2003 Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

A bin end, though that's a bit of a misnomer as I only ever purchased the one bottle. I am very fond of the 2003 Noval, and wanted to try something else from 2003 for a comparison.

2003 Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port

Very deep garnet, with hints of purple. Opaque due to the deep color. Fades to ruby and pink near the edge.

A rich a luscious nose, but smells primarily of grapes. There's a little bit of alcohol, too, but it's not bad. The fruits tend toward the red end of things, but with an undertone that seems closer to purple berries.

The tannins are fairly strong in the mouth, but not overpowering. There's a lot of fruit exploding across the palate. This feels and tastes rougher than the Noval, which gives me the impression that it might actually age better. Where the Noval gives me a distinct impression of milk chocolate, the Smith Woodhouse feels like the components are there but just not properly put together to generate that note. It gives a feeling more like a 90+% dark chocolate - somewhat dry, somewhat gritty, but powerfully rich.

The finish is fairly long and fruity, with an underlying backbone of grape skin and maybe some grape stem. Some Granny Smith apple fades in and out too.

A very nice Port, but I'd give this one time. The Noval drinks so well right now that it's hard to keep my hands off of it, whereas this one would theoretically have the chance to age in my cellar if I had more of it.

[Glenn E.]

Day two:

I noticed this yesterday but forgot to include it - there's a hint of honey flavor in the mouth. Quite pleasing.

Today the Port has taken on a bit more of an edge - some of the lusciousness has retreated and now black fruits are showing through the medly of red fruit compote. I notice primarily blackberry, but possibly also a bit of blueberry.

The fruit has retreated a bit from the finish, which is now ruled by the grape skin that was present yesterday. After 20-30 seconds I can still detect some apple, but I'm no longer sure it is Granny Smith.

Still superb!

[Roy Hersh]

Yeah, it is tough not to love this primary wild berry pie in a glass.

[Moses Botbol]

Tried this one last night and seems like a winner, but not as overwhelming as I thought a 2003 would taste. It was open for a couple of days, but still expected it to be more tannic. As Glenn mentioned this had a milkiness and chocolate to it, not much on the heat at all....

Was drank in a casual evening setting with an '01 Punch Royal Selection. Would rate this port 90 points...

Smith Woodhouse is making some nice stuff. Like their Colheitas too.

[Glenn E.]

I get the impression that the 2003s are starting to close down a little bit. I drank several 2003 Novals over the last 2 years and the last one or two weren't as impressive as the first ones. It's not a big downturn - yet - but they're just not as fresh and wonderful as they were 2 years ago.

Which bodes well for my remaining stash... if they'd stayed as delicious as they were in early 2008 I'd have probably drunk all of them in the next 4-5 years!

[Moses Botbol]

May end up being a softer velvety style of port like Warre down the road. Would love to do a SW vertical up to '77. Finding older vintages in USA is difficult.