Warres 2003 Vintage Port

Warres Vintage Port 2003 is Warre’s first Vintage blend, to be made partly with wine produced in the Symington Robotic Lagares at the remodelled Quinta da Cavadinha Winery. A wine with immense finesse and elegance showing all the hallmarks of a great Warre Vintage. The winter leading up to the 2003 declaration was very wet with double the normal rainfall from November through to February. Average temperatures throughout the year were higher than normal. A mild Winter and a warm Spring gave rise to an early budburst in mid March, excellent flowering conditions and continued hot weather were of great benefit to the development of the bunches, and some most welcome rain refreshed the vineyards in July. Further intense heat enveloped the Douro region in August and the month finished with a little rain, to conclude a superb meteorological year. The grapes ripened early, but under ideal conditions, and the grapes entering the robotic lagares were clearly destined for great wines.The vintage started at Cavadinha on October 3rd. This is about two weeks later than our other Quintas and is explained by the fact that Cavadinha is at a higher altitude and is a later ripening vineyard that benefits from this extra period of maturation.The six new stainless steel robotic lagares produced a very high standard of wine and some of our very best lots were produced at Cavadinha.This young wine should be allowed to age in its own bottle for at least 15 to 20 years from the time it is bottled to achieve its optimum maturity. For those who prefer to drink their Vintage Port young, 4 to 5 years are sufficient.