2003 was annouced as the “hottest vintage ever” by the trade with Parker, Sucking and many others giving high scores until JANCIS ROBINSON, MW cried foul with 2003 Chateau Pavie being in the center of the debate, see Decanter Magazine. Slowy it dawned to wine lovers that it can be too hot in Bordeaux to make good wine.
Jean-Marc Quarin wrote the following on the 2003 Pavie issue
To come back to Jancis Robinson’s comment, I would just like to share with you something I observed around mid-September. That day, I was tasting the grapes in the vineyards of Pavie. They were shrivelled and had lost the taste which constitutes the very life of the fruit. I was thinking in myself that Pavie should have harvested earlier. At that moment, a tractor drove past me, busy spraying the grapes with lime. The purpose of this measure was probably to prevent the grapes from rotting and to promote their dehydration even more. Considering the heat wave we had this summer, I felt totally confounded by the incongruous action I just witnessed.
Susie Barrie MW and Peter Richards MW write the folloing on the vintage in a 10-year review:
- “This is not a top quality vintage. The wines tend to be hard-going and lack the scent and grace of great claret. It’s not just a case of low-acid, ripe-fruit wines; these are often very chewy and ‘thick’.
- As a result, the pricier wines look over-valued. Better to steer clear and instead look to the beautifully drinking (and under-rated) 2004, while 2000 and 2005 are more complete.
- Even the cheaper wines (the cheapest we feature is still north of £30 per bottle) don’t look great value…”
So with anticipation we attended the 20years on tasting of the 2003 vintage to see how they held up in the bottle.
Here are our conclusions from the tasting:
- 2003 is not a good vintage. The wines don’t have the depth and elegance of good years. But I was positively surprised, that while it’s clearly a hot year, there are less overripe, over-extracted and prematurely dying wines than in 09/10. Still, there is no comparison to how Chateauxs handle hot years today.
- Compared to five other vintage retrospectives, the 2003 came in last place (lower average score than 2011), with just Chateau Margaux reaching a group score above 95pts.
- Margaux wines showed best, with the typical immediate charm, while St. Estephe and Pauillac have potential but will need more time (and/or would have needed more air).
- Right bank wines did not show as well with some alcohol showing and a few wines being on a downhill path. I would not chase 2003
Tasting Notes
Flight 1
2003 Château Montrose La Dame de Montrose, 86 Points
Rather muted nose. On the palate a bit of darker fruit, some herbal aromas (or some more greener notes). Good minerality core. A bit drying and bitter tannins as well as a pronounced acidity. There is no real balance and harmony here. Not a success.
– Decanting: Maybe a longer decant could have helped here but I guess not by much.
– Group average: 89.8 pts
– Group rank: Shared 24th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Calon-Ségur, 89 Points
Beautiful ripe but still quite fresh dark and blue fruit on the nose. Elegant and round. On the palate the same red fruit, some blue fruit, some greener notes and a bit of minerality. Not as sensual as the nose would suggest. This misses a bit of tannin ripeness (some wineries feared cooked fruit and harvested too early, Calon might have done that), a bit of charm on the palate and especially towards the finish. While the nose was very inviting and easily on a 94pts level, the palate was clearly below 90pts.
– Decanting: My guess is that this would need a good hour or two in the decanter. It improved a bit in the glass.
– Group average: 90.5 pts
– Group rank: Shared 18th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Cos d’Estournel, 90 Points
Ripe, dark red and blue fruit on the nose, some toasty notes too. Quite inviting, medium expressive. On the palate there is some red and blue fruit, not enough sweetness, quite a bit of minerality with slightly drying tannins and a high freshness. The wines seemed a bit disjointed. I’ve had this wine twice before and it showed much better (93 and 96pts). Going back to the notes it shows that this would have needed a lot of air to come together which it didn’t get in this tasting. Hence, this low 90pts rating.
– Decanting: This needs a few hours in the decanter.
– Group average: 90.3 pts
– Group rank: Shared 21st out of 29 reds
2003 Château Montrose, 92 Points
I’ve had this wine a few times before and I’m convinced of its quality (rated twice at 95pts, the best bottle a few years ago was even above that) but it needs a lot of air. In the context of this tasting, it didn’t get much and hence it showed a bit muted: Not much on the nose. On the palate the wine needs a lot of swirling to open-up and show a bit of fruit (blue and red berries), at first there was hardly any fruit. The fruit is fresh and quite pure and not at all too ripe (but without question riper than in other vintages), additional notes of minerality and herbs. Still a bit tannic but with fairly high-quality tannins. At first, the balance isn’t there at all, the acidity too pronounced, and not enough fruit but with time that gets better. My rating kept creeping up. With lots of time and air, this certainly would have been more than 92pts. Still, it was group number 4 tonight.
– Decanting: I would give it at least 5-6 hours in the decanter.
– Group average: 92.8 pts
– Group rank: Shared 4th out of 29 reds
Flight 2
2003 Château d’Issan, 92 Points
Beautiful, classic Pauillac nose, ripe but not too ripe, quite luxurious dark fruit, some burnt sugar notes, some blue fruit and minerality. Good level complex, very precise. On the palate there is fine blue and dark fruit, minerality, some herbs and cedar notes. Not as complex and even a bit hollow on the mid palate and towards the not overly exciting finish. Fine tannins, well-integrated acidity, quite light. This is a very solid effort and drinks beautifully today.
– Decanting: No extensive decanting needed.
– Group average: 92.8 pts
– Group rank: Shared 4th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Rauzan-Ségla, 94 Points
Beautiful dark fruit and blue fruit nose, complex with toasty notes, herbs, minerality, cedar. Superb nose, precise, intriguing. On the palate the same layerdness with fine dark, dark red and blue fruit, fresh fruit, not too ripe, lots of cedar and some crushed rocks as well as some toasty or nutty notes. Very fine tannins, round and well-integrated acidity, superb balance and an almost airy texture without being thin. With time, however, it gets a bit thinner, loosing a bit of its appeal. But strong showing and one of the winners of the tasting.
– Decanting: No extensive decanting needed.
– Group average: 92.3 pts
– Group rank: Shared 8th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Brane-Cantenac, 93 Points
A bit muted on the nose. With time a bit ripe dark fruit, certainly the ripest nose in the Margaux flight, even some “new world” sugar tones which disappear later (but probably still not a wine for purists). On the palate lots of blue and dark red fruit around a cassis core and some floral aromas. Intriguing purity. Fine tannins, superb acidity, excellent balance and harmony with a light and airy texture. A good wine (others liked it a less though), like all Margauxs tonight.
– Decanting: No extensive decanting needed.
– Group average: 90.5 pts
– Group rank: Shared 18th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Margaux, 96 Points
Wow from the first sniff to the intense finish, this was a very convincing performance. Toasty notes, burnt sugar, dark ripe fruit, lots of fresh blue fruit, a strong core of minerality – a complex, intriguing bouquet. This continues on the palate where the typical elegant, Bordeaux toast/coffee notes complement a layered fruit core with bright red, fresh blue and ripe dark berries. Some additional notes of herbs and crushed rock. Aromatically quite deep and well delineated. Fine and harmonious. No excess weight, ultra-fine tannin, fine acidity, airy and quite long. I’ve had this before and rated it 92pts only. Besides the usual bottle variation, it shows how important the context of a tasting sometimes can be: A Chateau Margaux 2003 drunk with other 2003s will always shine brighter than a bottle in a lineup of 13 vintages of Chateau Margaux, no matter how strongly we try to avoid letting it influence our judgement.
– Decanting: This was good from the go and a short decant should be sufficient, as it seems.
– Group average: 96.0 pts
– Group rank: Shared 1st out of 29 reds
Bordeaux citizens seeking cooling through air mist in Bordeaux, summer 2003
Flight 3
2003 Château Valandraud, 88 Points
Very ripe dark berries, dark red berries. Too ripe on the nose. Animalistic. On the palate ripe dark and dark red berries. Less over the top than the nose would suggest. Ripe fruit and minerality but not much more. Quite elegant, even though the tannins are a bit drying. With a bit of air this took a turn for the bad and dried out. At first 90pts, later 84pts.
– Decanting: It didn’t develop well with air.
– Group average: 87.5 pts
– Group rank: Shared 27th out of 29 reds
2003 La Mondotte, 91 Points
Medium expressive nose with ripe dark red fruit, some medicinal notes, some toasty notes, some chocolate, minerality. Quite layered and precise. On the palate this is expressive, intense with lots of blue and black fruit, some red nuances, cedar and crushed rocks, some coffee notes. Not as fine as the Margaux before but still quite round and harmonious. One of the winners on the right bank in this tasting.
– Decanting: Didn’t need much air. No extensive decanting needed.
– Group average: 92.0 pts
– Group rank: Shared 10th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Dubois-Grimon, 83 Points
A bit strange, medicinal nose. On the palate the same strange medicinal notes which dominate. Not a success or maybe a bad bottle.
– Decanting: –
– Group average: 82.7 pts
– Group rank: Shared 28th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Troplong Mondot, 89 Points
Not much precise aromas on the nose. On the palate there is a bit of red fruit, quite ripe, some oaky notes, some herbs, but not overly deep. While the structural frame is intact and comes with a good freshness, the tannins are slightly drying. Others like it more than I do.
– Decanting: A short decant should do the job.
– Group average: 91.0 pts
– Group rank: Shared 15th out of 29 reds
Flight 4
2003 Château Angélus, 91 Points
Not much expression at first but not as ripe as the wines before. With time some coffee notes, some toast, ripe red berries, even some floral aromas. The best nose on the red bank tonight. Quite fresh, even a bit acidic on the palate with fairly fine tannins and an airy texture. Ripe red fruit and floral aromas along some minerality. Not overly complex and a bit astringent towards the finish but overall, a good wine.
– Decanting: This improved with air and I wonder if a solid 1-2 hours in the decanter would have improved things further.
– Group average: 92.0 pts
– Group rank: Shared 10th out of 29 reds
2003 Château L’Eglise-Clinet, 91 Points
Very ripe dark red fruit, a bit alcoholic, on a downhill path. On the palate slightly astringent but with quite fresh ripe red fruit. But not much more than that. A bit astringent with time and slightly drying. I feel that 89pts is even a bit generous but others liked it better. I was a bit underwhelmed with the 2003 before (rated 90pts two years ago) and found a it a bit disjointed too.
– Decanting: Air didn’t seem to help here. I wouldn’t decant.
– Group average: 90.8 pts
– Group rank: Shared 17th out of 29 reds
2003 Pétrus, 86 Points
Quite inviting ripe dark fruit nose, some herbs and minerality. Fine dark blue fruit, quite fresh, minerality. Compared to many other right banks, this showed not too much ripeness but it didn’t show much, much complexity either. What I didn’t like at all is that it was a bit disjointed and drying from mid palate on. No balance here. This was one of the weakest wines of the tasting and rightly so. While CellarTracker doesn’t show much love for this wine I still hope that this was just a weak bottle.
– Decanting: –
– Group average: 88.8 pts
– Group rank: Shared 26th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Ausone, 89 Points
Quite ripe, even a bit alcoholic. On the palate some fine red and blue fruit. Quite fine, quite round, much better than the nose. However, there is not much complexity and again, with a bit of air the wine dries out quite a lot and the acidity takes over. Disjointed and 89 pts is rather generous. Another right bank heavyweight that didn’t show well at all. There is quite a disconnect between this bottle and our group score (89.8pts) vs the 96+pts it gets on average here on CT but I’ve had this wine 2 years ago and then too it was drying out and on a downward path.
– Decanting: This didn’t show well at all and time didn’t help. Others here decant it for quite some time and have better experiences, I would listen to them (decant for 4 hours).
– Group average: 89.8 pts
– Group rank: Shared 24th out of 29 reds
The 2003 summer heat was a big topic in the French press
Flight 5
2003 Château Lafite Rothschild, 95 Points
Fine, toasty, burnt sugar note with a cassis core, some minerality and some coffee. Quite intriguing. On the palate so round and harmonious, so fine and not too ripe. Cassis, dark fruit, coffee, burnt sugar, some cedar. Then a lot of fine red fruit. Very Pinot-esque (must be Lafite?). Fine tannins and acidity. Fun to drink and quite harmonious. This was certainly one of the stars of the tasting and one of the wines of the vintage. Consistent with a bottle two years ago (rated 95pts).
– Decanting: Good from the go but air should help here. I would decant it for a few hours. A bottle two years back needed hours to fully shine. This bottle was more communicative.
– Group average: 94.3 pts
– Group rank: Shared 2nd out of 29 reds
2003 Château Haut-Brion, 91 Points
Interesting nose with lots of smoke and BBQ notes as well as some ripe dark fruit. On the palate better, fine and fresh, with round tannins and a good acidity. Quite balanced. But not much mid palate weight and complexity here. Fine red and darker berries, some minerality and smoke. 91/92pts in my book.
– Decanting: Usually HBs take long to open up. We didn’t follow it that long but it got better with air. Maybe it would have needed a few hours in a decanter.
– Group average: 91.3 pts
– Group rank: Shared 14th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Mouton Rothschild, 92 Points
Not overly expressive nose. On the palate better with fine red and darker berries, some minerality and cedar notes. The tannin structure was fine, the wine didn’t have too much weight but no airy texture either. Good acidity backbone to keep it fresh. This was a good wine without the depth or absolute balance of the best wines (Margaux, Lafite today). Very fine for a 2003 with fine tannins. But not as harmonious, round and expressive as the Lafite.
– Decanting: The palate was open from the go, the rather muted nose suggested that a bit of decanting would have been necessary.
– Group average: 92.5 pts
– Group rank: Shared 7th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Latour Grand Vin, 93 Points
This bottle was still very tight but it was quite obvious that this wine is among the more elegant wines and has a lot of substance. There was some chatter in the room that this might have a slight cork taint but I didn’t think so. Without a lot of air, this was all about the minerality and cedar notes and with more time nicely balance by the quite ripe dark fruit core, and additional red berry and nutty notes. This young and without a lot of air, the wine showed quite structured but not without showing the high quality of the tannin structure and the good acidity to create a balanced experience.
– Decanting: If had this before and it needed quite a lot of air. My guess is at least 3-4 hours are needed today to let this blossom.
– Group average: 93.3 pts
– Group rank: Shared 3th out of 29 reds
Flight 6
2003 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, 93 Points
Dark fruited, aristocratic nose but quite ripe. Lots of herbs and cedar notes to balance the ripe fruit. On the palate better with ripe red and darker berries, herbs and minerality as well as fine coffee, toasty oak notes. Quite fine, round with good freshness and a good balance. This was one of the best wines tonight.
– Decanting: Good from the go. A short decant should be sufficient.
– Group average: 92.8 pts
– Group rank: Shared 4th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 90 Points
Intense nose, dark fruited and luxurious oak notes. On the palate ripe but not too ripe. Some coffee notes come with the dark fruit notes. Not overly deep but still quite round and harmonious. While not an overly exciting wine, this was another Pauillac that handled the hot vintage quite well. No comparison, however, of the quality level the winery achieved today.
– Decanting: Good from the go, no extensive decanting needed.
– Group average: 90.3 pts
– Group rank: Shared 21st out of 29 reds
2003 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Flawed
Sadly, this was corked. I like the more recent vintages under the helm of Pouthier a lot but hardly have any experience with older vintages. Hence, it would have been fun to taste this.
– Group average: – pts
– Group rank: Shared 29th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, 92 Points
Not an interesting nose. On the palate fine red and darker fruit, herbs and minerality. Some didn’t like it as much as I did but while it’s note very complex, it showed round and harmonious and with a good freshness.
– Decanting: A short decant should be sufficient.
– Group average: 91.0 pts
– Group rank: Shared 15th out of 29 reds
Flight 7
2003 Château Lagrange St. Julien, 92 Points
Medium expressive nose circling around a ripe darker fruit core with a bit of minerality alongside. On the palate red berries, blue fruit, some seductive toasty notes. Not overly complex but well defined. The structure is good here with fine tannins and a good freshness. No excess weight. One of the positive surprises for but others liked it a bit less.
– Decanting: A short decant should be sufficient.
– Group average: 90.3 pts
– Group rank: Shared 21st out of 29 reds
2003 Château Léoville Poyferré, 93 Points
At this point in the tasting, my will to drink and analyze another red wine was very low, so take this score and review with a grain of salt. The three Leovilles all had less charm and precision than the Pauillac’s but especially the Margauxs before. From memory, the Poyferre (93pts) was the best of the three Leovilles. This is surprising as it is usually riper and more modern than the two others which doesn’t seem like a great fit for a hot vintage. The wine showed a bit rounder and more harmonious than the others but without an exciting complexity. The Las Cases and Barton (both 92pts) were a step below but probably just would have needed a bit of air to open up.
– Decanting: A short decant should do the job.
– Group average: 93.2 pts
– Group rank: Shared 18th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Léoville Las Cases, 92 Points
At this point in the tasting, my will to drink and analyze another red wine was very low, so take this score and review with a grain of salt. The three Leovilles all had less charm and precision than the Pauillac’s but especially the Margauxs before. From memory, the Poyferre (93pts) was the best of the three Leovilles. This is surprising as it is usually riper and more modern than the two others which doesn’t seem like a great fit for a hot vintage. The wine showed a bit rounder and more harmonious than the others but without an exciting complexity. The Las Cases and Barton (both 92pts) were a step below but probably just would have needed a bit of air to open up.
– Decanting: My guess is that this needs a few hours in the decanter.
– Group average: 93.2 pts
– Group rank: Shared 18th out of 29 reds
2003 Château Léoville Barton, 92 Points
At this point in the tasting, my will to drink and analyze another red wine was very low, so take this score and review with a grain of salt. The three Leovilles all had less charm and precision than the Pauillac’s but especially the Margauxs before. From memory, the Poyferre (93pts) was the best of the three Leovilles. This is surprising as it is usually riper and more modern than the two others which doesn’t seem like a great fit for a hot vintage. The wine showed a bit rounder and more harmonious than the others but without an exciting complexity. The Las Cases and Barton (both 92pts) were a step below but probably just would have needed a bit of air to open up.
– Decanting: My guess is that this needs a 1-2 hours in the decanter.
– Group average: 93.2 pts
– Group rank: Shared 18th out of 29 reds
Flight 8 – Sweet wines
2003 Château Rieussec, 87 Points
Four Sauternes at the end of a long tasting. The best, no surprise, was the Yquem (95pts). As usual, Yquem is miles ahead of the other Sauternes in terms of freshness, airiness, perfectly combined with aromatic density and purity. It might not be as airy and sharp as the best vintages but still showed great tonight. The Guiraud (92pts) showed complex and quite fresh just missing a bit of precision and that extra airiness. A rather sweet La Tour Blanche (90pts) and Rieussec (87pts) were both quite dark in color and quite evolved with the Rieussec showing even some signs of oxidation. Overall, all the 2003 showed a bit better than I would have expected.
– Group average: 90.0 pts
2003 Château d’Yquem, 95 Points
Four Sauternes at the end of a long tasting. The best, no surprise, was the Yquem (95pts). As usual, Yquem is miles ahead of the other Sauternes in terms of freshness, airiness, perfectly combined with aromatic density and purity. It might not be as airy and sharp as the best vintages but still showed great tonight. The Guiraud (92pts) showed complex and quite fresh just missing a bit of precision and that extra airiness. A rather sweet La Tour Blanche (90pts) and Rieussec (87pts) were both quite dark in color and quite evolved with the Rieussec showing even some signs of oxidation. Overall, all the 2003 showed a bit better than I would have expected.
– Decanting: Good from the go. No extensive decanting needed (but it shouldn’t hurt either).
– Group average: 94.0 pts
2003 Château Guiraud, 92 Points
Four Sauternes at the end of a long tasting. The best, no surprise, was the Yquem (95pts). As usual, Yquem is miles ahead of the other Sauternes in terms of freshness, airiness, perfectly combined with aromatic density and purity. It might not be as airy and sharp as the best vintages but still showed great tonight. The Guiraud (92pts) showed complex and quite fresh just missing a bit of precision and that extra airiness. A rather sweet La Tour Blanche (90pts) and Rieussec (87pts) were both quite dark in color and quite evolved with the Rieussec showing even some signs of oxidation. Overall, all the 2003 showed a bit better than I would have expected.
– Decanting: A short decant should do the job.
– Group average: 90.3 pts
2003 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes, 90 Points
Four Sauternes at the end of a long tasting. The best, no surprise, was the Yquem (95pts). As usual, Yquem is miles ahead of the other Sauternes in terms of freshness, airiness, perfectly combined with aromatic density and purity. It might not be as airy and sharp as the best vintages but still showed great tonight. The Guiraud (92pts) showed complex and quite fresh just missing a bit of precision and that extra airiness. A rather sweet La Tour Blanche (90pts) and Rieussec (87pts) were both quite dark in color and quite evolved with the Rieussec showing even some signs of oxidation. Overall, all the 2003 showed a bit better than I would have expected.
– Decanting: A short decant should do the job.
– Group average: 87.3 pts
Author: Andy Schnyder
May 2023
