2003 Port & Douro Vintage

The Douro Valley is not averse to a blast of heat, and in 2003 this was balanced by plenty of rain which fell at just the right time. The previous winter had been abnormally wet, with 1,000mm of rain falling at Pinhao between November 2002 and March 2003, more than double the ten-year average. The exceptionally wet winter replenished the water-table, and most vineyards did not suffer visibly from heat stress. Spring was mild and budburst was early, but more rain fell in April and caused some difficulties. Flowering took place in late May amid perfect conditions. Mid-June was hot, with a burst of extreme heat when the thermometer briefly hit 50 degrees C in the Douro Superior, but heavy rain fell at the end of June and again in mid-July, which Mayson called enormously beneficial. The notorious 2003 heatwave arrived in the first two weeks of August. The Douro is used to daytime temperatures above 40 C, but night-time temperatures staying above 30 C are more unusual. During the hot weather maturation came to a complete standstill, and sugar readings were still surprisingly low at the start of September. Rain fell again at the end of August, which was crucial to the quality of the fruit harvested a few days later. In the Douro Superior the harvest began as early as 1 September, and some growers undoubtedly picked before the grapes were physiologically ripe; younger vineyards suffered the most. With temperatures back in the 20s, sugar levels then rose rapidly in the first half of September. Taylor's began picking at Sao Xisto in the Douro Superior on 8 September, with Cima Corgo growers following a week or so later; in the Cima Corgo picking began around 15 September and was underway throughout the region by the 26th. Fine, abnormally warm weather lasted until 29 September, when the first autumn depression swept in from the Atlantic, by which time all the best wines had been made, and the grapes remained generally disease free. Yields were up between 20 and 30 percent on 2002, but the beneficio, the amount of must that may be fortified into Port, was cut by 21 percent because of unsold Port from the previous year.

• Winter: 1,000mm of rain at Pinhao from November 2002 to March 2003, more than double the ten-year average
• Mid-June heat spike to 50 degrees C in the Douro Superior; heavy rain at the end of June and in mid-July
• Heatwave in the first two weeks of August, then rain at the end of August before picking
• Harvest from as early as 1 September in the Douro Superior; Taylor's at Sao Xisto on 8 September; Cima Corgo from around 15 September

Churchill became the first Port house to declare 2003 a vintage year, and Dow, Fonseca, Graham, Quinta do Noval, Taylor Fladgate and Warre were expected to follow suit. "It is a small vintage in terms of quantity, but, in my humble opinion, the quality is really outstanding," said Johnny Graham, the founder of the small Port house. 2003 has been declared a vintage by all the major Port houses. Few shippers divulge the size of their declaration, but in general the 2003 vintage amounts to about 30 percent less than 2000.

• Churchill: the first house to declare 2003
• Dow, Fonseca, Graham, Quinta do Noval, Taylor Fladgate and Warre were expected to follow
• Declared volume in general about 30 percent less than 2000

High temperatures during vintage gave problems for those without sufficient temperature control, while carefully controlled fermentations yielded wines with deep colour, plenty of ripe fruit and high levels of tannin. Richard Mayson called tannin the hallmark of the vintage, with one or two wines showing the heat and the best having plenty of ripe fruit and flesh. On early tasting, Mayson's favourite wines fell into two camps: Dow, Fonseca, Quinta do Noval and Noval Nacional, massively powerful and impenetrable and certain to develop well over the very long term, and Croft, Graham, Taylor and Warre, more open, beautifully fragrant and floral, with fine tannins and great purity of fruit. Decanter's vintage guide describes a long, hot summer that produced ripe, opulent wines.

• Tannin the hallmark of the vintage
• Powerful camp: Dow, Fonseca, Quinta do Noval, Noval Nacional
• Fragrant camp: Croft, Graham, Taylor, Warre