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Quinta do Vesuvio Port Vintage 2003

€ 114.25

Producer	Quinta do Vesuvio
Region	Douro
Grapes	Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Amarela
Ageing	About 2 years in wood, bottled unfiltered
Alcohol	19.5%vol
Serving	16-18°C, decant 6 to 24 hours ahead Drink within 2 days of opening
Scores	95/100 Wine Spectator 97/100 Jamie Goode

Vintage 2003: violets, luscious black berries and a powerful structure.

Tasting note

Vesuvio’s lovely violet fragrance, layers of luscious black berries and a powerful, tight structure that promises a long life. The harmony is stunning, even at this young stage.

The story

The very hot summer of 2003 produced super-ripe, intense wines.

Like all Vesuvio Port, the grapes were foot-trodden in the quinta’s granite lagares. The wine ages for about two years in wood and is bottled unfiltered, so it needs decanting.

Food pairing

Delicious with foie gras and blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola and Roquefort, or simply after the meal as a dessert wine.

The producer

Quinta do Vesuvio lies in a remote corner of the Douro Superior, on the south bank of the river. António Bernardo Ferreira bought the estate in 1823 and built hundreds of terraces and an impressive adega in just thirteen years. His daughter-in-law, the legendary Dona Antónia Ferreira, made it one of the most famous quintas in the Douro. The estate stayed with the Ferreira family until the Symington family bought it in 1989.

The Symingtons chose to keep Vesuvio as a stand-alone estate, making only single quinta Vintage Ports. All the Port is still foot-trodden in the quinta’s eight granite lagares. Since the 2007 harvest Vesuvio has also made red Douro wines.

Critics & Awards

Double Gold – Indy International Wine Competition 2005

95/100 Wine Spectator | Tasted: Apr 2006
Complex aromas of crushed berries, pepper and spice. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with layers of polished tannins and plenty of berry, plum and citrus (James Suckling).

93/100 Wine Enthusiast

93/100 Wine & Spirits Magazine | Tasted: Dec 2005

18/20 Vinum | Tasted: Apr 2010

17/20 Jancis Robinson | Tasted: Dec 2008

97/100 Jamie Goode

93/100 Stephen Tanzer

95/100 CellarTracker (14 notes)