There are two sherries that are staples in any Granny's drinks cabinet over the Christmas period. Inevitably, they have been there, opened, since last Christmas, but without fail, just before 3pm on December 25th, a wee glass will be poured of either Harvey's Bristol Cream or Croft Original to toast Her Majesty. And then the bottle shall go back into the drinks cupboard for another year, to continue its path to being oxidised to hell!
But when did any of you winey folk actually try Bristol Cream or Croft? I can't ever recall trying them, so today I opened one of each and gave them a shot.
Harvey's Bristol Cream
A light, slightly caramel and raisin aroma, very simple, but not at all bad. The palate is simple, a bit of a nutty, burnt sugar flavour. There isn't much acid to clear up your palate, but the finish isn't bad at all, with dried fruit, dried peel and nuts galore with just a touch of alcohol heat. To be honest, it is a decent enough sherry for a tenner. 6/10
Croft Original
This is crude. It has a dry sherry aroma, a minerally, salty element, but with a big dose of wet labrador on it too. The palate starts off being salty and minerally, but a horrible sweetness comes in, as if someone had dumped a bundle of Tate & Lyle into a bottle of Tio Pepe. The finish kicks off salty, but then has a cloy, sweet element that reminds me of when you suck an artificial sweetener. It is a real mess of a wine. 3.5/10
The unfortunate thing is that if you try Harvey's Bristol Cream from a bar or your granny's cupboard, the chances are it is going to have been open for weeks (if not years) so you won't get it at its best. I dread to think what the Croft will be like....
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