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According to the latest High Johnson book, the 2003 vintage in that area gave some good wines, but a very small crop. The quality for that year, he says, depends on the age of the vines and when the grapes were picked as to how well the wine will age. My own gut feeling is that it may be better to drink it fairly young.
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Well 2003 is an outstanding year for obvious reasons, but how many great wines were produced remains to be seen. Don't forget that the wine industry does its best to talk up vintages.

From the 2003 reds I've tasted my observation is that they have heady ripe fruit and ripe tannins which makes for enjoyable drinking now. The best wines from the best producers will be good and true to the vintage style as they invariably are. The problem is that with all the heat many grapes would have become overripe and this upsets the balance (low acidity, too sweet) - this is especially noticeable as they age and become jammy and flabby. Too much heat during fermentation has a similar effect (the wine gets cooked). There is also the point Will brings up, the younger vines will have been stressed - just how many interesting mineral flavours would vines have extracted in such a short and hot growing season.

Conclusion - enjoy reds on the younger side of there normal ageing potential while the primary fruits are still on display. For most wines this means from now on.

Graham

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I've read several fascinating articles on Bordeaux 2003, which highlight the differences the hot summer had on individual vineyards.  Even in, say, a relatively small area such as the Haut Medoc you can't generalise about 2003 vintages overall, each one has to be viewed separately.  For depending upon the precise location of the vineyard, the effect of the heat on the grapes was different.  M
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