Tasting notes:
Inky purple black with narrow magenta rim. Classic Taylor nose, with exotic scents of violet and gumcitus set against an impenetrable background of intense dark berry fruit.
Stylish and racy palate, displaying a tight fabric of sinewy tannins and packed with concentrated grapey flavours which intensify through the seemingly endless finish.
Like many other great Taylor vintages this wine is an archetype of restrained power, its elegance and breeding concealed massive inner strength and stamina.
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2003 VINTAGE DECLARED BY TAYLOR'S
Taylor's has announced its decision to declare the 2003 vintage.
The 2003 vintage followed an outstanding viticultural year in the Douro Valley, with excellent ripening and harvesting seasons. For Taylor's Chairman Alistair Robertson, the 2003 harvest was his 36th spent at Quinta de Vargellas, the company's most famous property. “2003 was a perfect year in the vineyard”, he commented. “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.”
Wine maker David Guimaraens agrees: “We had 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'.
The 2003 wines have shown promise from an early stage. However Taylor Fladgate has maintained its house tradition of announcing on 23rd April, St George's Day. Adrian Bridge, Taylor's Managing Director, commented: “A declaration decision is something you do not rush, even when the wines are as clearly magnificent as the 2003's”.
As is to be expected from a warm dry year, the 2003 vintages ports are wines of massive scale. Adrian Bridge commented: “The hot Summer gave us concentration and power but the wines also have excellent structure and great finesse. The Taylor Fladgate 2003 is very much in style, with a wonderful complex nose and great depth and stamina evident on the palate.”
As usual the vintage blend is based on the wines of the company's two oldest properties. Quinta de Vargellas provides the backbone for the blend and gives it complexity and elegance. Quinta de Terra Feita, one the Douro's oldest vineyards, is the source of its depth, intensity and focused fruit. This year Taylor's second Pinhão Valley property, Quinta do Junco, also contributed to the blend.
Offers and allocations of Taylor's 2003 vintage ports will be made in the coming days through the company's distributors throughout the world. Adrian Bridge notes: “A new vintage port declaration is one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the wine calendar, especially since it does not happen every year”. He added: “A declaration allows consumers and collectors to acquire one of the world's great iconic wines for prices which remain very reasonable compared to those of other classic appellations.”
As usual, the Taylor's declaration offer is expected to be over-subscribed and early reservations are recommended.
2003 Harvest Report
The Winter preceding the 2003 harvest was very wet with 1,000mm of rain falling in the Pinhão Valley between November and March. This helped to restore reserves of water in the soil following dry conditions the previous year.
Flowering took place in bright warm weather at the end of May in some of the best conditions seen for several years. The weather remained fine after flowering, providing an excellent environment for development of the berries. Véraison (colouring of the berries) started relatively early on 1st July but was very slow, taking about three weeks to complete.
The first two weeks of August provided the intense Summer heat which often precedes a great port vintage. Temperatures at Quinta de Vargellas varied beween 33º and 43ºC and relative humidity below 10%. The second half of August was cooler and two days of light rain occurred with perfect timing at the end of the month to round off the ripening of the grapes.
The picking season in September was warm and dry, a critical factor for wine quality. The vintage started at Quinta de Vargellas on 12th September. Picking started later in the Pinhão Valley, on 18th September at Quinta do Junco and on 22nd at Quinta de Terra Feita. Yields were very even across all grape varieties, another critical factor, ensuring balance and complexity in the wines.
As a result, excellent wines were made throughout the Douro Valley, from the Baixo Corgo in the west to the eastern reaches of the Douro Superior.
Winemakers' notes highlight the very intense colour and large amount of tannin released by the skins during fermentation, as well as the powerful fruitiness of the young wines.
Bron: Officiële Taylor's website: http://www.taylor.pt/