2003
Vintage Ports: a review
Vintage
report
2003 started out unusually wet in the Douro, with abundant winter
rain. Budburst was in March, followed by an unusually damp April,
which caused some problems. flowering was at the end of May and
weather remained fine during this period. Veraison spread over July
and early August. Then came the famous European 2003 August heatwave,
although th Symingtons emphasize that it usually gets pretty hot in
the Douro during summer. Maximum temperatures in the early 40s
centigrade which were experienced aren’t an awful lot higher than
normal; such high temperatures result in the vines shutting down
photosynthesis: thus, paradoxically, very high temperatures can
actually retard development. The last two weeks of August were a bit
cooler and there was a little (much needed) rain towards the end of
the month. Harvesting started in mid-September and continued through
October. Conditions at this critical time were warm and dry, with a
bit of rain early in October. So the big question: did the protracted
warm-to-hot conditions result in an excellent Port vintage, or was it
an atypically hot vintage, with the resulting wines out of the
‘normal’ range for vintage Port? Did the hot 2003 conditions
result in wines that will have upfront appeal but a reduced lifespan?
The Fladgate Partnership
Interesting to note the family resemblence
between these Ports, although the first three are made in a more
immediate, fruit-dominated style than the big guns Fonseca and Taylor.
Delaforce 2003
Very sweet blackberry and raspberry fruit nose. Vivid, intense and
very pure: it’s almost all fruit. The palate shows more of this
pure, clear, luscious ripe fruit. Sweet and open with a spicy finish.
Very good/excellent 92/100
Croft 2003
Very sweet, intense blackcurranty fruit with a liqueur-like
character. Pure and beguiling. The palate is smooth and sweet; very
luscious and enticing. Very good/excellent 93/100
Skeffington 2003
Slight savoury spicy edge to the sweet red and black fruits. Pure
and intense. Smooth, supple sweet fruit on the palate: accessible and
open. Very good/excellent 91/100
Fonseca 2003
Savoury, spicy structure underneath the fruit on the nose. Quite
concentrated on the palate. Nice balance between the smooth sweet
fruit, the fine-grained tannins and the spiciness on the finish. There
are some subtle ‘old wood’ notes, too. A tasty wine. Very
good/excellent 93/100
Taylor’s 2003
Lovely purity of fruit on the nose, which displays smooth, sweet
red berry and blackcurrant characters. There’s some spicy
savouriness, and a bit of old wood character. The palate is structured
and spicy, but still dominated by the sweet pure fruit. Very
good/excellent 93/100
Symingtons
The Symingtons are like the Corleones of the
Port world (this isn’t meant to have any sinister implications, by
the way!)—it’s as if they own almost everything (well, at least
many of the well known English Port houses). 17 Quintas and 1216
hectares of vineyards – theirs, all theirs.
‘These are as good as any wines we’ve made in the last
20 years’, says Paul Symington. He thinks they’ll drink well
earlier, something he’s keen on encouraging. ‘We’ve got to get
people drinking Vintage Port earlier’, he told me, expressing a fear
that unless the perception of Port changes it will go the same way as
Sherry. But the way to change the perception of the product isn’t by
tampering with its intrinsic nature, for example deliberately altering
the style to make it more forward and immediately accessible. ‘We
aren’t making wines for earlier drinking, though’, he emphasized.
Symington expressed a frustration that Vintage Ports
aren’t given the same sort of respect as the very top red wines,
such as the Burgundies of Domaine de la Romanée Conti. ‘I’d like
to get people to taste these wines young, assessing them against young
great red wines around the world’, he said, the unspoken assumption
being that they would compare favourably in terms of absolute quality.
Comparitively speaking, top Vintage Port is cheap. ‘We’re not
asking a lot of money for these wines.’
Johnny Symington describes the 2003s as ‘extremely
opulent, pungent, floral, fruity wines.’ He’s particularly
impressed by the aromatics. ‘They’ll last a long time, but
they’ll drink well when young: they are the new drinkers’ type of
wine’.
Graham’s 2003
Vivid sweet fruit on the nose – quite pretty with violetty, dark
fruits and some spicy structure, too. The palate is quite sweet and
dense with a nice concentration of dark fruits. Finishes very sweet.
Very good/excellent 93/100
Dow’s 2003
Smooth, sweet dark fruits nose. Ripe and sweet. The palate is
concentrated, smooth and sweet – quite lush and supple with some
spicy structure hiding deep beneath the sweet fruit. Very
good/excellent 92/100
Warre’s 2003
Sweet, dark intense nose with hints of chocolate and fine spicy
structure on the nose. The palate is sweet and supple with good
concentration of very ripe sweet fruit. There’s some nice structure,
but the overall impression is one of sweet fruit. Very good/excellent
94/100
Quinta do Vesuvio 2003
Lovely vivid, intense fruit on the nose with some nice spiciness,
too. Quite structured. The palate is supple and sweetly fruited with a
lovely intense raspberry and blackcurrant character. Good structure
and acidity make this a beautifully balanced wine. Very good/excellent
94/100
Quinta de Roriz 2003
Lovely rich vividly fruited spicy nose. Quite enticing. The palate
is concentrated, sweet and spicy: wonderful fruit quality and
structure here: I like this a lot. Very good/excellent 94/100
Smith Woodhouse 2003
Vivid, spicy and beautifully perfumed nose. The palate is
concentrated and spicy with good tannic structure. Bold and full, a
lovely wine. Impressive. Very good/excellent 93/100
Quarles Harris 2003
Beautifully coloured. Pretty, aromatic, perfumed nose with nice
sweet fruit – floral, even. The palate is sweet, lush and soft.
Drinking well already. Very good/excellent 91/100
Gould Campbell 2003
Perfumed, open nose dominated by red fruits. Supple, soft, sweet
palate with good fruit and a spicy finish. Tasty. Very good/excellent
90/100
Quinta do Noval
A superb performance here by Noval – all
three wines are fantastic. Tasted blind Silval would do very well
against many more illustrious Vintage Ports, I suspect.
Silval 2003
This wine is at the price equivalent of a single-quinta Port, but
is actually a triple quinta – it’s a label that is used to
maintain the quality of Noval. In 1994 the decision was taken to make
less Noval, but better. Consequently Silval’s production expanded.
In 2003 this is a very fine Port in its own right. Very ripe, forward
nose is bold with a lovely spiciness. Savoury and structured. The
palate si sweet, dense and rich with lovely spicy structure. Quite
sweet, with firm yet fine spicy tannins. Very good/excellent 93/100
Quinta do Noval 2003
Very exciting firm, structured nose with a savoury, spicy density
and bright, vivid fruit. The palate is super-concentrated with lovely
forward fruit coupled with tight tannic spicy structure. Quite sweet.
Bold and intense. Excellent 96/100
Quinta do Noval Nacional 2003
An unusually deep, concentrated colour. Another thrilling nose of
intense, sweet red berry fruit with lovely structure showing through.
Spicy and savoury at the same time. The palate is sweet and
super-concentrated with very sweet spicy fruit and lovely structure.
Already a exciting wine that lives up to the Nacional reputation.
Excellent 98/100
Niepoort
I’ve been fortunate enough to taste some
of the blending components of the 2003 Niepoort Ports on a couple of
occasions, and I was expecting the final wines to be very good. They
are, and it is interesting to note the distinct difference in style
between Secundum and the Niepoort Vintage. The latter has to be a
contender for wine of the vintage, in my book.
Niepoort Secundum 2003
Quite tarry, sweet and spicy on the nose. It’s almost showy. The
palate is very sweet and spicy with a tarry, spicy structure. Lots of
character here: this is already quite accessible and full of interest.
Very good/excellent 93/100
Niepoort Vintage 2003
Quite structured and dense. The spicy nose shows rich fruit. The
palate is dense and spicy with a wonderful tannic structure. A massive
wine: structured and dense with lovely purity of fruit. Very serious.
Excellent 97/100
Pintas
A
new name on the scene, this is the first Port from the already famous
Pintas (Jorge Borges and Sandra Tavares 'Wine & Soul' company).
It's one of the best wines of the vintage.
Pintas
Vintage 2003
Tight dark fruits on the nose with hints of spice and chocolate.
There's both sweetness and dusty, earthy tannic structure evident. The
palate is hugely structured with great concentration and tight, firm
spicy tannins. Although this is sweet, the tannins and acidity give
this quite a savoury, winey feel. The combination of huge structure
and immense concentration suggest that this could be one for the long
haul. Wonderful fruit quality is evident: sweet, lush intense
liqueur-like raspberry fruit, mainly. Very primary still but quite
superb. Excellent 97/100
Wines tasted May 2005
More
wines tasted September 2005:
Ferriera 2003
Soft, sweet, bold and open. Pure fruit. It’s not a big
structured Port, but it is nicely balanced. Very good/excellent 91/100
Sandeman 2003
Intense, bright sweet fruit. This is sweet and dense with a nice
gingery, spicy structure. Good weight to this tasty wine. Very
good/excellent 92/100
Quinta do Vale D. Maria 2003
Bright dark fruit on the full spicy nose. Concentrated, sweet and
intense on the palate. It’s supersweet, but with some spicy richness
and structure too. A fine effort in a forward style. Very
good/excellent 93/100
Quinta de la Rosa 2003
Ripe, smooth, sweet and concentrated. A little simple, but nicely
structured. Very good/excellent 91/100
Quinta do Crasto 2003
Intense, spicy, open herby nose leads to a complex, rich, herby
palate. The spicy/herby character of this wine is very appealing. Nice
and quite winey. Very good/excellent 93/100
Whytingham’s 2003 (Quinta do Vale Meão)
Vivid, intense, smooth rich nose showing some spiciness. The
palate displays a massive concentration of smooth, intense, sweet lush
fruit. It’s a big softie. Amazing concentration, but is the
structure there for the long haul? Very good/excellent 94/100
Ramos Pinto 2003
Fresh, open perfumed nose with a herby, spicy edge. Soft, sweet,
concentrated and intense on the palate. Big and rich, but not
massively structured. Very good/excellent 91/100
Churchill’s 2003
Fresh, vivid intense nose leads to a palate with lots of ripe
fruit. Not super-concentrated but quite elegant. A very appealing
Port. Very good/excellent 93/100
Churchill’s Quinta da Gricha 2003
Bold, structured and spicy with good concentration and nice purity
of fruit. A really appealing wine. Very good/excellent 93/100
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