Red port blend
75cl * 20% ABV * Douro Valley, Portugal
Producer's notes
The 2003 wines have great 'traditional' tannic structure with attractive ripe fruit flavours - classic vintage port. A general declaration.
'It was deeply satisfying to have harvested such an excellent vintage before the rains came. It was also particularly pleasing to have had conditions that allowed for ripening so perfectly a vintage' Charles Symington, 2003
Dark and intensely purple right up to the rim. On the nose, a restrained and subtle aroma of rockrose and gum-cistus. On the mouth the Dow’s 2003 has powerful and rich tannins with immense ripe fruit flavours. There are layers of bitter chocolate flavours with the characteristic freshly-ground black pepper finish. Less intensely sweet than all other leading Vintage Ports, Dow’s 2003 has the thoroughbred drier style that will give excellent ageing potential.
Critic Reviews
"Aromas of blackberry and licorice follow through to a full-bodied palate, with lots of sweetness, fine tannins and a caressing, textured finish. Refined.” James Suckling, 93pts
The complex aromatics of the opaque, black-colored 2003 Dow Vintage Port display chocolate, dried oak, black cherries, blackberries, copious spices, and
a myriad flowers. This fresh, backward wine offers a medium to full-bodied, deeply concentrated core of spice-laced dark fruits. Softly-textured and seductive in the mid-palate, it boasts abundant layers of candied Damson plums, blueberries, black cherries, molasses, and hints of chocolate before revealing its firm structure...” Wine Advocate, 94pts