Beautiful deep color with brick red halo. Nose of good depth, sweet and harmonious, somewhat witty, rich, soft touches of dark chocolate and cherry (cherry tomato).

Harmonious and elegant wine, some quality structure with amazing spice and mint notes, very crisp fruit, soft. A very enjoyable Vintage Port, now with good tannins to carry it through to old age. Seems softer than usual.

Nose closing in. Lots of fruit, black currant and blackberry, really intense jam with cocoa notes and firm but silky tannins. A powerful Vintage Port. Quality ripe fruit, good expression, cherry, a lovely character.

The winter preceding the 2003 harvest was very wet. Flowering took place in late May, with warm and bright weather, in conditions considered to be one of the best in many years.

The first two weeks of August provided the intense summer heat that often precedes a great Vintage Port. The second half of August was cooler and two perfectly timed days of rain eventually favored the ripening of the grapes at the end of the month.

The harvest season in September was warm, dry and yields were uniform for all varieties, ensuring balance and complexity in the wines.

Fonseca has been part of the first category of Vintage Port wine producers since the mid-19th century. Fonseca Vintage Port wines are known for their lush fruitiness that develops great opulence and complexity with age. Their wines appeal to the enthusiast and connoisseur, perhaps more than the Vintage Ports of any other house, because they are the result of inspired production and a deep knowledge of viticulture and terroir.

Vintage Port wines represent the best of the products of an exceptional year. Unlike Port wines that age in wood, Vintage Port wines will continue to age and improve in bottle for decades, inscribing in their character both the characteristics of the vineyard and the influence of the winemaker.

The company's Vintage Port wines come from its own estates: Cruzeiro and Santo António in the Pinhão valley, which have contributed to the company's Vintage Port blend for 100 years, as well as the Panascal estate in the Távora valley.

Walnuts are an excellent accompaniment to Vintage Port, as are blue-veined and other richly flavoured cheeses. So too are dried fruits such as apricots or figs. Alternatively, simply savour the rich and complex flavours of the wine on their own in a generously proportioned glass with good company.

James Suckling. Wine Spectator Online – 95-100 “Wild aromas, with flowers, blackberries and passion fruit. Full bodied, massive on the palate. Medium sweet. The finish goes on for minutes. A mega young Port. Fonseca. What do you expect?”

Wine Enthusiast, November 2005, No 3 from W.E.’s Top 100 Wines of 2005 “Fonseca Vintage Ports are always among the most attractive, and among the most long lived. This 2003 confirms magnificently to that model. It is structured, but also so rich, powerful and opulent. There are cassis and black fig flavors, as well as sweet tannins. It is delicious already, and will remain delicious throughout its long life."

Revista de Vinhos, August 2005 – 19 points out of 20 “Fine and charming aroma. Floral notes, elegant morello cherry fruit, dry undergrowth, soft chemical nuances. On the palate it exhibits a rare blend of power and elegance, complex, with steely tannins coated in silk, all in harmony and supremely tuned with an extremely long finish.”