CROFT VINTAGE 2024

Background Information:

Croft has announced the release of a classic Croft Vintage Port from the outstanding harvest of 2024. Comments on the release were as follows:

Adrian Bridge, Managing Director

“I am excited to declare our release of a limited amount of classic Croft 2024 Vintage. Quinta da Roeda produced wines in 2024 that clearly stood out for their incredible depth and complexity. The Croft house style that I enjoy so much is clearly present in this wine, with its firm but well integrated tannins, berry flavours and purity of fruit. This wine will shine for many decades to come but can be enjoyed on release to experience the delicious fresh fruit flavours before they evolve in the cellar.

David Guimaraens, Head winemaker

“A year with a warm growth period, supported by good water reserves in the soil and balanced by a cooler harvest, have created phenomenal wines from our traditional granite lagares at Roeda. Co-fermentation and foot treading of the traditional 6+ grapes varietals of the Douro played an integral part in improving the complexity and expressiveness of the wines and at the same time maintaining the Croft house style in these exceptional Vintage Ports.”

Tasting Note

Deep purple black with fine magenta rim. The heady, aromatic nose displays a characteristic plentitude of rich plump fruit, ripe strawberry and the exotic notes of rockrose, spice, clove and eucalyptus, signatures of Quinta da Roêda from where the blend heralds. An avalanche of exuberant fruit then coats the palate with discreet and well poised tannins. An elegant and aromatic Vintage Port, perfectly poised with opulence and restraint.

NOTES ON THE 2024 VITICULTURAL YEAR AND HARVEST

The winter of 2023/24 brought a welcome return of rainfall for the second consecutive year. Although temperatures were relatively mild, an early budburst on 5^th of March set the season off to an early and promising start. Spring and early summer was cool with occasional useful light rainfalls, arriving at well-spaced intervals that supported healthy vineyard growth.

From July onwards the weather settled into a long, dry period that extended through to the end of harvest. Veraison began on 18^th of July, and the mild summer conditions encouraged a steady, even ripening cycle. As temperatures rose towards the end of July, August provided warm conditions, with consistently high night-time temperatures that put the vines under some stress. Crucially, at the end of August temperatures moderated, with slightly cooler days and notably cooler nights throughout September. These conditions were ideal for the final stages of ripening, and to achieve full phenolic maturity.

The harvest began with very attractive fruit from varieties such as Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, while Touriga Francesa and Tinta Cão benefited from a little additional time on the vine to achieve full perfection.

The combination of the field blends, co-fermentation, have produced ports which are going to be very complex and memorable. In general, the 2024 ports show very good freshness of fruit, lovely flavours, very fine tannins and great acidity.

12 BOTTLE CASES PRODUCED: 1,600

CROFT

One of the original founding port houses, Croft traces its origins to 1588 when the company was established in England by Henry Thompson, a member of the Merchants Company of York. The Croft family, which joined the partnership in 1736 and gave the firm its present name, served the port trade with great distinction. A book published by the firm reveals much new research into the company’s long and fascinating history. The reputation of Croft as a Vintage Port producer derives to a large extent from its ownership of Quinta da Roêda, one of the finest estates in the Douro Valley, and from such legendary wines as the Croft 1945, recognised as one of the finest of that landmark year. In September 2001, Croft became part of The Fladgate Partnership, the family group which also includes the famous Taylor’s and Fonseca port houses.

QUINTA DA ROÊDA

Quinta Da Roêda forms a vast sweep of terraced vineyard located on the north bank of the Douro just upstream from the village of Pinhão. The estate has long been regarded as one of the finest of the Douro Valley estates. The 19th century poet Veiga Cabral wrote, ‘If the Douro may be called the golden ring of Portugal, then Quinta da Roêda is the diamond set in that ring.’ The estate was acquired by Croft in 1889 and was extensively renovated by the firm, with replanting

continuing throughout the first half of the 20th century. Since Croft’s return to family ownership, with its incorporation into The Fladgate Partnership, the property has again been the source of major investment. This includes the building of traditional lagares (granite treading tanks) allowing the reintroduction of foot treading, still unsurpassed as a method of extraction for Vintage Port. The character of Croft Vintage Ports is one of the most individual of all. Scented, exotic and crammed with luscious opulent fruit flavour, they develop great richness and complexity with age. Quinta da Roêda is at the heart of this distinctive house style. Its wines always form the base for the Croft Vintage Port blend and, in the case of the 2016, all the components of the blend in fact come from the property, including wines from the estate’s extensive terraces of old vines. Before dams tamed the Douro in the last decades of the 20th century, it flowed over a series of treacherous, fast running rapids. One of these was located on the curve of the river in front of Quinta da Roêda and the sound of the water rushing over the boulder-strewn riverbed could be heard throughout the vineyard. The name Roêda is said to be derived from the word that described that sound, ‘arrueda’.

Expected in July 2026