A wine with a deep, midnight color edged by a narrow purple rim. The nose roars to life with opulent red fruit and woodland berries, layered with balsamic, mint and eucalyptus—enough swagger to wake a one-line report.
On the palate the texture is round and velvety, yet acidity stays bright and precise. Tannins are well integrated, giving structure that carries through to a long, focused finish.
This vintage feels ripe and seductive yet remains elegant and restrained, a single-quinta expression that honors the year and its oldest vineyard plots.
Aroma: Red fruit and woodland berry aromas, with hints of balsamic, mint and eucalyptus.
Taste: Velvety and round on the palate, with bright acidity and well-integrated tannins; persistent red berry flavors.
Finish: Powerful and very long, finishing with crisp red berry notes.
94 Wine Enthusiast Croft's showpiece estate at Pinhão always forms the base of the producer's Vintage Ports. Here it shines on its own in a wonderful perfumed, richly textured wine. In a dry style, the wine goes for richness and nutty, dried raisin flavors. With its structure, it will certainly age. Drink from 2028.
94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate The 2018 Vintage Port Quinta da Roeda is a field blend aged for approximately 18 months in very large used wooden vats. It comes in with 104 grams of residual sugar. Ripe and expressive, this delicious single-quinta Porto also has fine concentration and some pop on the finish. Indeed, as this sits and airs out, it proves it has a real backbone. Two days later, it was pretty tight. This is more about fruit than structure, though, and this sexy, nuanced and succulent Port is going to be hard to resist as it ages. Likely to be accessible on the younger side, it should still hold very well. I need to see a bit more to be fully convinced, but right now this seems like the steal and sleeper of the Fladgate Partnership trio this issue (the Fonseca and Taylor's being the others). For the moment—and young Ports do change notably as they age—this would be my favorite of the trio.
93 Wine Spectator Sleek in feel, with a mix of raspberry and plum reduction, melted black licorice and fruitcake notes that stretch out over a graphite edge on the finish. Has good energy from start to finish. Best from 2030 through 2045.
93 Wine & Spirits Roeda is Croft’s historic quinta adjacent to the town of Pinhão. Farmed by António Magalhaes since the Fladgate Partnership purchased Croft in 2001, this site is coming back to match its legendary stature. In 2018, the wine has the fatness of a year with ample reserves in the soil, a coolness that feels tied to the river itself. The fruit is rosy and vibrant red, the tannins gentle and aristocratic. Rather than a long-term wine, this will likely be at its best ten to 20 years from the vintage, though it’s already packed with Douro deliciousness.
92 James Suckling Aromas of chocolate, cherries, cassis, smoky herbs, rubber and moist earth. Full and sweet with polished, chalky tannins and a crunchy, berry-soaked palate with a chocolaty finish.
