The vintage

2003

The summer Europe baked

Delivery in 7–10 working days, tracked · transit cover optional at checkout

The 2003 vintage, rated

The summer Europe baked

In 2026 a bottle from 2003 marks a 23rd birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Good · 3/5

The heatwave year, and the most uneven in this whole range. St-Estèphe and Pauillac somehow thrived - Montrose and Cos d'Estournel 2003 are among the wines of the decade - but much of the rest of Bordeaux was scorched, lost its acidity and is tiring now. Port was declared everywhere and is superb; Sauternes did well; Piedmont and Burgundy made roasted, forward wines that aged quickly.

What we would buy, and why

Be precise with 2003 and never buy it generically: a named St-Estèphe estate or a declared Vintage Port is money well spent, while a vague Bordeaux Supérieur or Médoc from this year will be soft, jammy and flat. Port is the best value on the list at €90-150, and a declared vintage is the longest-lived wine of the year. If the gift is for someone who drinks rather than collects, taste-forward is fine, but ask the merchant when the bottle was last tasted.

2003 in the world

Concorde flew its last commercial service on 24 October 2003, landing at Heathrow from New York; crowds stood on car park roofs to watch it come in.

Best bets for 2003

  • Château Montrose or Cos d'Estournel 2003, St-Estèphe, €250-550 - two of the great successes of the year anywhere in France
  • Taylor's, Graham's or Warre's Vintage Port 2003, €90-150 - universally declared and built for decades
  • Sauternes 2003 from Suduiraut or Climens, €90-160 - the heat and a kind autumn suited the sweet wines
  • Hermitage or Côte-Rôtie 2003 from Chave, Chapoutier or Guigal, €150-450 - big, roasted, divisive, and the good ones are still going strong

How we grade a bottle

Fill level, label, capsule and cork, then provenance. Every bottle is checked by hand by people who have handled thousands of old bottles, and we write down the flaws as well as the good news. What the fill levels mean · How to choose a birth-year wine

Real people, not a chatbot

Ask a person about this year

The people who answer are the same people who check and pack the bottles. Ask for photographs, a condition report or advice on a year and you get a straight answer from the ANNO team, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 CET.