2003 Vintage Ports

The growing season of 2003 was highly favorable for producing outstanding vintage wines. A very wet autumn and early winter allowed the vineyards to begin with good reserves of water. The flowering took place under excellent conditions during the second half of May. The summer of 2003 in the Douro Valley, as elsewhere in Europe, was unseasonably hot, but less extreme in the context of this normally hot section of inland northern Portugal than it was across much of France. Still, until early August, the vines did not suffer any undue stress, owing to some well-timed rains in April, June and July. The worst of the heat occurred during the first half of August, and in many areas the vines shut down as afternoon temperatures were between 105o and 110o through much of this period, with nighttime readings barely descending to 85o.

Moderating temperatures toward the end of the month and some refreshing rainfall on August 27 and 28 resuscitated the vines, and grape sugars began to climb again. The harvest began in early September, but most of the top properties started picking on about September 15—still very early by traditional standards. There was no rain during the harvest, which finished in early October. Lower-than-average yields, high skin-to-juice ratios and strict selection ultimately resulted in production down as much as 30% from the level of 2000.