was very long, starting out quite hot and fading off into a dry palate and a sweet cheek watering end.
To me this was like my [limited] experience of old aged tawny’s and colheita’s rather than VP. Perhaps this is due to the bottles history which, from what Alex describes does not appear to have been ideal. That said, it was a very, very nice wine.
This was a very special glass of port to me, not simply because it is 61 years old but because of Alex's remarkable generosity.
Thanks, Alex, I hope you and Elizabeth enjoy the rest of the bottle.
Derek
PS: In case anyone out there is feeling sorry for Jo, I have to tell you that as soon as I poured this nectar into a glass she proceeded to stink the house out with nail varnish remover - you don't feel sorry for her now, do you?