Taylors 2003 Vintage Port

Taylor's 2003 Vintage Port.

Inky purple black with narrow magenta rim. Classic Taylor nose, with exotic scents of violet and gumcistus et 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 vintage this wine is an archetype of restrained power, its elegance and breeding concealing massive inner strength and stamina.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"A lovely ashy note to this, dry with a lifted floral character and that lovely hint of volatility that sits so well. Sweet and so juicy on the palate, the rush of sweet cherry fruit and acidity, backed up by the more chocolate and earthy notes, long and spicy tobacco-like, the fruity extract persisting."

95/100 points, Tom Cannavan, January 2020

"The 2003 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for approximately 21 months in oak vats. It comes in with 93 grams of residual sugar. This oldie will be rereleased soon. As much as the Fladgate Group's 2003 oldies in this report all have bragging points, this is Taylor's, and the structure takes the lead for all of them. Still a wee bit tight, this is far younger than the Croft, not fully mature or at peak and classic Taylor's. The remaining tannins support the fruit perfectly, but nothing to me is better here than the flavor profile. This is a fine Taylor's, still with plenty of room to evolve and improve. It could actually use a few more years, not to tame the tannins, but to acquire more maturity. Of the three (including Croft and Fonseca), this is the winner, but the Fonseca shows better today and the Croft seems to be at peak. So, cellar this a bit more and drink the others now." Drink 2022-2065

96/100 points, Mark Squires, WINE ADVOCATE, August 2022