212 Port anD the Douro
attractive firm, middle-weight Ports, entirely foot trodden in lagares in the traditional
manner. Crasto’s vintage Ports are gaining in stature and compare favourably with many
shippers’ wines but are still some way from matching the truly exceptional Quinta do
Crasto 1950, of which painfully few bottles now remain.
croft*
Croft & Ca. Lda
c/o Fladgate Partnership, Po Box 1311, ec santa Marinha 4401–501 Vila nova de Gaia, Portugal
tel: (351) 223 742 800
http://www.croftport.com
Croft is one of the oldest and most distinguished names in the Port trade, having been
founded as far back as 1678. It began as a partnership called Phayre & Bradley, the trading
name changing frequently as partners joined, retired or died. The Crofts became involved
through the Thompsons, a family of merchants from York who began trading with Portugal
in around 1660. Thomas Croft married Frances Thompson and it was their grandson, John
Croft, who joined the firm in 1736 taking the name to Tilden, Thompson & Croft. The
most famous member of the Croft family was another John (born in 1732), who commuted
between York, where he was Sheriff, and Oporto where he was a member of the British
Factors. John Croft wrote A Treatise on the Wines of Portugal (published in 1788), which
provides a valuable insight into the evolution of the Port trade.
By 1827, Croft & Co. was the fourth largest Port shipper. The firm continued to grow
steadily during the nineteenth century and in 1875 it acquired Quinta da Roêda near
Pinhão, which has been retained as Croft’s flagship property. In 1911, Croft became part
of Gilbey Vintners, who were subsequently taken over by International Distillers and
Vintners (IDV). In the corporate merry-go-round, Croft became part of UDV (United
Distillers and Vintners), a subdivision of drinks and fast-food multinational, Diageo.
Despite being a significant player in the Port and Sherry business, Croft (and its sibling
Delaforce, then known jointly as CD Vintners) became lost within Diageo. In 2001 CD
Vintners was acquired by Taylor-Fonseca and now forms part of the Fladgate Partnership.
Interestingly, this restored the historical link between Taylor and Quinta da Roêda which
was owned in the nineteenth century by John Fladgate, Baron of Roêda, who was a
partner in Taylors. Croft’s interests in Jerez were acquired by Gonzalez Byass.
The company’s reputation for fine vintage Port, built on the back of two outstanding
wines in 1955 and 1963, was largely squandered with the 1980s with wines that were
simply not worthy of the name. Under the direction of Nick Delaforce, vintages in the
early 1990s improved markedly, reflecting the strong, muscular character of the Ports
from Quinta da Roêda balanced by wines from Vale de Mendiz and the Ribalonga Valley.
The wine making at Croft is now overseen by David Guimaraens who has completely
revamped the winery at Roêda, restoring the lagares and installing piston plungers in
place of the old remontadores (see page 130). However, the ugly 1970s winery which
was built (for reasons best known to the management of Croft at the time) to withstand
earthquakes, is virtually indestructible and is still rather a blot on the landscape.