2003

Vintage Report by Angelo Gaja / The climate change created high ripening and a complete ripening process with fantastic regularity. This was never seen before.

Before climate change, the only vintages that were perfectly ripe were 1961, 1964, 1971, 1982. Then, the grapes were often unable to naturally reach 12 and 12.5% alcohol level. That’s not a parameter to judge quality. But in those years, many vintages did not reach even 12%. Now with global warming, it is easy to reach 13 and 14%. In Barolo and in Serralunga, now even 15%.

2003 was a most difficult vintage. Nine weeks of very hot weather. We decided to declassify almost 50%. We are quite happy with the 2003 we have in the market. Not a great vintage but a very honorable vintage.

Italy Vintage Report by Tb: 2003 was extraordinarily hot and dry, as it was throughout Europe. In Piedmont a difficult four-month stretch of hot weather ended in the cooler temperatures of September. This was the only thing that ensured the aromaticness and sugar-acid balance of the grapes. Consequently, this vintage was saved by the skin of its teeth, ending up in some cases even slightly superior to the 1997 or 2000. 

In Tuscany the spring saw normal temperatures and rainfall. Freezing temperatures at the beginning of April did some damage, reducing the crop yield. This was followed by a long, hot summer, indeed the hottest seen in 150 years. The heat and absence of any moisture threatened to shrivel the plantations, until the September rains saved the crops. These severe weather conditions made this crop yield one of the smallest ever. The ample fruitiness and robust, mature tannins of these wines give them the potential for maturation. In any case, with acid concentrations lower than normal I would not predict as long a life for these wines as, for example, the 1999 and 1997.

2003 was the hottest vintage ever seen in Bordeaux. The most successful châteaux have passed their exceptional 2000s and some claim to have made their greatest wines in living memory.

Very dry and extremely hot summer days and nights (16 days > 95°F compared to 2 in 2000, 6 in 2005, 4 in 2009). Need to eliminate the superscript here. I can't figure out how to do it.) The deeply colored reds, low acidities and high tannins are a departure from the classic Left Bank profile. St.-Estèphe and Pauillac are the most successful. The reds have largely reached their peak. It remains a controversial vintage, with opinions sharply divided as to its intrinsic quality. The white grape harvest began in mid-August. Rich, fatty whites, some acidified, not for long storage.

The extreme summer heat presented winemakers with a significant challenge. Sugar levels increased dramatically in late summer as some growers took the plunge and harvested early to preserve acidity. However, winemakers who waited until their grapes were fully ripe were rewarded with rich, concentrated, dark-colored wines displaying astonishing depth of fruit and plenty of complexity.

Generally speaking, the great wines of 2003 come from the northernmost communes of the Médoc: and in particular from Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe. Highlights include Lafite, Latour, Pichon Baron, Montrose and Cos d’Estournel. Quality was more uneven in the south of the Médoc although Château Margaux, true to form, produced one of the wines of the vintage.

The right bank properties of St Emilion and Pomerol, where temperatures were even warmer, produced inconsistent wines and volumes were massively reduced. Vieux Château Certan, which usually produces 4,000 cases per year, only produced 800 last year. Estates that have resisted this model and produced exceptional wines include Figeac, Ausone, Fetyit Clinet and Angelus.

Graves and Pessac-Lèognan fared better, but many châteaux produced wines that were alcoholic and expansive, but lacked the fresh, linear fruit core that distinguished the best of 2003. The exceptions are Haut-Bailly, the powerful and concentrated Domaine de Chevalier, and of course the thoroughbred stable of wines from Haut-Brion and La Misson Haut-Brion.

A challenging vintage for Champagne in the face of an unprecedented heatwave during the summer months. The wines are characterised by the year's unusual circumstances. Large-scale frosts destroyed most of the projected yield and they were followed by hail and an extremely hot summer. Harvest was kick-started early on August 21st and yields remained minuscule at 8,100 kg/ha. Atypically round, ripe, sun-kissed wines that miss freshness and backbone. The total acidity level was notably low, at 5.8 g/l. Only the very best performers were able to avoid heaviness and overripe aromatics. This vintage was not largely declared but some famous names, Krug and Dom Pérignon at the fore, chose to experiment with it. Both produced excellent 2003s and Dom Pérignon's chef de cave at the time named the vintage as one of the creations he is most proud of. Some special cuvées surfaced, such as 2003 by Bollinger, as the house found the year did not stylistically fit into the La Grande Année range. Palmer & Co also took a curious route and made its 2003 only in magnum, releasing it much later than usual as cuvée Grands Terroirs. The ageing capacity of 2003 is much debated. Dom Pérignon's Richard Geoffroy had great confidence in his 2003 and he actually regretted releasing it too early. The jury is still out, but personally I am inclined to drink mine sooner rather than later, as the advancement post-disgorgement has in most cases been rather rapid and the wines miss the acidic backbone necessary for retaining freshness.

Unpredictable … that’s what you are

The unpredictable nature of the 2003 growing season began with a series of early heat spikes in March, followed by the wettest April on record. A long cool summer allowed the fruit flavors to evolve beautifully ahead of the sugar accumulation. Heat spikes in September helped move the harvest forward after many felt it would be a late year.

Burgundy: After a normal winter without extreme cold, the buds burst in the vineyard at the end of March, a few days before the year 2002.

On April 11, a severe frost caused significant damage to the vineyards of Puligny, Chassagne and Meursault. A few days later, Chablis had the same problem and lost a significant part of the harvest. Afterwoods The combination of warm weather and humidity encouraged rapid growth of the vineyard. Disbudding began at the end of April and the warm weather lasted throughout May.

The flowers arrived at the end of May in good conditions. Some disparities were observed in frosty vineyards.

The month of June was very hot, a hailstorm on June 12 caused damage to the three villages (Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet). We lost 10% of the harvest. The closing of the banch took place on June 24 (ten days before 2002). July and August temperatures were very high and unusual (95° to 104°F during the day but also 77°F during the night.) Veraison was achieved between July 14 and 20. Never has a vintage been ready so early. For the moment, we were waiting for the harvest at the beginning of September

In August we had terrible heat. The vineyard needed water and maturation was very rapid, especially in Pinot Noir. Everyone was surprised by the rapid evolution of maturity.

Pinot Noir in Côte de Beaune

The maturity of the natural sugar is very high (12.5°C for Burgundy and 14°C for the 1er cru) and the acidity level is correct. The juice yield is very low and gives a very colorful wine, with soft tannins. The “ripe and soft fruit” character is perfect. A lack of malic acid will not have any influence on the wines. I don't know if it won't be an exceptional vintage but the Pinot Noir withstood the heat quite well.
Anyway: half of the usual harvest

Chardonnay in Côte de Beaune

The natural sugar level is very high, too high in some cases. On the contrary, the acidity is rather low but the lees are very beautiful and some natural modifications of the acidity are established.
In any case, slight rectifications in the tartaric acid are necessary to allow the yeast to function in good conditions.
The 2003 wines are nevertheless charming, easy to drink but not for aging.
Anyway: half of the usual harvest

The 2003 vintage is an exception in the history of winemaking in Côte de Beaune due to the precocity of the grapes (85 days after flowering instead of 100 days)

Report of the 2003 vintage of Domaine de La Romanée-Conti

In Burgundy, it is not always true that exceptionally stressful climatic conditions can create high quality wines. However, this is what happened in 2003: despite very abnormal temperatures, this year seems to offer great wines, the depth of which, when devouring, we are only beginning to discover.

The winter of 2002/2003 was one of the wettest in the last ten years. This is very important to emphasize, because the moisture in the deep soil certainly had an effect on the good condition of the vineyards during the summer.

The bursting of the buds was extremely early, followed by a very cold period at the end of April, which caused a few frosts in the lower areas and, everywhere, a lot of coulure (floral abortion). In May, we already knew that the quantities would be reduced and that the harvest would be early because the vegetation was almost three weeks early.

From April 20, a north wind sets in with the following effects: almost no rain until the harvest, cool nights and mornings in May and June, bright and warm afternoons, all the necessary ingredients for achievement of a great vintage, and most important: extremely early and rapid flowering. Quite surprisingly in such favorable circumstances, we were able to observe coulure due to the heat we had experienced at the time of flowering. As a result, millerandage was important at fruit set: the yield would be even lower than expected.

It is true that the “chief cook” who, in the sky above, prepared the climatic conditions of the year, overdid it when he put the pan on the stove: it is regrettable, it must be admitted , because the vines suffered: certain grapes exposed to the sun "roasted" and the young vines almost dried up and lost their leaves... But the older, deeply rooted vineyards, in the vast majority, showed their astonishing resistance to drought and extracted exceptional juice from the suffering imposed by heaven in 2003.

Tokaji Vintage Report/ It was a very long winter in 2003. Cold nights in early April delayed budding, but a sudden and remarkable change in temperatures at the end of April, beginning of May, helped bring back the budding. vineyards on track. Despite above-average precipitation, the region was dry due to low humidity during the vineyards' growing cycle. This was not a serious problem in the vineyards with volcanic clay topsoil, but caused damage in a few of the vineyards with loess soil. All these factors led to an early harvest in Tokaj.

Rhône Vintage Report:

NORTHERN RHONE: A year of high temperatures and low precipitation. Early and rapid flowering. Localized storms and hail in late July cut into the harvest. Heat shriveled berries in August on most exposed slopes, further reducing yields. Small early harvest of healthy, thick-skinned grapes. High reds, deeply colored, concentrated, powerful with a “cooked” appearance, imposing tannins. Looks like '83 or '78 at best; some are overripe. As for '03 Bordeaux, mixed opinions.

SOUTHERN RHONE: Intense heat from June to the end of summer. Decrease in precipitation. Record temperature of 109°F in Orange. White grapes harvested 2 weeks in advance, red grapes picked at the end of August. Very rich in sugars, especially Grenache. Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvèdre performed better as did the old vines. Very generous reds, higher alcohol, marked tannin. Some are past the peak, now taste “cooked”. Gigondas from cooler sites has aged better. Some impressive Châteauneuf, but not to go further. Fat, rich whites nice early.

Port Vintage Report by Taylor /Notes on Viticultural Year and Harvest

The Winter preceding the 2003 harvest was very wet with 1,000mm of rain falling in the Pinhão Valley between November and March. This helped to restore reserves of water in the soil following dry conditions the previous year.Flowering took place in bright warm weather at the end of May in some of the best conditions seen for several years. The weather remained fine after flowering, providing an excellent environment for development of the berries. Véraison (colouring of the berries) started relatively early on 1st July but was very slow, taking about three weeks to complete.

The first two weeks of August provided the intense Summer heat which often precedes a great port vintage. Temperatures at Quinta de Vargellas varied between 33º and 43ºC and relative humidity below 10%. The second half of August was cooler and two days of light rain occurred with perfect timing at the end of the month to round off the ripening of the grapes. The picking season in September was warm and dry, a critical factor for wine quality.  The vintage started at Quinta de Vargellas on 12th September. Picking started later in the Pinhão Valley, on 18th September at Quinta do Junco and on 22nd at Quinta de Terra Feita.

Yields were very even across all grape varieties, another critical factor, ensuring balance and complexity in the wines. As a result, excellent wines were made throughout the Douro Valley, from the Baixo Corgo in the west to the eastern reaches of the Douro Superior. Winemakers’ notes highlight the very intense colour and large amount of tannin released by the skins during fermentation, as well as the powerful fruitiness of the young wines.