CROFT

This unfurls with mouthwatering licorice snap, fruitcake, apple wood and violet notes, followed by a wave of mouthfilling plum, blackberry and fig paste flavors. This is packed but well-defined, and the energy allows the fruit to ripple through the long finish. Drinking range: 2035 - 2055 Rating: 97 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Oct 2018)

The 2016 Croft Vintage Port has a taut bouquet at first that demands a good 20 or 30 minutes to get into its stride. It eventually reveals scents of blackberry, bilberry, chimney soot, clove, and just a hint of scorched earth in the background. The palate is spicy and vivacious on the entry: black fruit, clove, white pepper and curry powder (almost like a Balti!) I love the personality imbued into this Croft, a Vintage Port that seems to be wearing its heart on its sleeve. Excellent. Production is 3,050 cases. Drinking range: 2026 - 2055 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2018)

Blackish mid crimson. Mild, ‘agreeable’, friendly nose. Sweet and lightly spicy. Then the thread is drawn and it’s much drier on the end. Fairly early maturing compared with the greats, I would have thought. Without massive density. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 16.5++ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2018)