In 2003, this was the second wine of Leoville Las Cases as opposed to a separate entity. A brilliant effort, it was harvested between September 11 and 26, and boasts 13.3% natural alcohol. The final blend was 54% Cabernet...

This was an amazing performance for Monbousquet. The 2003 exhibits plenty of fat and succulence along with a full-bodied, sexy mouthfeel, and lots of black cherry and black currant fruit intermixed with licorice, baking...

The 2003 Latour is a blend of 81.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 0.5% Petit Verdot. It explodes from the glass with crème de cassis, stewed plums, licorice, and mocha, followed by nuances of charcoal, rose oil, and...

The 2003 Pavillon Rouge has a respectable bouquet with brambly red fruit, orange rind, freshly-rolled tobacco and peppermint. This is actually fresher than some Grand Vins tasted. The palate is medium-bodied with soft...

Loads of honey maple syrup dried apricot and spice. Full-bodied medium-sweet with a refined spicy character. Pretty wine. Masses of botrytis. This is refined and long a racy wine compared with the power and muscle of so...

Coming from a baking hot vintage, the 2003 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is nevertheless incredibly pure and balanced, with medium to full-bodied richness as well as textbook darker fruits, smoked tobacco, dried flowers, and...

A spectacular wine, and one that could have been bought for a song when it was released, this blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot was cropped at 33 hectoliters per hectare. Strutting all of its nobility...

The 2003 Grand Puy Lacoste initially shows a slight mustiness on the nose. It's very tertiary, with gravel and vestiges of black fruit. A second bottle is much fresher and more vibrant, which is a success considering the...

Touches of kirsch, fully open and welcoming blackberry and raspberry fruits. A little more evolved on the nose than some of the other vintages in this vertical, reflective of the hot year, but there is so much to love...

Even better, and clearly the best wine made in the Haut-Brion stable in 2003 (the last vintage of the great Jean-Bernard Delmas as administrator), the 2003 Haut-Brion is a blend of 58% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon and...

The 2003 Lafite-Rothschild has an attractive perfumed bouquet with touches of camphor infusing the blackberry and bilberry fruit. There is a mahogany bureau hint. The palate is medium-bodied with a spicy opening. The...

More proof that if you want a great 2003 right now, you should head to St Julien or Pauillac, where the exoticism of the vintage is held in check by savoury Cabernet notes and plenty of tannic grip. You'll find traces of...

One of the fresher, more vibrant wines from the vintage that is notorious for so many jammy wines. Medium-bodied, ready-to-drink, plummy, earthy, tobacco, and blackberry-filled wine with a softness in the finish and no...

The 2003 Leoville Poyferre is medium garnet with a touch of brick. It sashays out of the glass with a beautiful nose of kirsch, raspberry pie, Black Forest cake, and chocolate box plus hints of wilted rose petals...

The quality of Roederer's viticulture shows in the freshness of this 2003, capturing the generosity of the vintage without superripeness. It's lively and firm, soft to the touch, with a flash of acidity that lengthens its...

This gorgeous, fully mature, complex Pape Clement exhibits notes of smoky tobacco, earth, loamy soil, forest floor, black cherries, plums and cassis. Medium to full-bodied, fresh and lively, the acids have fallen away and...

This amazing wine has turned out to be a modern-day classic. Like its bigger sister, Pavie, it has dropped some of its baby fat and exoticism, but remains a dense ruby/purple color with notes of mocha, mulberries and...

I'm not surprised by the success by this particular estate in 2003, but it is still a real pleasure to taste a wine from this vintage that remains full of plump ripe fruits and sappy tannins. It shows the heat of the...

A famously hot dry year that could be challenging on well-draining gravel soils, but this has held up well, majoring on cinnamon and turmeric spice, touches of black chocolate and liquorice. Soft tobacco notes on the...

Blended from 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 0% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2003 Pichon Lalande has a deep garnet-brick color. It gallops out of the glass with powerful notes of crème de cassis, baked...

Not overly complex, here you find a big, juicy blast of black currants, herbs, cedar, spice and tobacco. Concentrated, fruity, full-bodied and ready to deliver all it has to offer. A bit simple, but enjoyable. No...

Soft ruby colour, crushed raspberry fruit on the nose, fresh acidities that keep things elevated through the palate, allowing the coffee bean, liqourice, bitter almond and undergrowth to appear in waves. This is ready to...

So rich and powerful with so much dried apricots and citrus aromas and flavors. Caramel and toffee. Full and very sweet. Amazing.

So rich and powerful with so much dried apricots and citrus aromas and flavors. Caramel and toffee. Full and very sweet. Amazing.

he 2003 Trotanoy has a medium to deep garnet-brick color. It features evolved notes of preserved plums, fruit cake, and fig paste, leading to hints of unsmoked cigars and Chinese five spice. The medium-bodied palate...