nose - smoke, mesquite mouth - complex, intense, slightly bitter, cornucopia of fruit flavors. not really napa nor bordeaux in terms of primary style. Rather in a league of its own. increasingly i find opus one to be unique amongst napa wines. the patriarch states that if blinded he would have guessed it to be a montrose.
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Still drinking very very well but now so soft and integrated with the oak and tannins all gone that it is high time to drink up any remaining holdings. Wish we had another bottle - we recently acquired this sole bottle as part of a much larger cellar purchase. Did not decant it but had the bottle opened for about 3 hours and this seemed about right - did not significantly further improve in the glass. Beautiful well aged soft integrated high end Bdx blend. Nose more muted then palate with dark cherry, rose and tar on the nose. Very soft mouth feel with a pleasant lengthy aftertaste. Initially palate more fruity with persisting dark stone fruit including plum and dark cherry but then cassis along with earthier flavors of earth, mushrooms, ash and garrigue developed. Highly recommend - this is one old school classic.
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PnP at an "open that bottle" event. Well liked at the table. Fruit faded, fine aroma, lots of sediment -- nice mature claret without a lot of future. If I owned any I would plan to drink it soon.
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Last bottle. I have had quite a few vintages of Opus over the years in my inventory. This vintage has been one of the most consistent in terms of the drinking experience it delivers. Decanted for almost two hours. I have 2022 down as the end of the drink window. It is not rolling over quite yet, but I also believe it has the taste of a wine that does not have a long life left. I would be a drinker.
Decanted for 2 hours. Extremely well balanced with nice maturity. Kept evolving in the glass for 3h+ so plenty of life left if you like mature notes. A Perfect match to the Beef Wellington!
Glass: Riedel Veritas Merlot
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My last two bottles of this one were a little off......this bottle was back to what it should be. Opened for one hour and then decanted for another one plus hours. I had 2021 down as the last year of the drink window, but have added a year. I have had bad luck with high end California CS (including Opus) from the 1990s in terms of many of them having bad corks. Corks......that were crumbly and very difficult to remove. This bottle had a firm cork which was in great shape and easy to remove. This vintage seems to have escaped that cork problem.
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The same as a bottle consumed earlier this year. My bottles have not held as well as is the case with other cellartracker.com tasters. I am confused, as they have been well stored.
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I had a bottle of this around last October which was fairly good. This bottle is off from that experience. Two hour decant. I have 2021 down as the last year of my drink window......will leave that year, but will be a drinker. There are a lot of bottles left in cellartrack.com inventories. I would drink up.
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Vibrant! Low expectations, both because of the vintage and a number of disappointing early 90s cabs recently. No fading or watery appearance. Tastes and smells like a beautiful, mature bottle of Bordeaux. Enjoyable in every respect.
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No decant.....took in the range of being opened for 2 hours to open up. I cannot decide whether this is a drink right away wine or one that is going to last. I see tasting notes that cover both ends of the spectrum. However, my notes on a bottle I had several years ago clearly gave it a higher rating than this bottle. That might suggest drinking up now.
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After personally holding this bottle for 24 years we decanted it for 2 + hours and enjoyed with friends. No sediment after rotating it every 6 months. Silky smooth, inky and still full of depth.
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Bordal chez Albert (Chancy): Carafé, avait l'avantage de passer juste après Clinet 78... Très belle surprise lorsqu'on a su. Magnifique robe très jeune plutôt légère, vin typé bordelais, aucune lourdeur californienne, a beaucoup plu à toutes et à tous. Sur la base de cette bouteille, possède encore quelques belles années devant lui.
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Enjoyable over several hours. Much better in hour 3 of decanting than in hour 1. No surprise there. Cedar and earth tones, but then more fruit, and not all dark. Doesn't have the leather notes of some other Napa wines from early 90s vintages. Low alcohol helps keep this balanced. I am not the biggest fan of the opus style but I thoroughly enjoyed this wine.
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Rich stewed fruits. Prune and also a pleasant syrupy character that was delicious. Soft but defined tannins and a long finish. Showed extremely well. The last of our Wedding year Opus!
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Opus One - With James Handford MW (Handford Wines, London): Colour shows its age. Compared to the 95 & 96 this felt less evolved. Still a very good wine, lively, tight with good tannin, perfumed nose. Felt delicate at times. A touch of dry tannin on the finish spoils a bit the show. A pretty solid wine but in a lower league to the excellent 95 &96. 92-93 and drink now.
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Quite complex on the nose again. Clean, minty, spicy with forest notes and cedar. Less complex and round on the palate, fresh, a tad bitter and drying with nice persistence and power. 91-93
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Still full of plum, and bright cassis fruit, but with powerful top notes of peppercorns and black earth. Youthful color, with a nose that gains complexity with airtime, though it's not uniformly attractive. A wine that speaks to the vintage, not a style, with excellent acids and tannins that will likely outlive the fruit. In no danger of decline, this should continue to develop tertiary qualities over the next 5 years before it begins a decline that I suspect may be rather short-lived. If you've got a few, and haven't checked on it in a while, now could be a very good time to do so. recommended, best thru 2020
Audoze three hours, aerated to decanter one hour then served non-blind.
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Tasted in a flight of a 1992 Opus One and this 1993 Opus One with a 1993 Ch. Mouton Rothschild all from excellent storage. Quite intense and somewhat tannic this was very sound and enjoyable. Developed but still strong complex flavors and fruit.
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The bouquet on this 20-year-old wine screams red fruits (as opposed to the more normal (nowadays, at least) black fruits), such as raspberries, sour cherries, and currants, along with suggestions of oak and earth. There’s also a touch of petrol on the nose; it’s not real obvious or overwhelming, but I detected a subtle hint of it in the background. Perhaps that’s a common trait of 20-year-old Napa blends? I don’t have enough experience with Napa blends that old to really know for sure.
This wine, 19.5 years-ish after the grapes were harvested, is VERY interesting. We all know that Bordeaux varietals can age for decades, and I assumed this wine would have aged brilliantly. We cooled-down the wines and then decanted them (we also had a 2005 Opus One with Easter dinner, which I also wrote some notes on) for about two hours, which really helped with the bouquet as well as the sediment that had developed almost twenty years after harvest.
One major precaution: DO NOT expect a modern, fruity, rich, creamy Bordeaux blend out of this wine. Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild made wines much differently twenty years ago. Wines (in general) from twenty years ago were much more austere, had much lower alcohol levels, and were picked earlier during harvest (probably in September back in 1993, versus late November nowadays (ok, I’m exaggerating a bit there, but you get my point)).
This wine tastes VERY much like my favorite California Zinfandel: Caparone out of Paso Robles. They do not make typical Paso Fruit Bombs; they make a fascinating, spicy, interesting, unique Zin (in addition to their lovely Italian varietals) unlike any other Zin I’ve ever tasted. Their Zin is more like Grenache, and this Opus One tastes more like a Caparone Zin and/or a Grenache than a typical Napa Valley Bordeaux blend.
The wine is VERY bright and viscous with a mostly red fruit profile of raspberries and sour cherries (just like the Caparone Zin!). There’s also a generous helping of savory herbs (thyme, Herbs de Provence, white pepper, and rosemary) and gritty, mature tannins with earth and oak undercurrents. This wine has plenty of acidity and like most well-aged reds, the fruit has taken a backseat to the spices, oak, and earth elements. I was actually expecting some leathery undertones but couldn’t detect them.
This is a delicious, smooth, well-balanced, deeply complex wine with a fascinating flavor profile. It is past the classic Napa “fruity phase” and may be running out of steam. If anybody still has this wine in their cellar, I would recommend opening and finishing it soon. We have one more bottle and will definitely finish it this year. Again, do NOT expect a big, rich, creamy, fruity Napa Fruit Bomb. This wine is graceful, mature, delicate, and pretty (kind of like Meryl Streep). If you’re more into the big, brash, crude/rude, obnoxious, trashy reality T.V. show types (like the Kardashians), look elsewhere.
We paired this wine with lamb chops topped with a roasted garlic, rosemary, and parsley pesto-like sauce. The combination of the savory, spicy wine paired gorgeously with the savory, spicy lamb.
This wine would also pair well with just about any other red meat dish, as well as spiced/marinated pork and/or chicken dishes.
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A superb wine. Has a lazy feel of royalty about it -- majestic, sophisticated, ripe, mature and in perfect balance. Show casing a sweet dark cherry core augmented by hints of cedar and plum, this wine drinks impeccably now. Compared to a number of 90's cabs/bordeauxs that either faded or dried out, this wine's regal velvety texture simply puts it in a different class altogether.
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Not impressed. After decanted for 90 minutes, oak derived aromas such as dark chocolate & expresso were dominant and overshadowed any other note. Same oak dominance continued for the next 4 hrs. I cannot say the mouthfeel showed the characteristic elegance and silky texture typical of older Opus vintages (e.g. '81 or '85), but I can appreciate its structure, near-sweet tannins and long finish. I will not be surprised if this wine gets better in 5-10 yrs.
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- Crimsom color and has flavours of black currant - Served with a Fred's sirloin on Saturday night, November 3, 2012. My brother Kermit joined us for dinner.
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Fantastic nose with eucalyptus, black fruits, cedar; deep black fruits, lovely balance, full bodied, smooth and juicy, fresh tasting. Nose more complex than palate but both excellent. Ready but has years left on this plateau. 93
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Served along side with a 2001 Clos de Sarpe and a 1982 Calon-Segur, generally thought the best of the three quite good offerings and only by a slim margin particularly with regard to the Calon-Segur. Opened in the bottle about one hour prior to serving. Darker and more maroon than the Calon-Segur; less purple than the Sarpe, and not very "old" looking in the glass. Rich cabernet nose of wood, cassis, and blackberrry. Well intergrated silky texture. Overall, less rustic than either of the other two. Long and enjoyable. But as enjoyable as this was probably well into the downhill side so drink up.
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Blind tasting @ kw. pop & pour some funkiness on the nose that never quite blew off, but still enjoyed aromas of briar, berries, dried fruit. Palate shows similar tastes, few tannins, medium finish. I ranked this 6/9, group 3/9
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This classic Bordeaux style claret is stunning but still a little on the young side with plenty of soft tannins and acid to frame the lovely fruit. We celebrated Christmas 2010 with this wine and and eye of prime roast.
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Opened a bottle of 1993 Opus One that I have had in my cellar since 1995 last night, Morton's decanted it for about 1 hour. The nose was excellent, my first impression was that the wine had aged beautifully. The nose contained that earthy, complex aroma, hint of wood and spice. The taste of the wine was excellent, it was very smooth and had an awsome finish. It was hard to beleive that the wne smoothed out over the 45 minutes that we took to drink it. The blackcurrant, cassis and black cherry aromas and flavors that Opus is know for came out. I am not sure, but this bottle may have had some more time in the bottle, but I think I would drink it sooner rather than later. I was VERY pleased with the OPUS!!! Enjoy if you have any left.
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The cork was soft and indeed, it did break off. However the wine stain was barely 3/16" so it had not failed. I decanted into a large ship's decanter with a 14" base. Saved a fair amount of sediment for the trash. The nose was, well, it reminded me of the places that they do minor surgery! So a bad start. At first taste, I was thinking that it was all lost after residing safely in my cellar for almost 15 years. The mouth feel was good and then, mid palate, it began to show signs of life. The finish was medium length, and there were still some gentle tannins and they were sweet. Overall the structure was more complex as the evening progressed. I got blends in taste of wood, dark fruit, maybe prune, and that is about it! Not wildly to die for, but a solid wine for the evening served with Angel Hair Marinara, Veal Parmigiana made with real Parmesan, and some Broccoli Rabe sauteed in XVOO, Garlic and Onions. One more left in the cellar and I look forward to it. I give it 90+ because of the great mouth feel and structure.
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Best of Bordeaux vs Kings of Kalifornia (prima): nose - tar, poop, stinky, musty, stunning nose with some fruit in there as well. It kept smelling different throught the night. mouth - complex red fruit with distinctive mushroomy flavors. Still tannic, and impressively complex. Possibly stumbling slightly on the finish. Pretty much everyone though it to be old world. Wine of the Night and Winner of the match Mario.
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Mr. Mike's Odd Tasting: Old California Cabernets & Blends (John's Marketplace, Portland, OR): This was like aged Bordeaux, with the cedar/pencil aspects. Very light in color, with lots of gravelly earth flavors. Raspberry fruit, maybe some currant or cranberry? Definitely the most complex wine in the lineup, so far, but the flavors don't grab me like some of the others did.
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Decanted. This Opus is drinking well presently but I suspect for not too much longer. It's lost a light bit of fruit. Lots of dark fruit and smoke on the nose. On the palate, there is toasted oak, with hints of toasted marshmallow, dark fruit, pencil lead, cedar. Structure is still somewhat firm, with a super-long finish and fine grained tannins.
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Transluscent "Burgundy" color almost to the core. Little or no bricking at the rim. Armoa of plum and a little cedar wood. Tannin fully intergrated. Bouquet is almost Medoc in profile. Medium bodied, unlike other vintages of Opus one. Short and decent finish. Good to drink but not outstanding in any degree.
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My 2nd time with 1993, this bottle is more ready to drink than a botle from last 2 years. It's a nice wine, nice oak in Mouton' style but nothing's special, delicious and nice finished.
Drink now - 2018
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Seattle Tasting Group does California Cabernet (Sammamish, WA): Poopy, bretty and grape jelly all at once. Some tobacco comes out with time and the grapiness subsides. The palate is very, very sweet. I guessed that it was a Mondavi, close. A bit over the top for me, although I appreciated the dose of brett.
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outstanding from the outset, great fruit, balance and integration, still some tannin on the end, but "sweet" tannin, has years to go, but some veggies come out a little later
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2/3/2024 - soyhead wrote:
nose - smoke, mesquite
mouth - complex, intense, slightly bitter, cornucopia of fruit flavors. not really napa nor bordeaux in terms of primary style. Rather in a league of its own. increasingly i find opus one to be unique amongst napa wines. the patriarch states that if blinded he would have guessed it to be a montrose.
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11/4/2023 - Ulises759 wrote: 90 Points
Fantastic year, drinks as expected!
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11/4/2023 - mick978@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Despite a really subpar year this wine is delicious
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8/19/2023 - mick978@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drink now. Decent wine.
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11/12/2022 - TGOT Likes this wine: 94 Points
Amazingly, still drinking great out of 375. Needed an hour to open up, but then it was singing.
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9/26/2021 - ikkaariainen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still drinking very very well but now so soft and integrated with the oak and tannins all gone that it is high time to drink up any remaining holdings. Wish we had another bottle - we recently acquired this sole bottle as part of a much larger cellar purchase. Did not decant it but had the bottle opened for about 3 hours and this seemed about right - did not significantly further improve in the glass. Beautiful well aged soft integrated high end Bdx blend. Nose more muted then palate with dark cherry, rose and tar on the nose. Very soft mouth feel with a pleasant lengthy aftertaste. Initially palate more fruity with persisting dark stone fruit including plum and dark cherry but then cassis along with earthier flavors of earth, mushrooms, ash and garrigue developed. Highly recommend - this is one old school classic.
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8/31/2021 - daveste Likes this wine: 92 Points
PnP at an "open that bottle" event. Well liked at the table. Fruit faded, fine aroma, lots of sediment -- nice mature claret without a lot of future. If I owned any I would plan to drink it soon.
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4/14/2021 - WineGuyFL Likes this wine: 93 Points
Last bottle. I have had quite a few vintages of Opus over the years in my inventory. This vintage has been one of the most consistent in terms of the drinking experience it delivers. Decanted for almost two hours. I have 2022 down as the end of the drink window. It is not rolling over quite yet, but I also believe it has the taste of a wine that does not have a long life left. I would be a drinker.
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1/21/2021 - matage wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Extremely well balanced with nice maturity.
Kept evolving in the glass for 3h+ so plenty of life left if you like mature notes. A Perfect match to the Beef Wellington!
Glass: Riedel Veritas Merlot
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12/31/2020 - WineGuyFL Likes this wine: 94 Points
My last two bottles of this one were a little off......this bottle was back to what it should be. Opened for one hour and then decanted for another one plus hours. I had 2021 down as the last year of the drink window, but have added a year. I have had bad luck with high end California CS (including Opus) from the 1990s in terms of many of them having bad corks. Corks......that were crumbly and very difficult to remove. This bottle had a firm cork which was in great shape and easy to remove. This vintage seems to have escaped that cork problem.
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11/27/2020 - WineGuyFL wrote: 92 Points
The same as a bottle consumed earlier this year. My bottles have not held as well as is the case with other cellartracker.com tasters. I am confused, as they have been well stored.
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7/12/2020 - WineGuyFL wrote: 92 Points
I had a bottle of this around last October which was fairly good. This bottle is off from that experience. Two hour decant. I have 2021 down as the last year of my drink window......will leave that year, but will be a drinker. There are a lot of bottles left in cellartrack.com inventories. I would drink up.
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6/21/2020 - bobbubbabs wrote: 94 Points
Vibrant! Low expectations, both because of the vintage and a number of disappointing early 90s cabs recently. No fading or watery appearance. Tastes and smells like a beautiful, mature bottle of Bordeaux. Enjoyable in every respect.
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10/1/2019 - WineGuyFL Likes this wine: 93 Points
No decant.....took in the range of being opened for 2 hours to open up. I cannot decide whether this is a drink right away wine or one that is going to last. I see tasting notes that cover both ends of the spectrum. However, my notes on a bottle I had several years ago clearly gave it a higher rating than this bottle. That might suggest drinking up now.
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7/30/2019 - Laudis1958 wrote:
Absolutely delightful
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5/18/2019 - G_H wrote: 92 Points
Very Bordeaux like, left bank, on the austere side for a Cali but very good. Still incredibly young
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7/22/2017 - WTWagner Likes this wine: 93 Points
After personally holding this bottle for 24 years we decanted it for 2 + hours and enjoyed with friends. No sediment after rotating it every 6 months. Silky smooth, inky and still full of depth.
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5/5/2017 - europat55 wrote: 93 Points
3 Decades of Opus One (Andre and Sabine's House, Mountain View, CA): Nose: A-/A Palate B++/A-
My #4, Group's #4 (78 pts). Tasted blind
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10/13/2016 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 91 Points
Earthy and restrained, past peak but still rewarding.
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8/27/2016 - Ericsson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bordal chez Albert (Chancy): Carafé, avait l'avantage de passer juste après Clinet 78...
Très belle surprise lorsqu'on a su. Magnifique robe très jeune plutôt légère, vin typé bordelais, aucune lourdeur californienne, a beaucoup plu à toutes et à tous.
Sur la base de cette bouteille, possède encore quelques belles années devant lui.
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4/6/2016 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nice older wine. Earthly, mushrooms, asian spices, wet wood, forest floor, and tart cherries. very smooth. well integrated.
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3/21/2016 - mygrogro wrote: 93 Points
Light mineral jam nose
Smooth earthy and oak with a hint of burnt
raspberry
very pleasant and fruit forward
enjoy
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9/2/2015 - Afliss wrote: 92 Points
Enjoyable over several hours. Much better in hour 3 of decanting than in hour 1. No surprise there. Cedar and earth tones, but then more fruit, and not all dark. Doesn't have the leather notes of some other Napa wines from early 90s vintages. Low alcohol helps keep this balanced. I am not the biggest fan of the opus style but I thoroughly enjoyed this wine.
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4/10/2015 - Paradigm Media wrote:
Rich stewed fruits. Prune and also a pleasant syrupy character that was delicious. Soft but defined tannins and a long finish. Showed extremely well. The last of our Wedding year Opus!
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2/4/2015 - Papies wrote: 93 Points
Opus One - With James Handford MW (Handford Wines, London): Colour shows its age. Compared to the 95 & 96 this felt less evolved. Still a very good wine, lively, tight with good tannin, perfumed nose. Felt delicate at times. A touch of dry tannin on the finish spoils a bit the show. A pretty solid wine but in a lower league to the excellent 95 &96. 92-93 and drink now.
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2/4/2015 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
Quite complex on the nose again. Clean, minty, spicy with forest notes and cedar. Less complex and round on the palate, fresh, a tad bitter and drying with nice persistence and power. 91-93
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7/31/2014 - Nguyenning Likes this wine: 95 Points
Oh wow. Based on the most recent CT review, I was worried this one might be past it's prime, but no way. Drinking wonderfully right now. Drink up!
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5/4/2014 - rpenn77 wrote: 85 Points
Past its prime. Wish I had opened it earlier.
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3/15/2014 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Still full of plum, and bright cassis fruit, but with powerful top notes of peppercorns and black earth. Youthful color, with a nose that gains complexity with airtime, though it's not uniformly attractive. A wine that speaks to the vintage, not a style, with excellent acids and tannins that will likely outlive the fruit. In no danger of decline, this should continue to develop tertiary qualities over the next 5 years before it begins a decline that I suspect may be rather short-lived. If you've got a few, and haven't checked on it in a while, now could be a very good time to do so. recommended, best thru 2020
Audoze three hours, aerated to decanter one hour then served non-blind.
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8/24/2013 - Norb wrote: 92 Points
- Crimsom color. It's balanced with a medium/full body. Polished texture with a medium finish.
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7/27/2013 - Woodbridge Brad Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted in a flight of a 1992 Opus One and this 1993 Opus One with a 1993 Ch. Mouton Rothschild all from excellent storage. Quite intense and somewhat tannic this was very sound and enjoyable. Developed but still strong complex flavors and fruit.
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3/31/2013 - DaveZack Likes this wine: 91 Points
The bouquet on this 20-year-old wine screams red fruits (as opposed to the more normal (nowadays, at least) black fruits), such as raspberries, sour cherries, and currants, along with suggestions of oak and earth. There’s also a touch of petrol on the nose; it’s not real obvious or overwhelming, but I detected a subtle hint of it in the background. Perhaps that’s a common trait of 20-year-old Napa blends? I don’t have enough experience with Napa blends that old to really know for sure.
This wine, 19.5 years-ish after the grapes were harvested, is VERY interesting. We all know that Bordeaux varietals can age for decades, and I assumed this wine would have aged brilliantly. We cooled-down the wines and then decanted them (we also had a 2005 Opus One with Easter dinner, which I also wrote some notes on) for about two hours, which really helped with the bouquet as well as the sediment that had developed almost twenty years after harvest.
One major precaution: DO NOT expect a modern, fruity, rich, creamy Bordeaux blend out of this wine. Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild made wines much differently twenty years ago. Wines (in general) from twenty years ago were much more austere, had much lower alcohol levels, and were picked earlier during harvest (probably in September back in 1993, versus late November nowadays (ok, I’m exaggerating a bit there, but you get my point)).
This wine tastes VERY much like my favorite California Zinfandel: Caparone out of Paso Robles. They do not make typical Paso Fruit Bombs; they make a fascinating, spicy, interesting, unique Zin (in addition to their lovely Italian varietals) unlike any other Zin I’ve ever tasted. Their Zin is more like Grenache, and this Opus One tastes more like a Caparone Zin and/or a Grenache than a typical Napa Valley Bordeaux blend.
The wine is VERY bright and viscous with a mostly red fruit profile of raspberries and sour cherries (just like the Caparone Zin!). There’s also a generous helping of savory herbs (thyme, Herbs de Provence, white pepper, and rosemary) and gritty, mature tannins with earth and oak undercurrents. This wine has plenty of acidity and like most well-aged reds, the fruit has taken a backseat to the spices, oak, and earth elements. I was actually expecting some leathery undertones but couldn’t detect them.
This is a delicious, smooth, well-balanced, deeply complex wine with a fascinating flavor profile. It is past the classic Napa “fruity phase” and may be running out of steam. If anybody still has this wine in their cellar, I would recommend opening and finishing it soon. We have one more bottle and will definitely finish it this year. Again, do NOT expect a big, rich, creamy, fruity Napa Fruit Bomb. This wine is graceful, mature, delicate, and pretty (kind of like Meryl Streep). If you’re more into the big, brash, crude/rude, obnoxious, trashy reality T.V. show types (like the Kardashians), look elsewhere.
We paired this wine with lamb chops topped with a roasted garlic, rosemary, and parsley pesto-like sauce. The combination of the savory, spicy wine paired gorgeously with the savory, spicy lamb.
This wine would also pair well with just about any other red meat dish, as well as spiced/marinated pork and/or chicken dishes.
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3/21/2013 - mwanasheria Likes this wine: 92 Points
A fully mature Opus One with pepper, herbs, cedar, forest floor. Bouquet of dried fruits, spices.
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3/4/2013 - lef wrote: 91 Points
Medium body overpower of oak and tobacco. Tannins on the finish. Best with a meal than on its own.
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1/14/2013 - swapdoc Likes this wine:
A superb wine. Has a lazy feel of royalty about it -- majestic, sophisticated, ripe, mature and in perfect balance. Show casing a sweet dark cherry core augmented by hints of cedar and plum, this wine drinks impeccably now. Compared to a number of 90's cabs/bordeauxs that either faded or dried out, this wine's regal velvety texture simply puts it in a different class altogether.
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11/25/2012 - Spaniard wrote: 86 Points
Not impressed. After decanted for 90 minutes, oak derived aromas such as dark chocolate & expresso were dominant and overshadowed any other note. Same oak dominance continued for the next 4 hrs. I cannot say the mouthfeel showed the characteristic elegance and silky texture typical of older Opus vintages (e.g. '81 or '85), but I can appreciate its structure, near-sweet tannins and long finish. I will not be surprised if this wine gets better in 5-10 yrs.
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11/6/2012 - rshumard wrote: 94 Points
- Crimsom color and has flavours of black currant - Served with a Fred's sirloin on Saturday night, November 3, 2012. My brother Kermit joined us for dinner.
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11/4/2012 - rshumard wrote:
- Aromas of cloves - Drank at home with Dennie and Kermit over a Fred's sirloin. Outstanding!
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7/22/2012 - aagrawal wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic nose with eucalyptus, black fruits, cedar; deep black fruits, lovely balance, full bodied, smooth and juicy, fresh tasting. Nose more complex than palate but both excellent. Ready but has years left on this plateau. 93
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5/7/2012 - 52winelover wrote: 93 Points
Fabulous
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2/14/2012 - ShannonGroomes Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still drinking really well, dark ruby in color, tannins have blown off
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1/22/2012 - nogohawk wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 1 hr - not as dark as I hoped, but plum & dark fruit - very soft tannins - at its prime now
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1/18/2012 - lepetitchateau wrote: 93 Points
Totally beautiful nose, cigars and pencil notes. On the palate it is sweet, mederatelt rich and very tastey.
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12/26/2011 - johnwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
This wine was delicious but somewhat unfocused in its flavors. In my opinion this wine is at or just past it peak.
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12/25/2011 - smphelps wrote: 93 Points
Served along side with a 2001 Clos de Sarpe and a 1982 Calon-Segur, generally thought the best of the three quite good offerings and only by a slim margin particularly with regard to the Calon-Segur. Opened in the bottle about one hour prior to serving. Darker and more maroon than the Calon-Segur; less purple than the Sarpe, and not very "old" looking in the glass. Rich cabernet nose of wood, cassis, and blackberrry. Well intergrated silky texture. Overall, less rustic than either of the other two. Long and enjoyable. But as enjoyable as this was probably well into the downhill side so drink up.
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11/5/2011 - Dbsnyder wrote: 91 Points
Nice. Drink it now.
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11/4/2011 - Eupnic wrote:
Funky nose; decanted 45 minutes Blossomed into a beautiful smooth soft tannin wine. Long finish . Enjoyed with a veal chop at Spago
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10/7/2011 - jinks wrote: 93 Points
Blind tasting @ kw. pop & pour
some funkiness on the nose that never quite blew off, but still enjoyed aromas of briar, berries, dried fruit.
Palate shows similar tastes, few tannins, medium finish.
I ranked this 6/9, group 3/9
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2/2/2011 - wmeznarich wrote: 93 Points
3 hours in decanter. Gorgeous, continued to blossom throughout evening. Which i had 12 more!
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1/23/2011 - rpenn77 wrote: 95 Points
Opened and decanted 4 hours before serving with prime rib dinner. Glorious, sweet, soft tannins. Excellent structure. Classic bottle aged cabernet.
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12/27/2010 - johnwine Likes this wine: 92 Points
This classic Bordeaux style claret is stunning but still a little on the young side with plenty of soft tannins and acid to frame the lovely fruit. We celebrated Christmas 2010 with this wine and and eye of prime roast.
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7/26/2010 - jinks wrote: 93 Points
Still holding up well - will go another several years
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3/6/2010 - mlugo wrote: 95 Points
Opened a bottle of 1993 Opus One that I have had in my cellar since 1995 last night, Morton's decanted it for about 1 hour. The nose was excellent, my first impression was that the wine had aged beautifully. The nose contained that earthy, complex aroma, hint of wood and spice.
The taste of the wine was excellent, it was very smooth and had an awsome finish. It was hard to beleive that the wne smoothed out over the 45 minutes that we took to drink it. The blackcurrant, cassis and black cherry aromas and flavors that Opus is know for came out.
I am not sure, but this bottle may have had some more time in the bottle, but I think I would drink it sooner rather than later.
I was VERY pleased with the OPUS!!! Enjoy if you have any left.
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2/27/2010 - Old Amarone wrote: 90 Points
The cork was soft and indeed, it did break off. However the wine stain was barely 3/16" so it had not failed. I decanted into a large ship's decanter with a 14" base. Saved a fair amount of sediment for the trash. The nose was, well, it reminded me of the places that they do minor surgery! So a bad start. At first taste, I was thinking that it was all lost after residing safely in my cellar for almost 15 years. The mouth feel was good and then, mid palate, it began to show signs of life. The finish was medium length, and there were still some gentle tannins and they were sweet. Overall the structure was more complex as the evening progressed. I got blends in taste of wood, dark fruit, maybe prune, and that is about it! Not wildly to die for, but a solid wine for the evening served with Angel Hair Marinara, Veal Parmigiana made with real Parmesan, and some Broccoli Rabe sauteed in XVOO, Garlic and Onions. One more left in the cellar and I look forward to it. I give it 90+ because of the great mouth feel and structure.
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12/18/2009 - soyhead wrote: 94 Points
Best of Bordeaux vs Kings of Kalifornia (prima): nose - tar, poop, stinky, musty, stunning nose with some fruit in there as well. It kept smelling different throught the night.
mouth - complex red fruit with distinctive mushroomy flavors. Still tannic, and impressively complex. Possibly stumbling slightly on the finish. Pretty much everyone though it to be old world. Wine of the Night and Winner of the match Mario.
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11/30/2009 - RPerro wrote: 91 Points
Mr. Mike's Odd Tasting: Old California Cabernets & Blends (John's Marketplace, Portland, OR): This was like aged Bordeaux, with the cedar/pencil aspects. Very light in color, with lots of gravelly earth flavors. Raspberry fruit, maybe some currant or cranberry? Definitely the most complex wine in the lineup, so far, but the flavors don't grab me like some of the others did.
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10/31/2008 - Wineholio wrote: 94 Points
Decanted. This Opus is drinking well presently but I suspect for not too much longer. It's lost a light bit of fruit. Lots of dark fruit and smoke on the nose. On the palate, there is toasted oak, with hints of toasted marshmallow, dark fruit, pencil lead, cedar. Structure is still somewhat firm, with a super-long finish and fine grained tannins.
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8/2/2008 - Motronic wrote: 91 Points
Transluscent "Burgundy" color almost to the core. Little or no bricking at the rim. Armoa of plum and a little cedar wood. Tannin fully intergrated. Bouquet is almost Medoc in profile. Medium bodied, unlike other vintages of Opus one. Short and decent finish. Good to drink but not outstanding in any degree.
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3/4/2008 - medpres wrote: 94 Points
Better than expected, decanted for 30 min, tons of fruit still there but balanced by the tannins, really a very drinkable and enjoyable wine.
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8/14/2006 - noppakit s. wrote: 90 Points
My 2nd time with 1993, this bottle is more ready to drink than a botle from last 2 years.
It's a nice wine, nice oak in Mouton' style but nothing's special, delicious and nice finished.
Drink now - 2018
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8/13/2006 - Eric wrote: 87 Points
Seattle Tasting Group does California Cabernet (Sammamish, WA): Poopy, bretty and grape jelly all at once. Some tobacco comes out with time and the grapiness subsides. The palate is very, very sweet. I guessed that it was a Mondavi, close. A bit over the top for me, although I appreciated the dose of brett.
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5/7/2006 - TwoDogs wrote: 94 Points
Delictable
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10/20/2003 - dbg wrote:
outstanding from the outset, great fruit, balance and integration,
still some tannin on the end, but "sweet" tannin, has years to go,
but some veggies come out a little later
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12/14/2002 - dbg wrote:
initially tannic and oaky, opens beautifully after an hour with great
fruit, balance and integration - outstanding
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7/26/2002 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Red Carpet: Bell pepper; tasty sweet smoke; dusty cassis; Full t’s, nice fin.; slighly brighter dark purple than ’92
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