Simon Field: Intense color, Murillo resonance, translucent gloss; the dark-forest nose, tapenade and pitch, black and forthright, its rigor loosened a little on the palate, where the sweet, inherent generosity of the vintage takes center stage; Apollonian rigor, Boucher color, and—why beat around the bush?—almost Falstaffian pleasure engendered, pure and simple, on the palate. Rather a lot of cultural baggage for a glass of wine—so, it must be good! | 92

Andrew Jefford: Saturated, dense black-red. A wonderful aroma: powerful, disconcerting, its sweet or very sweet fruits floated off on pepper, herbs, vanilla, and pounded schist. Another extraordinary personality from 2003. Very rich, jammy, almost pruney fruits, “unbalanced” as almost all 2003s must be, yet at the same time dense and authoritative and in their own pruney way wholly convincing, searching and powerful. This is another unusual Vintage Port with a long life ahead, thanks to that richness of sweet fruit and those fine, firm tannins. | 91

Richard Mayson: Good, deep color, thin purple rim; not giving away much on the nose—just a phase, I suspect, though seemingly not as opulent as some of its peers in ’03; lovely, ripe, spicy berry fruit, tight-knit, with firm, sinewy tannins rising into the mouth on to a long, linear finish. On the leaner side but all there, with lovely definition. Drink 2023–50+. | 92