2005 Croft LBV

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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2005 Croft Late Bottled Vintage port

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Bottled 2010. Unfiltered LBV. Sealed with a T-stopper, decanted through unbleached coffee filter paper, but with little deposit.

Deep red, clearly still very youthful. Some sweet, fresh-crushed blueberries on the nose; medium bodied palate presence, full of sweet fruit but with firm tannins lurking in the background and decent levels of acidity - but the overwhelming impression is of fruit, fruit and more fruit. Sweet, vanilla and blackcurrant aftertaste with a huge length. Very tasty port that will drink extremely well for a year or two and then close down. 87/100. Drunk 5 November 2010 with 1 hour of decanting.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 2005 Croft Late Bottled Vintage port

Post by DRT »

I had a bottle of this at the weekend but didn't take a tasting note.

My memory is of very fruity, tasty drinky stuff. yum-yum. I did not decant and there was no sediment at all. That will change over the next few months but if you are opening one of these soon I wouldn't bother filtering.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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WS1
Cruz 1989
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Re: 2005 Croft Late Bottled Vintage port

Post by WS1 »

Derek, Alex,

sounds promising and for 6.64£ a pop defintely worth having. :D

Am I right in thinking that you prefer this over the 2004 vintage of the same?

regards

WS1
"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough"
Mark Twain
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 2005 Croft Late Bottled Vintage port

Post by DRT »

I prefer the 04 at this point but it might be because the 05 is newly bottled and probably still a little raw. Both are great value at the discounted prices Tesco have been selling them at but I think if I was buying at full price I would choose a Warre unfiltered LBV over either of these.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
Posts: 14879
Joined: 13:41 Mon 25 Jun 2007
Location: Berkshire, UK

Re: 2005 Croft Late Bottled Vintage port

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

I agree with Derek. I'm perfectly happy having some of the Croft 2005 tucked away in a dark place for a year or two, but my preference right now would be to open the 2004. It could be a combination of the extra year of bottle age and the fact that the 2004s are in halves, but side-by-side I find the 2005 much more raw and aggressive.

However, at £5-7 a bottle, the 2005s are good value.

Note that the 50% discount at Tesco ends on 30 November.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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angeleyes
Quinta do Noval LBV
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Re: 2005 Croft Late Bottled Vintage port

Post by angeleyes »

I concur that this has a lot to it, and that the 2004 is better rounded.
Mark
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