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D+0h: smells of red currant, some crust in the bottle, D+3,5h: still quite dark, dark as ink, on the rim slightly crimson, smells of eucalyptus, strawbery (or plum?), smooth in the mouth, not that sweet, tastes of plum and pepper, quite a long finish, pretty good (88P.), but it might have been better with more acidity (which I somewhat missed and which made this LBV slightly one-dimensional), but 2003 was a very hot year which explains the low acidity

Heat always leads to low acidity? I'm curious.

If you look up "acidity" in the Oxford Companion to wine" (3rd edition, p.3), you will find: "Too little acidity ... - the consequence of picking too late, or such heat during ripening that the natural plant acids are largely decomposed - results in wines that are flat, uninteresting, and described typically by wines tasters as "flabby".
I would not go so far as to label the Niepoort LBV03 as uninteresting, but I'm not keen on wines from the 03 vintage (with the exception of the Croft 03 which I tasted in Feb. 2012, but which - in my opinion will not last well in old age because of lack of tannins. But enjoyed young is a delight)

Oh dear - this is a pity. Just a few years ago, i had thought that the Niepoort 2003 LBV just about represented the pinnacle of LBV and would be capable of ageing well (so much so that i still have a 6-pack in storage).

However, unless it has really fallen apart recently, i do wonder whether you may have had an off or atypical bottle - your description re: lack of acidity neither chimes with my experience, the tasting notes on FTLOP (here: log-in required) or, unless i am reading them wrong, the total acidity / PH values on the spec sheet itself (here).

Rob, there is really no reason to despair. I would not say that the '03 LBV is falling apart. It's a very good LBV, which would have been better - in my personal view - with a little more acidity. Wine is a very personal and sujective thing, so taste depends on the palate of the drinker (if my variation of "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder" is not too clumsy).
I tasted the '03 Niepoort LBV just a week after the '04 Sandeman LBV, which I thought really had a lovely acidity. As I can get both LBVs for the same price, I simply will buy some more bottles of the Sandeman.
By the way: if you like Niepoort LBVs, then you should take a closer look at the '08. That's a really lovely wine. I laid down a dozen bottles.

AW77 wrote:By the way: if you like Niepoort LBVs, then you should take a closer look at the '08. That's a really lovely wine. I laid down a dozen bottles.

I did enjoy the 08 the few times i have had it, but not to the same extent as the 03 a few years ago (and didn't find it a "stand-out" of the LBV type as i had with the 2003). Will have to pull one of the 03s out to see whether there's any point holding longer....