Agghh, wrote extremely long reply then lost dsl connection! A briefer note. A few thoughts (there are exceptions to almost every point below), expanding upon others' good advice:
1) It's indeed good to remember that you're buying for your palate, not a critic's. It's also good to remember that your tastes might change, so a bit of diversity might not be bad idea.
2) Most 2003 reds are still in barrel, so any opinions you read are barrel samples, inherently less exact.
3) When in doubt, go with history. If I was buying for 50 years past vintage, Port (if declared vintage) is most likely to last (I won't get into Maderia).
4) Next best bets: top Bordeaux, Barolos, Loire sweets, German desserts, northern Rhone reds, top Riojas. All good bets for 25 and
*maybe* 50.
5) I'd personally rather go for 10-25 than 50:GC & top 1er cru Burgs (red or white)*, southern Rhones, CalCabs, Barbaresco, lower pradikat Germans, Alsace and Austrian Rieslings, Brunello, sec & demi-sec Loires, etc.
6) with the heatwave of 2003, most European areas are reporting an atypical vintage. Hot usually means more ripeness (and less acid). For me, I don't like trying to long-term cellar very fat wines, I prefer an acidic backbone. Some knowledgeable critics disagree. But for me, I'd be careful of wines that are very fat/low-acid.
7) Similarly, I tend to trust methods with long history of longevity to more modern/international styles. So, if they fit your tastes, you might want to consider more traditional producers. So Giacosa, either Mascarello, or Marcarini over say Scavino or Prunotto; Sociando-Mallet or Chasse-Spleen as (much less expensive) alternatives to Pavie.
8)Storage makes a huge difference. No wine will make 50 (or 25) with substandard storage.
Good luck. The only hopefully cellarable 2003 I bought so far was Leoville-Barton (which got good reviews from both ends of the critical spectrum, Decanter/J. Robinson and RP). I also bought some cru b/lesser growths that I always buy (Gloria, du Tertre) just because prices seemed fair and I had a little extra. But in general 2003 seemed like a Bordeaux vintage to taste before buying. Dale
- I noted that there are exceptions to everything I said. Still, as someone is bound to jump on this, I'll say my rec for Burgs being not the agers that Bordeaux or Barolo is based on odds, I'm very aware there are great 50+ year old Burgs out there. Dale
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