vintage Port 171Douro Superior the thermometer rose to 48°C and some fledgling bunches of grapes began
to show queima (burn). There was a month or so of respite before a period of sustained
heat between the end of July and mid-August when temperatures rose above 40°C on a
daily basis throughout the region. Temperatures stayed abnormally high through the night,
with a minimum temperature of 33°C at Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas. Welcome rain at the
end of August did not reach the Douro Superior where, despite the heat, most vineyards
did not suffer visibly from stress due to the previous wet winter. But the hot weather
brought maturation to a standstill and at the beginning of September sugar readings were
still surprisingly low. As always, the younger vineyards suffered the most and when the
berries began to shrivel on the vine, some growers had to start picking before the grapes
were physiologically ripe. In the easterly Douro Superior, the harvest began as early as 1^
September and Taylor’s began picking at São Xisto on 8^ September, about a week earlier
than normal. Picking began in the Cima Corgo around 15 September and was underway
throughout the region by the 26th. In the intervening period, Baumés rose rapidly with
Tinta Barroca (the sweetest of the Port grapes) registering 16 degrees plus (I heard of one
lagar of raisinised fruit with a potential alcohol content of 19).
The high Baumés took many growers by surprise and there were worries about the high
pH, particularly in Tinta Roriz which produced large quantities in 2003. Touriga Franca
and Touriga Nacional produced much better, more balanced wines. The fine, abnormally
warm weather continued until 29 September when rain swept in from the Atlantic. The high
ambient temperatures gave problems for those without sufficient temperature control and
many lagares consequently took little work before they were run off and fortified. Carefully
controlled fermentations produced wines with deep colour, plenty of fruit and high levels of
tannin. For Croft, now under the ownership of the Fladgate Partnership, this was the first
vintage to be foot trodden in lagar since 1963. At the end of vintage David Guimaraens,
winemaker for the Fladgate Partnership, described 2003 as ‘a textbook year for good Port
production’. In was no surprise when a general declaration was made in the spring of 2005.
Despite the substantial size of the harvest, the quantities declared were generally smaller
than 2000. At the time of writing many of the 2003s are going through a generally rather
sullen stage and some wines seem rather stewed, jammy and clumsy. It remains to be seen
how this vintage will re-emerge in ten years but, judging by my early tasting notes, 2003
should have produced some very impressive, powerful long-lived wines.
Pick of the Vintage: Dow; Ferreira; Fonseca; Graham; Niepoort; Quinta do Noval;
Quinta do Noval Nacional; Ramos Pinto; Quinta de Roriz; Smith Woodhouse;
Warre.
2002 ** near-perfect growing season, ruined by rain during harvest
There were high hopes of a fine harvest in 2002. The previous winter had been dry but cold,
thereby killing off the spores and insects that lurk in the vineyards. The Pinhão river froze
over at Christmas. The cold weather resulted in a late bud burst and the dry conditions
led to a year of low vigour right from the start. The weather was fine during flowering