I opened and drank a bottle of the 2003 Vesuvio over the Christmas period and find it interesting to see the contrast in what I experienced with Fred's experience - I wonder if the differences are due to the date of bottling? Perhaps the US/Canada wines were bottled before the UK wines and mine was suffering a bit of bottle shock.
I decanted around 7:30am on Christmas Eve and was surprised at the amount of sediment in the wine. I was expecting hardly anything considering that the wine had only been in the bottle for a few weeks, at most.
On decanting, there was an intense and promising smell of blackcurrants and blackcurrant pie. Strong enough to make my mouth water as I carefully poured the wine out.
Straight from the decanter it was a deep, deep red. Again, the wine surprised me as there was no hint of blue or purple on the rim, just intense, opaque red. The colour clung to the side of the glass to the extent that the tears of alcohol - which went way up the side of the glass - were pale red. The nose from the wine was similar to the smell I had picked up as I was decanting, with a sort of buttery hint.
In the mouth the thing that hit me first was the acidity. It was massively acidic. My saliva glands just went into overdrive and I must have diluted the wine in my mouth by 50% just from the amount the wine made my mouth water. Then the tannins came gently through and caught my teeth in a dusty grip. Only after lots of slurping did the fruit come through - sweet, huge and wonderful, reminding me of blackcurrant concentrate. Excellent for a port straight from the bottle. The fruit faded quickly on swallowing and just left a warm glow in the mouth - but I was caught out when, after 20 seconds or so, the warm glow suddenly turned into a wave of chocolate flavours. Straight from the decanter I would rate the wine as 91/100. Hopefully it will improve.
6½ hours after decanting I came back to the wine. The acidity was still monstrous with the sweet fruit struggling to stay in balance with the acidity. A bit like sucking on a sherbert lemon sweet. The most noticeable change from the first taste is that the tannins have faded into the background and there is a touch more fruit in the immediate aftertaste when swallowing. Still rate this as 91/100.
At 12 hours, the wine has still not changed much. Still monstrous - huge acidity along with huge fruit - but the tannins are creeping back in. I'm starting to worry a little bit now. No change in rating.
At 29 hours the wine is still very similar but has changed slightly. Acidity is still there, but not as aggressive. Tannins are a little more noticeable. Now the fruit is dominating. The aftertaste has become more integrated with the fruit staying on the tastebuds until it is the fruit that changes into chocolate. Perhaps this is starting to get closer to what I enjoy. Still rate at 91/100.
At 38 hours the wine is starting to sing. It has finally shown that it has changed and improved. Tones of vanilla are coming through on the nose along with the huge scents of blackcurrants. The overwhelming acidity has gone, the tannins are there but are smooth and ripe. Fruit is dominant and is wonderful, ripe and sweet. Perhaps a touch jammy - but I like that. Long, long length. Delicious, finally showing as a very good wine. Now rated 93/100.
At 62 hours the wine has becoming more smooth and the acidity has faded further. Still lots of fruit. Length is starting to fade. Is this now past its peak? Rate at 91/100.
At 85 hours the wine is very smooth. Acidity is now well at the back of the wine and fruit with tannin at the front. Tannins are soft and gentle. Lovely, simple mouthful of balanced fruit. Little length. Very pleasant. 91/100.
That finished the bottle. It was an interesting experience trying a wine this young, but one which left me slightly disappointed. After being blown away by the Sandeman 2003 in November and the Vesuvio '94 I had in December, I had expected great things from this wine and didn't feel that I found them. This was a very enjoyable wine at its peak after some day and a half in the decanter, but I would prefer to open a bottle of the Vesuvio '94 than another bottle of the 2003. However, I have never been able to taste a wine at the first stage of its life and then again 10 or 20 years later. I have absolutely no idea how this wine will develop over the years to come other than to say that I am sure it will. Will it improve? I have no idea and turn to the experience of Roy and others to guide me in this. I do know that I am going to take this opportunity to learn what a wine tastes like in its first year of life and how it develops. My New Year's resolution is to taste a bottle of the Vesuvio '03 at least once a year for the next 20 years.
Alex
