The complex aromatics of the opaque, black-colored 2003 Dow Vintage Port display chocolate, dried oak, black cherries, blackberries, copious spices, and a myriad flowers. This fresh, backward wine offers a medium to full-bodied, deeply concentrated core of spice-laced dark fruits. Softly-textured and seductive in the mid-palate, it boasts abundant layers of candied Damson plums, blueberries, black cherries, molasses, and hints of chocolate before revealing its firm structure. Extremely youthful and primary, this exceptional effort demands patience. Projected maturity: 2025-2045+. Importer: Premium Port Wines, Inc., San Francisco, CA; tel. (866) 554-9920

Part of the Symingtons' current Library Release collection. Recorked and relabelled. Really powerful, deep, rich and warm. Less floral than the Graham's or the Warre's 2003. More peppery. Chewy but smooth. Dense with a chocolatey finish. Deep and generous with the tannins adding to the freshness, which is just right for completeness and balance. (JH)

Very intense Purplish crimson. Big, broad, burly with an attractively savoury finish. Perhaps a bit simple relative to some. Very fleshy and opulent – the weight of fruit all but masks the tannins (which are certainly there but very fine) completely. This is a little like 9 (Nacional, as it turned out) but lighter. Remarkably light on the finish, oddly enough. Very sweet. Symington. (JR)