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From half bottle. 2 hr decant.

60% opaque, red juice.

Indeterminate nose.

Rather nice berry compote in the mouth, but they are not particularly differentiated berries, albeit there's discernibly some white currants in the mix. Warm towards the finish. On the sweet side of balanced now, but will become flabby soon. A warming hint of orange on the finish- but the finish is 20 seconds rather than 2 minutes.

This half, fully ready, and I might go as far as to say 'drink now and do not wait'.

Consumed in part 31/03/20.

Edited 21/06/20 to note: ultimate conclusion, on drinking another half from the same case: while not obviously faulty, this was not a representative bottle.

This is probably shut down or an off bottle. This is an amazing SQVP and probably one of the best of the vintage. Leave it alone in the cellar for good while.

for reference
7/5/2010 - I wrote: 95 Points

I tasted this at varying times over the past three days. This started out dark purple and by day 3 was solid opaque. Initially lots of tobacco leaf, boysenberry, and some chocolate on the nose that gave way to a large amount of seductive lavender and blackberries by day 3. The one thing that remained consistent was the massive chalky tannins that completely dried out the palate and a solid dose of acidity. I will say this wasn't pleasant to drink on day one, but not in a bad way. It was just so youthful, primary, and raw that it was a chore to taste...always a good sign for a VP! The one other thing that was consistent throughout was the full, complex, and long finish. It just hung on the palate and throat and seemed to never end. However, the fruit did get a little tight at the end of day 2 / beginning of day 3, not bad mind you, just a sign of a solid bottle going through some youthful fazes. I'm glad to see Croft getting back in the game after a long dry spell (1991 and 2003 excluded). I look forward to tasting more from this house in years to come as I think The Fladgate Partnership, and winemaker David Guimaraens, is finally getting this house back on track.
95 points

Andy, thank you. Certainly the wine I am (re) tasting this evening is not the one I recognise from your tasting note (which tasting note, albeit ten years old, was the reason I bought it when offered it at a decent price in the first place). The bottle I am re-tasting this evening is pleasant, but fairly one-note. I have more halves so will revisit it soon to see if this one was simply not right. It may simply have been travel-sick- I only bought it a month or so ago.

I should add that I have no general anti-Croft prejudice; in past decades I have probably drunk as much Croft as any other house, partly because it is often good value in the UK. The '63 can be magical and I must have had a couple of cases; I have shared in fine bottles of '70 and '77; I have yet to have a good bottle of the '82. I bought another half-case of the '91, the star of our horizontal of the vintage, only last week. The '07 I like and own in quantity. But, I have had much less success with the SQVP, other than the '67, and the LBV, other than the '04. Maybe for those I should stick to Taylor and Graham. YMMV.

While Croft has had some ups and downs over the years, I agree the vintages you mention are quite good.

Note 21/06/20 - another half from the same case distinctly better; this note annotated accordingly.