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| | Vintage | 2014 |  Label 1 of 847 
 | | Type | Red | | Producer | Opus One (web) | | Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | | Designation | n/a | | Vineyard | n/a | | Country | USA | | Region | California | | SubRegion | Napa Valley | | Appellation | Napa Valley | | UPC Code(s) | 017224412106, 091882735791, 451809227509, 626990322535, 753604062034, 753604062041, 753604062058, 753604062072, 753604062096, 753604062102, 753604062119, 753604062126, 753604062140, 753604063147, 898981000030 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.9 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 95 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Crunge on 3/31/2024: No rating as this is not my style of wine.
Despite having been a wine drinker for over thirty years, I had not previously had an Opus One. I've had several people recommend it and one recommender was from such an insufferable blowhard that I was turned off from trying it for years. While I realize that this isn't a top vintage of Opus, it still has a good score and generally positive reviews.
I now understand why this is such a crowd-pleaser. I found the wine incredibly smooth and soft, but to me it bordered on watery. This wine has never seen, nor even heard of, tannins. And then there's the vanilla. Far too much oak for me, but it seems so popular, a la Caymus and others. There was some red fruit here, and everything is in balance (except the oak/vanilla) but it lacks body and any sense of terroir.
If this is your style, enjoy it! There's nothing wrong with it. For me, it's incredibly generic and the QPR is so far out of line it's oenological malfeasance. (1033 views) | | | Tasted by Sean Tay on 3/25/2024 & rated 92 points: Medium+ noise intensity with notes of green bell pepper, mint, herbs, black fruits, spices, toast. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Medium finish and slightly sweet on the palate. Felt that it could be bottle variation as I had better bottle before. (1017 views) | | | Tasted by loj on 2/19/2024 & rated 92 points: Oak is very well integrated, lovely acidity, very persistent finish. Red fruits, spice, and just a hint of herb. (1601 views) | | | Tasted by Bigdong on 2/19/2024 & rated 93 points: Soy sauce, red fruit, some spices. Medium body and elegant. Still tannic. At it’s prime. (1352 views) | | | Tasted by rnjbond on 2/12/2024 & rated 91 points: Napa and Sonoma, January 2024: Tasted at winery.
On the nose, wet cement and old books. Took some time to mellow out and would probably benefit from a decant.
Our server was kind enough to serve a splash of this without a charge, which was much appreciated. (1489 views) | | | Tasted by splavski on 1/14/2024 & rated 95 points: Tasted at Opus Winery (1373 views) | | | Tasted by mfimiani47 on 12/15/2023 & rated 92 points: My first exp with Opus. Out of mag. Cigar box all over the nose here which was really beautiful. On the palate, this took a while to open up. Needed at least 3+ to start showing itself. I agree with some of the comments regarding this lacking mid palate at this stage. If you can, wait. (1546 views) | | | Tasted by victorzg on 11/24/2023 & rated 93 points: Tasted at the winery along with 2018 and 2019, already showed some leather and cigar box flavor from aging. Good balance and structure, but slightly lacking some mid palette. 93pts (1397 views) | | | Tasted by Rubanski on 7/10/2023 & rated 94 points: Decanted a good 1.5h in advance. Intense and aromatic nose with ripe dark fruit,(not the typical sweet jammied fruit you find in many of the Cali wines) pungent spice, leather & smoke. Sweet spice more evident on the palate and would say oak is not entirely integrated just yet. Palate is extremely graceful, texture is so silky, has very fine grained tannins which are well supported by a juicy concentration but still have a good grip. I would rather call this an elegant approach to this BDX blend as I've tasted more powerful examples of this wine. (2771 views) | | | Tasted by Frank G on 6/18/2023 & rated 88 points: Really beautiful nose doing everything we want (after a two hour decant). Tobacco, compost, dried leaves, a sneaky bit of fruit after a while. Palate was extremely boring. Pretty much tannin, alcohol, and nothing else, except perhaps a little bit of overripe blackberry you forgot in the fridge. Conventional wisdom would say age would do this wine well, but I wouldn't agree after tasting even older examples, tbh. (2480 views) | | | Tasted by Dpark8 on 4/28/2023 & rated 94 points: Good balance, body. Great example of Bordeaux style wine from CA (2929 views) | | | Tasted by Lanec on 1/27/2023: Donated to Mercy High School charity auction (3265 views) | | | Tasted by pnasseri001 on 1/17/2023: Very smooth (3081 views) | | | Tasted by copusa on 1/8/2023: Enjoyed while visiting Nancy Jo in Foley, AL (2548 views) | | | Tasted by ALBL on 12/22/2022: Jason's 40th birthday (2526 views) | | | Tasted by MagicInABottle on 8/28/2022 & rated 95 points: Leading up to my brother's 35th birthday celebration he had but one request: 'Please bring Opus.' I told him all I had was Overture, so we started the proceedings with that, and he was overjoyed. An hour before dinner, with the help of my girlfriend Katie who distracted him with small talk, we surprised him on the back deck. A befuddled gaze and a sheepish "...but you already gave me my birthday gift" was all he could manage. When he laid his eyes on the '14, shock ensued, "No...you really didn't have to..." followed by an embrace as he unwrapped the Opus-labeled tissue paper.
We slow ox'ed the bottle for 1 hour and paired it with some USDA Prime filet mignon. This bottle was singing right off the bat, but it's a unique vintage, rather Burgundian in nature. Ruby in the glass with red fruits dominating: cherry, red currant, raspberry and strawberry jam combine with graphite, toasted oak and violet on the palate. The moderate acidity forms the backbone of a medium body wine with finessed tannins. The finish is long and velvety smooth. A pleasure to consume now, but will age gracefully through 2034.
(P.S. Safe to say, I secured brother of the year 😊) (688 views) | | | Tasted by Michael Hung on 3/5/2022 & rated 94 points: March 2022 - Opus One Winery Tasting (Opus One Winery): TN: This one showed the most age of the first flight, with a garnet rim. Nose is very pure with dark fruit, black cherry, cassis, plum, and secondary oak notes. On the palette, showing a lot of red and dark fruit, cranberry, red currant, plum, blackberry, baking spices, clove, toast.
Still fairly tannic (med+), but not as much as the 2011 and 2012 in the second flight. Compared to the 2018 and 2016, it was the least impressive in terms of complexity, albeit still holding that balance. Also quite Californian in style. 94pt (5197 views) | | | Tasted by Anders T on 1/13/2022 & rated 94 points: Bottle & Bite (4838 views) | | | Tasted by AAF2012 on 10/6/2021 & rated 93 points: Brought this to a steak dinner, on insistence of a friend who wanted to try American wine instead of Bordeaux (was otherwise bringing 1996 Leoville Las Cases, although he didn't know that. So I brought Opus 2014 instead).
93+. Think with time this rating goes up. Tobacco, vanilla, and black fruit on nose. Palate austere and restrained. Nice! Decanted ~2.5 hours. Bordeaux-esque undergrowth and forest floor emerged, fruit remained in-tact, improved further 3+ hours in. Suspect can go way longer, just entering drinking window, with caveat that I drink way more Bordeaux than Napa and unfamiliar with Opus' ageability. If you're a Napa regular you'll have a better opinion than mine. Overall this Opus is a big wine yet still manages to feel very old world-y, good balance, restraint and precision especially after hours in the decanter. Lovely and well made. Vanilla and massive fruit nose gave away new world when popped, but on palate this becomes tougher to discern from the Medoc. More Saint-Julien than Pauillac though. With time in decanter, vanilla nose I got at open resolved a bit and integrated better. Tannins still very intrusive but I can hardly blame anyone this is only 7 years old. I'd expect they'll resolve nicely with time.
For criticism, 1.) a wee bit boring. Very straight down the middle, almost felt "technical", not necessarily a bad thing. But just missing something special. Very good wine but not exclamation point wine. I was expecting Pauillac given all the hype but this is not that, although the young age here may be a factor. 2.) Price is silly. This is pretty good wine that is priced crazy. Seems like there is some luxury label worship going on here. Especially compared to cabernet from the left bank I'm more familiar with, I a little bit scratching my head at this price (paid $2,800 HKD ~$350 USD for this bottle), especially compared to my Bordeaux comps. You can get great 2nd growths from top vintages for this price or less!
Overall a fun evening and nice to try something new. Good wine. Just not something I'll be collecting. (6029 views) | | | Tasted by Sean Tay on 8/14/2021 & rated 96 points: Pronounced nose with notes of cassis, vanilla, smoke, vanilla, chocolate. Medium+ acidity and high tannin. Still youthful, more acidity for the mouth feel. Long finish and full bodied.
Drank it side by side with vintage 2007 and it exhibit similar notes. Prefer the 2007 bottle more as it's more balanced between acidity and tannin. (6114 views) | | | Tasted by tomoem on 7/9/2021 & rated 95 points: Once again what more can be said. Another great showing. Starts with graphite, iron notes and then boom the blackberry fruit emerges. Tremendous acidity and worth holding for many more years. This is beautiful wine of elegance and depth. (5922 views) | | | Tasted by tonyhuang on 5/30/2021 & rated 95 points: Full body, very big tannin structure, low acidity, lots of fruit. Classic big modern style but well made. Hold for couple more years for the tannins to soften. (4378 views) | | | Tasted by zylmanj on 5/23/2021 & rated 95 points: Very good wine. I'm not quite sure if it warrants the price tag but it is smooth, delicious, well balanced, a bit dry but in a perfect way imho. Very approachable and elegant. Medium body and in the early drinking window. I would buy a lot of this if it was a bit less expensive. (3953 views) | | | Tasted by SonnyChiba on 3/27/2021 & rated 93 points: 93+ pts.
Decanted for 3 hours at first but it was a little closed. It didn't hit its stride until about 6 hours in and then turned into a very beautiful wine. Lovely dark purple color, ripe plum and dark fruit profile, not overly sweet or too rich, more of an elegant Bordeaux style wine in this vintage. Overall, a premium Napa wine that I’d like to try again in the future. I think this has a lot of room to improve. (3894 views) | | | Tasted by Scar510 on 2/20/2021 & rated 94 points: 2-20-21. Ulu. Liked it but not great. Seems like opus needs many years in the bottle. (3542 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (2/28/2024)
(Opus One, Napa Valley red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Opus One vertical (9/13/2019)
(Opus One, Napa Valley, California, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Napa Valley’s Extraordinary 2016 Cabernets (Dec 2018) (12/1/2018)
(Opus One Opus One Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Gary Walsh
The WINEFRONT (9/18/2018)
(Opus One) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Brilliance in Napa Valley: 2016 & 2015 Cabernets (Jan 2018) (1/18/2018)
(Opus One Opus One Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (8/31/2017)
(Opus One Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (6/14/2017)
(Opus One Napa Valley, Red, United States) Subscribe to see review text. | By William Kelley
Decanter, 2014 California Cabernet Sauvignon & Bordeaux blends (5/31/2017)
(Opus One, Napa Valley, California, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Napa Valley Trilogy: 2014, 2015 & 2016-Part1 (Dec 2016) (12/1/2016)
(Opus One Opus One Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2013 Napa Valley: Once Upon a Time in America… (Oct 2015) (10/1/2015)
(Opus One Opus One Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of WineAlign and Decanter and Vinous and The WINEFRONT and JancisRobinson.com and JamesSuckling.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Opus One Producer website
Château Mouton Rothschild winemaker Lucien Sionneau and Robert Mondavi’s son Timothy made the partnership’s first vintage at the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1979. The following year the partners officially announced their joint venture.
In 1981 a single case of the joint venture wine sold for $24,000 at the first Napa Valley Wine Auction – the highest price ever paid for a California wine. In 1982 Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild began label design. The partners agreed to choose a name of Latin origin for the joint venture, allowing for easy recognition in both English and French. Baron Philippe announced his choice, “Opus,” a musical expression denoting the first masterwork of a composer. Two days later he proposed an additional word: “Opus One”.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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