1980 Opus One

Community Tasting Notes (27) Avg Score: 91.9 points

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  1/19/2024 - Stanrocks Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Possibly higher than 95/96
  
  From a 6 L bottle opened during a MW seminar, 75 people in the room :)
  
  Not to say there was not much of that wine in each glass... Blind and decanted 2 hours ago by sommelier from Palais Coburg, we were well treated ! It was stupendous !
  
  Exquisite nose of Old Bordeaux, lefty ! like a very good cru classé, 2d or first with age like 30+
  
  Leathery with still fruit, forrest floor with old cigar box oak... A smooth and long palate,; just can' t stop drinking as it will age very quickly and is so refreshing and delicate ... smooth silky tannins, it is indeed a perfect wine !
  
  No-one thought of Napa, all contenders went to Mouton, Lafitte, I suddenly imagined judgement of Paris when they said it was not Bordeaux ! Never thought of Opus One !
  
  What a treat again ! Superb , highlight of the week for sure with first evening ice wines from 1989 and 1981.

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  11/9/2022 - Triforwine Likes this wine: 96 Points

  A gift from my dad who bought it probably close to on release. 2nd vintage of this bordeaux blend Cali wine by the Rothschild and Mondavi. We didn't know if this project was going to be a a success but the wine was well stored and clearly this was built to age.
  Bottle and label in perfect condition. Low neck fill but not super low neck. Used durand but broke a 5mm chunk off the bottome of cork which I was able to immediately filter off into the first glass. Gorgeous color, ruby with minimal bricking. Not youthful exactly but not old looking either. Almost immediately, the nose is gorgeous with earthy and light wood elements and cigar box and the flavor also similar with some beautiful light red fruit, cranberry and raisin and a floral element. Truly the classic iron fist in a velvet glove from the new world. No need to decant this. It's at peak so just let it breath in the bottle for a bit to let a bit of the funk blow off and maybe filter the last part, there was not much sediment. I think this wine could stay like this for a long time but no reason to hold any longer. It tastes like a margaux that is aged but without the terroir element. So interesting and enjoyable. Opened for a friend whose birth year is 1980 and he brought an incredible 2010 Burgundy white wine and we also tasted a Cali sparkler and a 2011 VCC and sneak peak at 2016 Beycheyvelle all of them sensational so we were living pretty large.

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  11/15/2020 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 94 Points

  From a 1.5L. Medium-deep garnet in color with bricking & clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of matured, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries & cassis with classic cigar box overtones of cedar & aged tobacco notes, earthy/dusty, herbs, tea, spices, coffee, cocoa, minty & minerals. Medium-full bodied with good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, elegant, mature ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & cranberries with herbs, spices, minerals & cola & a hint of vanilla. Lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present & at 40 years of age I doubt any further development will occur from additional aging, so drink up! Fill was in the lower range of the neck & the cork crumbled upon opening.

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  10/12/2020 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points

  13x 1980 Birthday Bash: Three 1980s from Napa Valley. All tasted blind. Unfortunately, only the Opus One (94+ points) delivered. Like so many old Opus, it comes across much younger, very Bordeaux but always with a touch of Californian sexiness. These old Opus from the 80s and 90s are worth any search. The Phelps Insignia (88) and Heitz Martha’s (86) didn’t show that well with low complexity and not an overly fine structure as well as subpar balance. Overall no homerun for Napa, the 1980 Bordeauxs we had in the flights before clearly won this battle.
  
  TN: Not overly expressive nose at first but that improved slightly with more time. Nevertheless, the nose hasn’t the intensity and precision of the best Opus vintages from the 90s or the Bordeaux First Growths from 1980 we had before. The highlight here is the layered palate displaying sweet dark and blue forest berries, lots of tobacco, forest floor and hints of truffles. Not as complex and focused as the best mature Opus but still on a very good level. The structure and texture are great with a lot of melted tannins and a good freshness. Very much a complete wine on the palate and with good length.
  
  Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before service which seemed fine.

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  9/19/2020 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points

  "You only turn 40 once tasting" (At home): Double-decanted. Beautiful, intense nose, some green and herbal notes and lots of fruit. Incredibly round and fresh on the palate where you'll find plenty of black and red currant fruit. Vibrantly fresh acidity. Tannin present but soft and very well integrated. No longer at the same extreme pleasure level as 2012 (my favorite to date), but utterly impressive performance 40 years down the road with some in the gang of 8 tasting this blind suspecting this could be a 20 years younger pirate in the line-up.

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