Dow's Vintage Porto 2003 / 750 ml.

Item#: 21271

RP9494 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 31st Oct 2005
The complex aromatics of the opaque, black-colored 2003 Dow Vintage Port display chocolate, dried oak, black cherries, blackberries, copious spices, and a myriad of flowers. A fresh, backward wine, it 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. Extremely youthful and primary, this exceptional effort demands patience. Projected maturity: 2025–2045+.
SP9393 pts. - Wine Spectator - Apr 30, 2006
Aromas of blackberry and licorice follow through to a full-bodied palate, with lots of sweetness, fine tannins and a caressing, textured finish. Refined. Best after 2012.
SP92+92–94 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jul 31, 2005
Thick and velvety, with loads of fruit and a chocolaty, berry and raspberry character. Big, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Medium-sweet. Wonderful. Dow shows class here.
WS9292 pts. - Wine & Spirits - December 1, 2005
The black kernel of flavor that often forms the core of a Dow vintage is there in this wine, surrounded in ’03 by juicy sweetness. Firm, bitter chocolate tannins are present behind the lush, honeyed fruit; savory herbs parallel the sweeter, floral tones. Rounder and more approachable than most young Dow vintages, this wine’s structure is masked, and it’s not clear whether it’s a 20 year vintage or longer. Drink 2020 through 2030.

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Dow’s

Critical Acclaim

RP94 94 pts. / Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate (31st Oct 2005)

The complex aromatics of the opaque, black-colored 2003 Dow Vintage Port display chocolate, dried oak, black cherries, blackberries, copious spices, and a myriad of flowers. A fresh, backward wine, it 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. Extremely youthful and primary, this exceptional effort demands patience. Projected maturity: 2025–2045+.

SP93 93 pts. / Wine Spectator (Apr 30, 2006)

Aromas of blackberry and licorice follow through to a full-bodied palate, with lots of sweetness, fine tannins and a caressing, textured finish. Refined. Best after 2012.

SP92+ 92–94 pts. / Wine Spectator (Jul 31, 2005)

Thick and velvety, with loads of fruit and a chocolaty, berry and raspberry character. Big, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Medium-sweet. Wonderful. Dow shows class here.

WS92 92 pts. / Wine & Spirits (December 1, 2005)

The black kernel of flavor that often forms the core of a Dow vintage is there in this wine, surrounded in ’03 by juicy sweetness. Firm, bitter chocolate tannins are present behind the lush, honeyed fruit; savory herbs parallel the sweeter, floral tones. Rounder and more approachable than most young Dow vintages, this wine’s structure is masked, and it’s not clear whether it’s a 20 year vintage or longer. Drink 2020 through 2030.

Where It's From

Country / Portugal

View more wines from Portugal

Portugal is most famous (and justifiably so) for its Port wines, fortified wines that are typically sweet and often served with dessert. Port wines come in many styles such as Tawny, Late Bottled Vintage, etc, and are classified by how they were produced.

Besides Port, however, Portugal is also one of the fastest-rising wine countries in the world (as far as quality and production) when it comes to table wines. You'll find some unbelievable values in Portuguese table wines, with grapes like Touriga Nacional at the forefront.

More Information

SKU 21271
Product Type Wine
Alternate Name Dow’s Vintage Porto
Country Portugal
Product Location - Location-Appellation Douro
Package Size 750 ml.
Brand Dow’s
Bottles per Case 12
Spirit/Port Style Vintage Port
Vintage 2003
Can it be Shipped Yes
Premier Pick No
Wine Spectator Top 100 Year 6
Wine Type none
Dollar Sale (Y/N) No

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This is gorgeously vibrant and grapey, with good cut to the luscious dark fruit and cedar flavors that are flanked by zesty acidity and tannins. A touch brooding midpalate, with a minerally rush and a finish of slate and iron. Best from 2016 through 2036.
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A classic Fonseca, rich and powerful, with just an extra edge of weight from the vintage. It has a dry character, a tannic edge that gives great promise, but the open-hearted fruit is all there. A wonderfully intense wine for aging.
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The voluptuous 2009 vintage seems to play right into Fonseca’s house style, creating a cool, concentrated wine. There’s a schisty grip of tannins and a fine cut of acidity to balance chewy blueberry jam flavors. Darker notes of roasted black cherries and brighter strawberry layer detail into the finish. A delicious young Porto, this will probably be at its peak 20 years from the vintage.
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Croft Vintage Port

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SP9797 pts. - Wine Spectator - Dec 31, 2018
Very expressive, this unfurls with mouthwatering licorice snap, fruitcake, apple wood and violet notes, which are quickly followed by a wave of mouthfilling plum, blackberry and fig paste flavors. This is packed but well-defined, and the energy allows the fruit to ripple through the long finish. Built for the long haul, with distinctly dry cut at the end. Best from 2035 through 2055. 3,000 cases made.
JS9797 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Extremely perfumed with dark-berry and currant aromas. Hints of earth and spices. Full-bodied, round and medium sweet. Hints of resin. Opulent yet restrained. Shows ripe and beautiful fruit with clarity. Try in 2025.
WE9595 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 12/1/2018
Juicy, luscious and with excellent ripe fruit, this is a balanced wine with a fine future. Its tannins are almost sweet to match the sweetness of the berry fruits. As it ages, this will be a lovely wine. Drink from 2027.
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The 2016 Croft Vintage Port has a taut bouquet at first that demands a good 20 or 30 minutes to get into its stride. It eventually reveals scents of blackberry, bilberry, chimney soot, clove, and just a hint of scorched earth in the background. The palate is spicy and vivacious on the entry: black fruit, clove, white pepper and curry powder (almost like a Balti!) I love the personality imbued into this Croft, a Vintage Port that seems to be wearing its heart on its sleeve. Excellent. Production is 3,050 cases.
RP92+92–94 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 19th Jul 2018
The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend that was set to be bottled about a week after this tasting. It was the final blend, aged for 20 months in wood. It comes in with 104 grams of residual sugar. Tight, powerful and very intense, this is a big boy with the firmness you expect from fine Vintage Port, although the Fonseca is even more powerful. Showing good concentration and a fresh, lifted finish too, this is impressive at the outset. Initially, I was wowed by this. A few more tastes with more air made me think I’d like to see it prove some things in the cellar. It’s not hot, but it seems a bit more alcoholic than its Fonseca and Taylor siblings. Still, there’s a long way to go before making a final call. As noted, this is very tight, not nearly as approachable as many 2016s are in this relatively restrained year. It won’t sear your mouth with tannins — they are not TOO hard — but you are going to have to cellar it a while to allow it to acquire more complexity and more harmony. I’m not quite convinced this will ever become as attractive as Taylor and Fonseca in this vintage, though.
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Portugal | Douro | Porto

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Primary Grape: Touriga Nacional

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Dow's Vintage Porto 2017 / 750 ml.

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WE9696 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 12/31/2019
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SP9696 pts. - Wine Spectator - Dec 31, 2019
A dense, thickly textured version, dripping with warm salted licorice, tar and açaí paste notes, while plum and blueberry pâte de fruit, chai spice and chocolate elements fill in behind. Lots of brambly grip flows underneath. Shows a very sappy feel on the finish. Best from 2035 through 2055. 5,250 cases made, 1,092 cases imported.
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WS9393 pts. - Wine & Spirits - 10/21
Finely integrated and luscious, this is the kind of baby Vintage Port an LBV should aspire to be: Dark-fruited, the wine’s juicy wild-blueberry flavors have energy and supple grace. It could find a home with braised game, like boar, and after, with a cheese course.
SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Apr 30, 2022
Solid, with a polished set of violet, plum cake, blackberry reduction and ganache flavors cruising through and an echo of Black Forest cake lingering on the finish. This would do nicely in a decanter over a weekend. Drink now through 2027. 15,000 cases made, 4,500 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
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Dow's Fine Tawny Port NV / 750 ml.

NV / 750 ml.

Item #: 64063

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WE8686 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 10/1/2016
This is a ripe, sweet wine, full of toffee and smooth vanilla. There is just enough tangy bitter orange to give it a tawny character. The aftertaste, though, is soft and rounded.
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SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Web only – 2018
Solid, with hazelnut, fig, plum cake and dried cherry notes in lockstep from start to finish. A streak of hazelnut husk tilts to the drier side of the tawny spectrum, resulting in mouthwatering cut on the finish. Drink now. 12,000 cases made.
WS8888 pts. - Wine & Spirits - October 1, 2004
The light ruby cast to the color indicates the fruit that’s still apparent in this wine. Sweet and silky, its date flavors integrate well with the alcohol. This is a quiet, shimmering ten-year-old for flan.
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WE9393 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 5/1/2019
This is a wonderful wood-aged, mature Port full of the classic old gold flavors and intense acidity over a dry texture that is a signature of this producer. The wine is impressive, balanced and ready to drink.
SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Apr 30, 2019
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