Opus One

[jmccready]

Just got back from a Tasting at Opus. Sat. 22nd-their "blessing of the grapes"afternoon tasting party. Beautiful setting and day of course.
The 03 was ripe and evolved with supporting structure and got the palate ready for the tougher tannins to come. I don't know if it was
as hot in 03 in Napa as Bordeaux: actually I can't remember. Not a bad effort and perhaps could lay for a little longer.
The 05 was my favorite with well integrated tannins and the 14% was not obtrusive. I wish I had a case to keep longer.
The 07 was reportedly a great vintage and the wine was packed with power but the heat on the end was a bit overpowering for me.
The OH was 14.7% and it showed. The wine got great reviews I understand.
The 09 seemed more like the 05 and time will tell. I rarely drink Opus but the tasting did remind me of the effort put into this wine.
Great structure, rich and supple dark berry fruits, very well made, but the 07 wanted to express itself and did. I retasted a bunch as
we had 4 hours and my impressions remained the same. I am interested in trying vintages form the 90s to see how they have matured.

[DavidG]

I like(d) Opus One - an excellent wine even if not in my top 5 Cabs from California, based on drinking a fair number of them in the '90s. At almost $200/btl it's no longer on my radar, so I can't comment on recent vintages or even on how the bottles from the '90s are aging since I've long since drunk them all.