Croft Quinta Da Roeda 2012

Elegant and well balanced, with red berry, dark cherry, plum and spice aromas and flavors. This wine will develop in the bottle for 10 to 15 years and should be decanted due to sediment in the bottle. David Guimaraens and Antonio Magalhães have been renovating the vineyards at Roeda since 2001, when it became part of what is now the Fladgate Partnership (owners of Taylor Fladgate and Fonseca). Much of their work has focused on recreating the mixed varietal plantings of classic Douro vineyards, with a modern and pragmatic take: Rather than mix vines randomly, they have planted small blocks so individual varieties can get the attention they need, while building on the complexity of expression from the soils and the site. That work shows in the tight weave of this 2012, a lithe and muscular Port with equal power in its structure, its alcohol and its purple fruit. That fruit keeps juicing up around the spicy, herbal intensity of the tannins, which carry the kind of mineral compression that suggests a long life ahead. This may not live as long as the 2011, but it’s a terrific wine in its own right.