Dow's 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 Dows 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, Dows 2003 has the
thoroughbred drier style that will give
excellent ageing potential.

Region Description

Vintage Port, a fortified Portuguese wine, is the best known and most sought after type of port. Made from a mixture of red grapes, it is produced only in good years when conditions are favorable for the production of a fine wine. The decision to declare a vintage is made by each individual port house and all the grapes included come from top vineyards in that vintage. Vintage ports are aged in barrels for a maximum of two and half years and then require another 10 to 30 years in the bottle before they are ready. Since they are aged in barrels for only a short time, they retain their dark red color and full-bodied strong fruit flavor. Younger vintage ports remain exuberant and powerful, while the older varieties have more finesse and integration, a result of the slow maturation process. To maintain its intensity, Vintage Port is neither fined nor filtered and throws a great deal of sediment as it matures and must be decanted. The flagship style of port, Vintage Port represents only 2-3 % of the total Port production. (See PORT for more information on the region and fortification process.)