Vintage Port 3-bottle Collection, 2007

This tawny is a blend with an average age of 10 years. Its brick-red, even golden shades transport us to the Orient of spices, piquant and exotic aromas, with all its mysteries. Its body and its richness of flavour transport us to the place where it was created – “Quinta de Ervamoira”.

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90 Points Wine Enthusiast
“From the farthest reaches of the upper Douro, Quinta da Ervamoira has produced this sun-drenched wine, with great raisin flavors that vie with a fruity red-berry character. Both sweet from the dried fruits and dry from the intense acidity, with a light cocoa aftertaste, it is a balanced wine that can be drunk now.”  Roger Voss – October 2015

91 Points Wine Spectator
“This Tawny offers a smoky aroma, followed by lithe flavors of salted almond, macaroon and cedar. Notes of red currant and sandalwood emerge on the fresh and refined finish. Drink now.” Kim Marcus – September 30, 2015

90 Points Wine Spectator
“A plush style, offering flavors of hazelnut, dried apricot and butterscotch, showing good complexity and length. The long finish is richly spiced and smoky, with vanilla and marzipan notes. Drink now.” Kim Marcus – December 15, 2014

10 Year-old Tawny, Quinta de Ervamoira
This tawny is a blend with an average age of 10 years. We are now entering the complex world of an aged tawny.
Its brick-red, even golden shades transport us to the Orient of spices, piquant and exotic aromas, with all its mysteries.
This is where the magical path towards the 20 Years and the 30 Years begins.
Its body and its richness of flavour transport us to the place where it was created – “Quinta de Ervamoira”.
It is in this mystical, biblical landscape that this wine is extracted from the schist, from the silence, for our delight.

Grapes varieties: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca.
Storage: Store the bottle upright in a cool, dark place
Temperature: 16º to 18ºC

Prizes:
– 93/100 – Wine & Spirits Magazine, 2011, USA
– 92/100 – Wine Spectator Magazine, 2012, Kim Markus, USA
– 3 Gold Medals – International Wine Challenge, 1995/2004/2011, UK
– Gold Medal – IMBIBE Sommelier Wine Awards, 2013, UK

The heady scents and opulent ripe fruit which define the Croft Vintage Port style are supported by a mesh of taut, muscular tannins. These, together with impressive depth of flavour, make the 2011 one of the most structured and powerful of recent Croft vintages.

Deep purple black colour. The complex seductive nose has the archetypal Croft opulence but displays impressive depth, background and reserves of aroma. A rich, powerful fruitiness provides the backdrop for heady scents of blossom and rock rose. Luscious ripe berry fruit flavour surges though the palate. The wine’s velvety texture is underpinned by taut, muscular, perfectly integrated tannins which provide stamina with an attractive firmness and vigour to the finish. More virile and structured than some recent Vintages from this classic house, the 2011 nevertheless displays all the rich ripe fruitiness and exotic scented character associated with the Croft house style.

97 Points Wine Spectator
“Effusively juicy, rich and concentrated, showing plenty of snap to the crisp and well-spiced flavors of wild berry, dark currant and plum tart. Orange-infused chocolate notes linger on the exotic, mocha-filled finish. Best from 2020 through 2045.”   Kim Marcus, September 2013 

95 Points James Suckling
“Beautiful aromas of violets and blueberries with hints of blue slate. Full body, medium sweet with chewy tannins and a long, long finish. A leafy, stemmy, nutty undertone to this with hints of shaved milk chocolate. Very refined and beautiful.” May 2013.

95 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2011 Croft is initially taciturn on the nose, even after allowing it 20 minutes in my glass. A light swirling immediately awakens the aromatics to offer blackberry, Seville orange marmalade, blueberries and dried fig – complex and quite compelling. There is real mineralité within this bouquet that, returning after 30 minutes, offers alluring ocean spray scents rolling in off the ocean. The palate is medium-bodied with a velvety-smooth opening that belies the fine, structured tannins underneath. It clams up a little towards the finish, shuts the lid tight and consequently there is the sensation of less persistency here compared to the Taylor’s or Fonseca. But Croft has a knack of filling out with bottle age and becomes both gentle and generous with the passing years.” Neal Martin, Eroberparker.com, 

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Notes on Viticultural Year and Harvest

The winter preceding the 2011 harvest was cold and wet. The weather station at Croft’s Quinta da Roêda registered 496 mm of rainfall between 1st November and 31st March compared to a 30-year average of 358mm. The rain proved very beneficial, replenishing depleted ground water reserves and allowing a balanced ripening of the grapes during the hot dry summer which followed. Budburst occurred at the normal time towards the end of the third week of March and wet and relatively warm conditions in April encouraged vigorous growth. From early May conditions turned generally dry and remained so for most of the summer.

Only 12 mm of rain fell at Roêda in the months of May, June and July compared to a 30-year average of 105 mm. In spite of the arid conditions the vines were able to draw water from the ground reserves providing ideal conditions for balanced ripening of the grapes. The hot dry weather in August was broken at the ideal moment by two spells of rainfall, on 21st August and 1st September, which rounded off the ripening season and produced a balanced and evenly mature crop.

Picking began at Quinta da Roêda on 10th September in excellent harvesting conditions. Fermentation times were long, allowing for complete and even extraction, and the musts in the quinta’s lagares showed exceptionally intense colour and aroma.

Deep purple black with narrow magenta rim. The heady and powerfully aromatic nose displays a characteristic abundance of rich plump fruit and the exotic notes of eucalyptus and rock rose which are the hallmark of the Quinta da Roêda wines on which the blend is based. Juicy and luscious on the palate, with discreet and well fused tannins and a long generous finish.

93 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
“There is a nice limpidity on this Croft 2007. It is not the power that strikes you but the purity with black cherries, liquorices, violets and a hint of iodine. Very tight and focused. The palate is full-bodied with chewy tannins on the entry, pure blackberry, raspberry, white pepper and Asian spice towards the finish. Very fine focus, very pure and harmonious. Sensuous finish but it just tapers away when I need more grip and assertiveness. Still, this is a lovely Croft.” Neal Martin, May 2009.

92 points Wine Spectator.
“Shows aromas of very ripe fruit and sweet tobacco, with hints of earth and spices. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with round, velvety tannins and a long, fruity finish. Likeable for its soft texture. Best after 2016. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.” (05/09)

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Notes on Viticultural Year and Harvest

The 2007 growing season was preceded by a wet winter that replenished water reserves after four hot, dry years. The humid conditions continued into spring and early summer with lower than average temperatures combined with periods of rain. There were no significant periods of intense heat during the summer months. This ensured that the leaf canopies were in an exceptionally healthy condition and able to benefit from the warm weather that preceded the harvest.

The first two weeks of September saw constant daily temperatures of between 35ºC and 38ºC. These warm and dry conditions brought the crop to perfect maturity, advancing the production of sugar and phenolics while retaining the excellent natural acidity resulting from the relatively cool summer. As a result the harvest produced perfectly balanced musts which have produced stylish and elegant wines, full of vitality, with a superb fresh concentrated fruit character.