2003 La Dame de Montrose

Community Tasting Notes (52) Avg Score: 89.0 points

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  5/7/2023 - Cailles wrote: 86 Points

  Bordeaux 2003 – 20 Years On – 33 Reds: All wines tasted blind, not decanted (some wines would have needed it). Observations: 1) 2003 is not a good vintage. The wines don’t have the depth and elegance of good years. But I was positively surprised, that while it’s clearly a hot year, there are less overripe, over-extracted and prematurely dying wines than in 09/10. Still, there is no comparison to how Chateauxs handle hot years today. 2) Compared to five other vintage retrospectives, the 2003 came in last place (lower average score than 2011), with just Chateau Margaux reaching a group score above 95pts. 3) Margaux wines showed best, with the typical immediate charm, while St. Estephe and Pauillac have potential but will need more time (and/or would have needed more air). 4) Right bank wines did not show as good with some alcohol showing and a few wines being on a downhill path. I would not chase 2003 right banks.
  
  TN: Rather muted nose. On the palate a bit of darker fruit, some herbal aromas (or some more greener notes). Good minerality core. A bit drying and bitter tannins as well as a pronounced acidity. There is no real balance and harmony here. Not a success.
  
  Decanting: Maybe a longer decant could have helped here but I guess not by much.
  
  Group average: 89.8 pts
  Group rank: Shared 24th out of 29 reds

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  3/20/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 92 Points

  Grand Bordeaux 2003 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Both dark and red berry fruit with some blue elements. Subtle aging notes of sous-bois, a bit of leather and hints of barnyard, a mineral layer and floral high notes. Tannin still with a lot of grip and drying, high acidity. For me this was on a par with the Montrose 2003 overall.

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  2/13/2023 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (2/3) and Merlot (1/3). 13% alcohol.
  
  Luminous, moderately translucent and still relatively youthful dark cherry-red color. The nose feels surprisingly youthful with intense aromas of juicy blackcurrants and crème de cassis, some leathery notes, a little bit of wizened cherry, light autumnal leafy tones, a hint of dried red plum and a touch of cigar box. The wine feels quite ripe, rather dense and relatively youthful on the palate with dry flavors of juicy blackcurrants and ripe dark plums, some tobacco, light toasty notes of oak along with woody nuances of savory oak spice, a little bit of leather, a hint of extracted bitterness and a touch of exotic spices. The wine comes across as pretty balanced with its moderately high acidity and somewhat modest but also a bit rough and rustic tannins. The finish is juicy, dry and somewhat gritty with a long aftertaste of ripe blackcurrants, some sweeter plummy tones, a little bit of toasty oak spice, light woody notes of pencil shavings, a hint of game and a touch of sour cherry bitterness.
  
  I wasn't expecting much from a 2003 Bordeaux - mainly modest acidity and pruney fruit flavors - but this turned out to be a surprisingly balanced and harmonious effort, not showing the negative qualities associated with this hot vintage. The fruit felt definitely ripe, but not cooked or overripe in any way, and the acidity seemed to be surprisingly high for the vintage as well. What's most remarkable, though, was how youthful the wine seemed! The fruit department seemed still very vibrant, showing quite little evolution and the flavors didn't exhibit much tertiary character. Although not an extraordinary wine by any means, this was much better than I anticipated. Nice, balanced stuff; priced according to its quality at approx. 50€.

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  6/1/2022 - ppandian wrote: 88 Points

  Quite good but is losing its fruit..

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  10/7/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 86 Points

  Small glass, brief note. Clearly very ripe, aging slowly but still firmly tannic. Good concentration, but not a personal favorite.

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