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2003 Vintage Port >>
Updated 10/27/05
2003
Port - Declared Vintage
More than any other European country, Portugal has remained steeped in tradition even as it is modernized. The persistence of tradition is due in large part to the importance of Port, Portugal’s most famous wine. All of the top Port houses are declaring 2003 a vintage port year. This is the first declared
 vintage since the 2000 vintage.
A few months back I was delivering some wine to one of our customers. After inventorying the wine, he offered that we enjoy a bottle of 1970 Dow Vintage Port along with a Montecristo #2. Not being one who turns down the generosity of others, I accepted the invitation.
We savored that bottle of wine and the cigar as we enjoyed a cool spring evening. After a couple of glasses we both concluded that that bottle of wine was near perfect. It did not need to taste any better. We shared some stories about our lives and families and that night, each of us made a new friend.
A few weeks later, another customer invited me over his house for cigars and port. This time around, we had a bottle of the Grahams Six Grapes. While this wine may have lacked the pedigree of the '70 Dow, it did not lack being perfect for the occasion. When someone invites you into their home and shares their wine you, special bonds are formed. And Port, like no other wine, forces you to sit down and contemplate the moment.
Since it's evolution from the 1700s onward, it has been considered one of the most remarkable wines in the world. No Port is more sought after than Vintage Port. Vintage Port represents only 2 to 3 percent of the total production of Port.
Vintage Ports are first aged two years in barrel, to round off their powerful edges, and then can age a long time in bottle. During bottle aging the Port matures slowly, becoming progressively more refined and integrated. A decades worth of aging is standard, and several decades used to be fairly common. But this is changing. Thanks to improved viticultural and winemaking practices in the Douro, even very bold, young vintage Ports can be lip smacking delicious.
I am lucky to be in a position where I meet so many different people who share a common love for wine, and usually food, and sometimes a cigar. To sit in the backyard in the evening, sharing a bottle of port with a friend, forces you to slow down and savor the moment.
Vintage
Report
The 2003 vintage followed an outstanding viticultural year in the Douro Valley, with excellent ripening and harvesting conditions. The overall impression is that 2003 is clearly an outstanding year. The top wines show excellent concentration of ripe fruit and chewy tannins.
2003 was a perfect year in the vineyard; a wet winter to build up water reserves, excellent flowering conditions, and plenty of heat and sunshine in the summer. All the ingredients for a great vintage port were there.
Textbook ripening conditions, with a dry and bright summer rounded off by some light rain at the end of August. The weather for picking was excellent, with clear, sunny weather prevailing throughout the harvest. Most of the houses reported a smaller than normal harvest in 2003; therefore their production of Vintage Port is down by 20 to 30 percent.
As a result, the 2003 vintage ports are wines of massive scale. The hot summer gave incredible concentration and power, but the wines also have excellent structure and great finesse. The 2003 vintage port are anticipated to arrive in September 2005.
 Dow $74.81
(92-94 Points)"Thick and velvety, with loads of fruit and a chocolaty, berry and raspberry character. Big velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Dow's vintage ports have always been described as slightly drier than many others. They have a racier, firmer tannic backbone when young"
 Quinta do Vesuvio $70.05
I had a chance to taste this one already and it is spectacular! A recognized crown jewel of the Douro.
(95-100 Points) "Big and burly. Masses of fruit and tannin. Full blackstrap Port here. Full-bodied, with mouthpuckering tannins, yet they are sweet and round. Medium sweet. Long finish. One of the best of the vintage. This single-vineyard Port is always superb."
 Smith Woodhouse
$53.64
A boutique artisan producer. Madalen, its small 25-acre vineyard, lies in an area known for having the highest concentration of top quality vineyards in the Douro. Smith Woodhouse Ports have outstanding length and structure, are drier than most, and age with an unmatched elegance.
(90-94 Points) "This smells like crushed grapes with hints of leaves and earth. Full-bodied and very chewy, medium-sweet, with a mouthpuckering finish. This Port house always overachieves it reputation. Almost 95-100."
Quinta de Roriz $52.09
One of the oldest estates in the Douro and was the first house to export Single Quinta Vintage Port.
(95-100 Points) "Big and concentrated, with a massive tannin structure and loads of very sweet fruit. It goes on and on on the palate. Very impressive and muscular. This single quinta really excelled in 2003. Great pedigree, too."
 Fonseca $87.78
The blend for the 2003 Fonseca is composed of wines from the firm's own estates of Quinta do Cruzeiro and Quinta do Panascal. According to winemaker David Guimaraens, "2003 has produced an archetypal Fonseca vintage, combining full-bodied robustness with the wonderful, rich, complex fruitiness characteristic of the house style."
(95-100 Points) "Wild aromas, with flowers, blackberries and passion fruit. Full-bodied, massive on the palate. Medium-sweet. The finish goes on for minutes. A mega young Port. Fonseca, what do you expect?"
 Croft
$67.83
Under new ownership, the '03 vintage represents the first release following intense investments to upgrade the vineyards and winemaking. Managing Director Adrian Bridge claimed, "it is our aim to restore Croft to its rightful place in the first rank of vintage port houses, and with the 2003 vintage I believe we've accomplished that goal".
(95-100 Points) "This is incredible on the nose and palate. It shows masses of wild black fruits with an almost exotic undertone. Full-bodied, medium-sweet and super velvety. It goes on and on. No doubt one of the best of the vintage. Great Croft here; its single quinta, Roeda, must have delivered in 2003. This could be the best Port from here since 1945."
Taylor Fladgate $87.78
The blend for Taylor Fladgate's vintage port is based on the company's two oldest estates, Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. Vargellas provides the backbone for the blend and gives it complexity and elegance; while Terra Feita, one of the Douro's oldest vineyards, is the source of it's depth, intensity and focused fruit.
(92-94 Points) "This is solid and powerful, with a dense mouthfeel that suggests a big and rich young Port. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long finish. Very tight and muscular. It could turn out to be even better after bottling."
Tasting notes are from the 2003 Vintage Port Barrel Tasting performed by the Wine Spectator’s James Suckling. But more important than any point range is understanding which house style is most suited to your taste. We’re here to help guide you.
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