Opened and served in bottle after one hour in the CNY fathers' lunch gathering along with other "dragon vintages" wines. All guessed right in vintage but BDX wine instead. It was by all means a BDX character but not in structure. It was very easy approachable as other american wines.
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Drank with Bob and Michelle while watching the Bills game. Drinking very well right now. Did not take formal notes but well developed and balanced. Will certainly improve with age but ready to enjoy now.
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Outstanding. Decanted 3 hours prior to consuming. Complex wine, good fruit, with graphite, tobacco, and black pepper notes. Incredible pairing with salty foods and red meat. Avoid eating anything sweet pairing with this wine.
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Great night of drinking with a 2016 Checkerboard Aurora, 2017 Arrow & Branch Dr. Crane, and a 2012 Opus one. The Opus One was the second bottle of the night that we gave a splash decant at Rare Society steakhouse and we drank this with the appetizers.
At 11 years old this was impeccably smooth with satiny tannins. Flavors of cassis, black cherry, chocolate, lavender, and a touch of spice. This is a medium body, old world style of wine, so it didn't match the power of the other bottles but it is not made to. I drank this a year ago and I gave that bottle a 97 but it was much more complex with secondary flavors of graphite, earth, and tobacco that this bottle lacked. That bottle I gave a one hour decant.
I know this style of wine needs 10+ years and I tried to wait till 15 years but just couldn't make it. If I had to do it over again I would give this a 2 hour decant. Also after I drank the 97 point bottle I went out and bought a 2019 Opus One. After this bottle it just doesn't seem worth the price point. I also had a terrible experience drinking at Opus One where they pour a $350+ bottle of wine like they are herding cattle. The place is packed and the servers are rude. I have never been treated that poorly at a high end tasting. 94+
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Beautifully balanced classic Bordeaux blend. A great vintage from Opus in my opinion. Powerful dark fruits, with some nice and soft tobacco and coffee notes. An elegant structure and an amazing complexity. Tannins are smooth and beautifully integrated. Great overall balance and a sexy long finish. Even better than my last bottle 3 years ago. It’s in a great spot now but there’s no need to hurry. Drink from now until 2032. (IG)
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Decanted for two hours before consuming. Beautiful nose of black currant, blackberry, forest floor and cedar/graphite. Velvety tannins with a finish that goes on for well over a minute. In a really good place right now!
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This was a very pleasant surprise to the upside after an unpleasant tasting of the 2013 vintage a few years ago. Wonderful cassis nose, so much crunch Cabernet fruit, sweet and ripe nose, warm and solar vintage. Could be a 2009 Left Bank! Palate is an. Explosion of cassis fruit, a little one dimensional but very elegant and balanced with some vanilla oak which is complimentary rather than overwhelming. A touch sweet but very long and very pure and the tannins have melted away and are well integrated. First window of drinking and could get more complex on the palate with more time.
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Deep ruby with a slight garnet rim; very pronounced, developing aromas of menthol, medicine, dark chocolate, strawberry, coffee, tea, mushroom, violet; full body, high acid, low tannins, high alcohol, long finish; very soft and silky tannins, big but elegant, though alcohol might be a bit high; drinking very well now but would probably still improve in the few next years
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Got a glass from the winery. Red currant, red cherry, gamy, savoury, earthy, violet. Start into its drinking window with lovely tertiary notes but still has fresh red fruits, red roses and subtle graphite note. Pronounced flavour intensity and long persistent finish. The tannins start to mellow a little bit. Really enjoyable and delicious! Outstanding wine!
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Opened 3 hours prior to consumption, not decanted. This was the first wine served of those listed below, and an absolute tour de force. Dark purple and blue fruit, impeccably balanced, huge yet dichotomously restrained at the same time. Soft tannins, and smooth mouthfeel. Nearly everyone agreed this exceeded their baseline high expectations. Phenomenal now; hard to imagine this will improve from here, but acknowledging there may be room for more tertiary characteristics to develop in years to come. I would personally favor drinking in the short term for those who appreciate mature Bordeaux without significant loss of fruit.
2012 Opus One: 96 2012 Sine Qua Non Stock Syrah: 95 2015 Kosta Brown Keefer Ranch Pinot: 94 1996 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Corton Bressandes: 94 2010 Domaine Janasse Vielles Vignes CDP: 94 2015 Flowers Camp Meeting Ridge Pinot: 93
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Decanted for over an hour. Had this after a 2012 Caymus Special Selection. Coming after that, this wine was medium to full bodied with less heft than I remember when I had it at the winery five years ago. Had this with wagyu bessette. Great pairing. This wine has traded some unctuous fruit characteristics with complex notes of vanilla, florals, cedar and some pencil shavings. This wine continues to evolve. Can't wait to see where it's at in another 5 years. Drink or hold.
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Very nice wine! Opened and decanted about 1 1/2 hours prior to consuming. Wine showed nice red fruit and bramble on the nose with hints of vanilla, purple flowers and some cedar. Palate was luscious with plenty of red fruit, some dark fruit, bramble, earth, chocolate and toasty oak. Tannins are silky and smooth. A pleasure to drink! Easy 95 for me! Drinking well now, but no hurry.
Just entering its prime IMO. Top 3 wines of my Napa/Sonoma trip. Much better than the 2016 and 2018 tasted alongside. Good for many years ahead. Drank at Opus One winery. Noticed 2012 Napa cab sauv are drinking very well now over a couple of producers.
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Clear deep ruby; clean medium nose of cassis, sweet barnyard, mint and fresh raspberry; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; pronounced flavour intensity; palate is tarter with cloves, cocoa, florality and some fruit; long finish; drink now - lovely balance of fruit and tertiary; more Bordeaux than Napa; tasted at winery
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Enjoyed side by side with 2012 Scarecrow. This was a much more refined and elegant wine with the scarecrow being a bit more of a bruiser with lots of french oak. The Opus had an odd funk to the nose that I had trouble placing, but juice itself was fantastic! Its drinking window is just getting started.
March 2022 - Opus One Winery Tasting (Opus One Winery): TN: Lots of black fruit on nose and palette, black cherry, licorice, baking spices, vanilla. This one reminded me a bit of the 2018, but with a lot more raw power. Guide had mentioned that this is the vintage where they finally understood how to perfect winemaking throughout the drought (from the lessons of 2010 and 2011).
I found it to be the most "Californian" of the two flights, being very bold and showing a lot of oak integration with the wine. And with its boldness and strength, I found it to have the least balance of the two flights. The rest of the group liked it a lot. Unfortunately, not really my go-to style. 93pt
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Opened in the morning and left it in the cellar, decanted it just before dinner. Refined tannins on drinking but just not as open and approachable yet as the 2005 but certainly has the same potential. Drink in 5 years!
Served with a wagyu flight. Hitting it's prime window. Classic opus. After an hour all the notes had been made. Lovely wine but overpriced imo. Had a 2016 quintessa with it. Similar flavor profile. Still, it's opus. For the $$, I'd take a venge generations and get dessert.
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This is tasting great right now, extremely well-balanced but can also age a few years longer. This is oak-forward with earthy tones on top of berries. Complexity adds to how enjoyable it is to drink!
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Splash decant, then 3 hours of slo-O - I don't know if it is bottle variation, the wine coming into its own, or the prep, but this was the best Opus One I have ever had! I can't see this wine drinking any better...well, if the tertiary flavors were just a little more pronounced, but that is being very picky!
Nose showed plenty of violets and cherry flowers, with hints of sweet oak and a touch of woodsy scents. The palate was simply awesome, i.e., a symphony of dark fruit, chocolate, anise, earth, pencil lead, toasted oak, and vanilla, wrapped in silky tannins and a long, decadent finish. This wine showed new world fruit with old world tertiary goodness. A tad bit more fruit than tertiary components, which I didn't mind at all.
I think this wine will continue to improve for a couple more years, and should remain there for quite a few years more (enough tannin and acidity and fruit to carry this wine for a while). 96+ tonight (and that is likely very conservative) with a chance to put on another point with a little more time. Drink or hold, you shouldn't be disappointed!
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Drank at Mirabeau for Kelly’s birthday with Michael and Rita along with a 2016 they brought. Both were still young, and the ‘12 was more softened. Great wines with plenty of time and potential to improve.
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This wine is simply amazing. I had it on my birthday on January 2020 with a 2 hour decant and it was exquisite. Powerful, balanced, complex and nuanced! Rich fruit without being slutty or jammy. Aromas and flavors of blackberry compote, lead, mineral, currant paste , black fig, and vanilla. You can taste the To Kalon vineyard. Over a year later this is still the most memorable Napa Bordeaux Blend I experienced in the last 14 months and I’m a wine director and floor sommelier. Most of the time the Value of Opus is bit off as there are equal wines at half the price from down the road in Oakville, however the 2012 vintage is worth every penny! I have 2 left and need to find the right time to celebrate with them. Drinking fantastic now with a 2 hour decant and will age gracefully for the next 10-15 years without a doubt.
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Nose The wine is developing and exhibits pronounced aromas of blackberry, black plum, black cherry, currant, vanilla, coconut, cedar, leather, earth, wet forest floor, and mushroom.
Palate The wine is dry with a full body, high acid, medium (+) tannins, high alcohol, exhibiting pronounced flavors of blackberry, black plum, black currant, black cherry, savory herbs, vanilla, cassis, and mushroom with a long finish.
Conclusion The quality of this wine is outstanding. It tastes lovely now but certainly has the acid and tannins to age for a long time. First family gathering in a year! Thank you vaccines! Happy Easter. Life and wine are good!
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This was an extraordinary wine. Smooth, balanced, with great fruit, and a great finish. Complex. Succulent. Delicious. I think it is perfectly in its drinkability window. Open for business. Decanted for two hours before dinner. Served with aged Wagyu NY Steaks, home-made pasta with alfredo sauce, and slow roasted Brussel sprouts. A perfect pairing. This was a real treat.
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Totally agree with most tasters especially MSUWRIGHT. It does not meet price and expectations. It's a fruity, polished old classic on the boring side, a good cab that sits on its laurels but has no wings. Good, not great.
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I know "everybody LOVES this wine"...well sorry! Did I enjoy it...yes, but too much hype...for the money, try Bryant, Scarecrow, Carter, etc. Yes, this was consumed at Morton's (steak), but a higher score, come on really?
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Decanted ~2.5h which worked very well, but feel free to go shorter. No major decant needed in my opinion. Ripe, dark fruit of bramble-berry comfit and red berry aromas of raspberry jam. This came across more extracted than the previous bottle but still all in green territory and in no way overripe despite a jammy fruit profile. Licorice, vanilla, orange zest, dried herbs, tobacco, sage, lavender, gingerbread, but also eucalyptus and nose-tickling pepper. Tannins provide for a strong backbone, acidity is fresh and the finish just keeps on going and also adds tertiary, leathery complexity. Sweet and dry and at the same time soft and velvety. Chewy yet light. Layered palate starting with dark berries and cascading down to fresh, ripe red berries accompanied by herbal flavours. There is so much depth and concentration you become dizzy from smelling this too long. My wife and I tried to have this along with dinner. Don‘t do that. We just stuffed down the food and had the wine as a separate course. The main course. The course. Forget about whatever you planned on having. Bin it. This is better. There is no food even remotely a worthy side. I was already blown away 1 year ago as part of a bigger tasting, but this time around with the opportunity to revisit time and again over hours was simply magical. Of ~170 bottles Napa wines reviewed over the last 2-3 years this is top 4 for me and on a par with Futo 5500 (also 2012), Maybach Materium (2014) and Dana Lotus 2016.
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This rich and round Cabernet is drinking well right now, but it doesn't have the precision or tension you expect (and should expect) at this price point. Instead, it’s kind of straightforward: fruity, polished, and classy - but a little generic. There's nothing wrong with this wine, but it’s not that exciting, either.
Ruby red in color and medium in body, the wine offers aromas of fresh plum, anise, eucalyptus, and cardamon. Tastes of blueberry tart, macerated cherry, and dried mint, with an integrated finish. Blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot, and 2% Malbec. 14.5% alcohol. I can't tell whether it's going to descend into plumminess or gain complexity with time. I'd wait to open for another year or two, but - if you haven't bought it yet - don't.
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Opus One (SWS): Darker color, going to a ruby. On the nose, cedar and currant. Mint/cocoa, which gives almost a thin mint effect. Floral/rose. Slate. Espresso.
A bit more generous on the body than the 2010. Medium plus body with some noticeable glyerol. Some pyrazines/oregano, which give it a clear cabernet character. Glossy fruit, red/black cherries, some plum, a bit of cocoa. A bit closed on the palate, compared to the younger wines. Very long finish, and a very small hit of funk, which was a pleasant surprise.
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Obviously it is in an awkward phase right now. Fruit has receded and second flavor has not entirely emerged. If you have to drink it, long decant is required.
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Kelly and I shared at our anniversary dinner at Josephine in Nashville. Translucent with a sexy sheen. Decanted for an hour which wasn’t enough time for this young wine. Began to really shine toward the end of the meal. Medium to full bodied with dark fruits, cigar box, tobacco and graphite. Can’t wait to see where it is in 5 years.
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Really like this vintage of Opus. While it is still young and primary, it shows incredible structure and layers of complexity combined with great Oakville fruit concentration. This will be a beauty in 10 more years in the cellar.
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Decanted and served from 375. Drinking great with elegant and balanced palate and the usual mellow cassis, light earth, perfect acidity. Emergency bottle so it didn't have a chance to put on weight and intensify but it was still beautiful. Great vintage of Opus for lovers of balance.
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C-Note night (Ray and Teresa's): Decanted several hours. This wine was huge. There was massive fruit and a fair amount of oak. I said this at the tasting and stand by it, this tastes like a Bordeaux blend from NAPA, it does not taste like a Bordeaux blend from Bordeaux. I feel my 93 is based more on power than finesse at this point.
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Ray & Teresa's Wine Dinner (Minneapolis, MN): Can we say high octane!!! Certainly not something I would pay $200 plus for but I really enjoyed the wine. Cherry, ripe plums, spice, coffee beans, oak and vanilla beans. Long finish but not over the top. This is young and should drink well through 2035.
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At first this was a bit hard to drink: a young Napa following a bunch of Burgs as well as a Chave and Jamet comes across as quite sweet... too sweet. But with some time the wine unfolded its beauty. Classic Bordeaux styled Napa top shot (but make no mistake, this is no Bordeaux today but will be in 20 years). Very good to drink today with a bit of air but I clearly prefer them with more age and tertiary aromas (such as the 1996 we had alongside). 96 points for the best moments and the inherent quality, but on a hot day, along some Pinots/Rhone Syrahs the enjoyment level was most of the time lower (93/94).
TN: Vanilla, smoke, ripe red fruit, black forest berries, bakings spices, smoke and some first hints of tertiary development. Yes, it is dense but at the same time very harmonious and round with very fine tannins and a good freshness. Still it needs to shed some baby fat. This will be an amazing 97+ point wine once mature.
Decanting: Decanted for roughly 2 hours. I would strongly advise to decant it for 8 or 10 hours. Or 4+ hours the day before you drink it. In my experience that will do great things!
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Tasted blind. This wine had a lot of blue berry, toast, chocolate. It was visible that we are in Napa here. For me way too sweet. What was interesting was, that the 1996 also tasted blind next to it looked very different, fabulous wine, really Bordeauesque, cooler, with forest floor and good acidity. If this 2012 turns out like that, my score is too low.
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I‘m such a sucker for these kinds of wines! A bit more than 2h decant. Beautiful, sexy cassis fruit, vanilla spices, a bit of savoury and green herbal notes. Kirsch. Cedar would. Savoury and sweet spices abound on the palate as well. Round, balanced, dense and concentrated. This is fantastic if you like the opulent Napa style but without the overpowering over-extraction. Excellent craftsmanship.
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Bro-Rolo's 2019 Masters Bro-down (ft. Tiger Woods & Ja Rule); 4/8/2019-4/14/2019 (Augusta, GA): so we're sitting here...just scratching the surface of this epic week...when BAM! Tiger Woods shows up and says "Listen here you NERDS! I only drink OPUS ONE! and when I win this week, I'm gonna SHOWER IN THAT $HIT!! Watch me"...then we were all like "yeah whatever man...I think you're washed up LOL!" he poured me some...I mean it's pretty first-growthy...maybe Tiger should just buy a Chateau...(to be continued.........)
Black and red fruit, vanilla. Soft tannins, drinking well now from a 375. Medium finish. Velvety, Still early and will develop more complexity over time. Great potential.
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Wonderful wine from wonderful year! Still has some time left in bottle before I will open another. Fruit not over bearing and tannins mesh well with the wine.
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Drank with Kelly at Rosalie’s in Skaneateles. Outstanding as usual. Silky smooth but firm tannins, cassis, baking spices, hint of leather. Plenty of years ahead.
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The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. The body is medium. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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Double decanted. Definitely old worldly. Blackberries, blue berries, graphite, crushed stones and plenty of tannins. After about a few hours this started to really have vanilla and chocolate notes. This will age for a long time. No rush to drink now.
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Killed a baby but it was still very enjoyable. Dark ruby to the rim, cassis and dark chocolate on the nose. Medium to full bodied, lovely acidity, silky tannins. Some vanilla but not too much. Tight and very promising. Way too young, great things ahead. Thanks to my good friend Doug Hickok for opening this stellar wine.
Keowee Wine Mixer; 12/2/2017-12/3/2017 (Seneca, SC): Tasted blind. My notes immediately read "French Oak - Vanilla, Expensive" LOL. This wine was easily identified as a Napa Cab dominant Bordeaux blend, and I figured it would be the Opus or the Insignia having tasted neither before that night. The wine is extremely high quality but I docked it a bit of points because the Oak was a little too intense. The tannins were also very much present, which is to be expected in a 2012. I think this wine has a chance to improve to a 97 with more age if the oak becomes more subtle with time. Hold for at least 5 more years.
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Exactly what you’d expect from a great vintage with Opus. Dark, garnet colors. Deep, dark fruit layered with chocolate and cassis giving way to velvety tannins. At five years it’s probably just getting into its drinking window, and could age well for 10+ yrs more.
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PnP at Jerry's in Longwood Fl. Deep dark purple garnet almost saturated. Cassis cherry cola tobacco chocolate herbs (mint) and a touch of cola on the nose. Medium weight with velvety tannins. Flavours echo the nose. Lingering cherry and tar finish. So approachable but with structure to age. Exceeds my expectations for the wine and a nice showing of balance in what is widely viewed as an exceptional vintage (96 from both WA and WS).
Decant the heck out of this. Was so much better after several hours of being opened. Very opulent, rich, layered Opus One - a great vintage for this wine. This will really be fantastic in the future. Expensive though. Why not buy Pichon Baron, Ducru B, Pontet Canet, or even Las Cases at this price point? That said, it is a very good wine.
deep gleaming crimson, clear thin rim; heady explosion of blackberry, black currant, rose, eucalyptus, vanilla, and thyme; enormous yet fully balanced and silky mouthfeel, delightfully intense tannin, and achingly long finish. indeed :)
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Decanted for 3 hours. Reminds me a lot of the Dominus or Accendo style. Refined and subtle at first with sweet tobacco, bright red fruit, new leather, and a green vegital note. Depth and texture really start to emerge with time showing classic Napa notes of cassis, vanilla, and extracted black fruit. About as elegant as Napa gets. Not overly tannic but still needing 5 plus more years.
little concerned with evidence of wine penetration to seal, the wine has been in my possession, temp cellared, till its trip to Colorado. Open for an hour, dark cherry, currant, jammy fruit, soft tannins and full mouth feel gave no indication of being flawed. Perhaps the softness of the silky tannins at such a young age would have been a negative. cedar, mushrooms, leather, hint of coffee rounded this wine.
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The nose was undeniably sensual and inviting, as rich crushed red fruits came together with mulled apple, sweet herbs, cinnamon, clove and holiday spice. On the palate, I found silky-smooth textures with red berry, currants, cola and hints of bright cherry. The finish was dark and saturating with bitter black fruits yet very easy to like.
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Expected this to be exceptional and it was 2012 obviously a great year and, well, it's Opus. Cherry and chocolate most dominant flavors to me - very drinkable .. almost too much so. The flavors were so subtle that I almost wanted a little more "in your face" taste to it. Great bottle though ...
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Tasting at a local wine shop. Dark red and black fruit - cherry, currants, and a little blackberry. Nice depth mid-palate but the fruit was fairly closed. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep and also somewhat closed. The bottle was apparently decanted for around three hours. In my opinion, this vintage needs a couple years for the fruit to soften and open-up which is no surprise in light of its youth and the producer. I'll refrain from rating it because it isn't ready yet, however, I wasn't overly impressed with this vintage at this stage. Cabernet sauvignon 79%, Cabernet Franc 7%, Petit Verdot 6%, Merlot 6% and Malbec 2%
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Opening this fills the room with cherry. Still one of the more complex wines I've had. Chocolate, leather, tar and smoke, cassis and cherry. The oak influence could still use more time to integrate nicely in the bottle.
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Super young still. Needs at least another 5 years. Not sure why people are so into this wine as it is probably the last one I would pick for the price range it is in. I feel like this is the emperors new clothes of wine.
This is the priciest bottle in my cellar, and I had high expectations. The cork fell apart when I was pulling it out, which happens occasionally but it didn't bode well for this wine. The cork smelled like wet socks, and in the glass it showed some bricking. We drank some of it anyway, since some had described a barnyard taste, and I wasn't 100% sure it was corked or this was just part of the character. The wine expressed some interesting complexities, but was flat and lacked the pronounced fruit or dense extraction common in high end Napa wines. If I were to grade this, I'd compare it to a below average Burgundy red and give it perhaps an 84. But because I suspect it may have been flawed, I'm withholding a score.
Deep ruby with purple hues. Aromas of developing ripe bramble berries, blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, pencil lead, eucalyptus, barnyard. Intense fruit with almost perfectly balanced acids and dusty fine tannins. Plenty of structure and, while it might not be the longest lived Opus, will definitely age well for another decade. Fruit lingers for nearly a minute. Beautiful. (93-95)
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Opus One Dinner at the two stars Michelin Restaurant Ecco in Zürich. No formal notes taken. Preferred 2012 (elegant and fruity) over 13 (more earthy and tannic, needs more time, but might be the winner in a few years) followed by 09!, 08, 05 and 06. All wines were excellent. 92-95 And also the food was high class!
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Drank over the course of two days. Silky smooth, a little bit to young ofcourse but with definate pedigree. Elegant Lot's of dark fruit. A hint of dark chocolate in the finish. Tannins desolved after 4 hours double decant. This has many years to go but is surprisingly accessible now.
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This wine is awesome! It is packed with integrated black fruit, with an elegance and sophistication one would expect from a top notch wine. Although this wine is delicious now (and I wouldn't hesitate in opening a bottle if you have a few), I would expect this wine to continue to improve for another 5 years, with a drinking window of at least another 10 after that.
The nose is perfumed and very Bordeaux like, with hints of lilac, berries and sweet wood. On the palate I tasted cassis, blackberry, violets, a hint of clove and some oak. The tannins and alcohol were present, but daily integrated with the fruit, and the acidity was there to maintain a freshness in the wine. With time, I would expect this wine to gain even more complexity, and be even smoother (although it is very smooth right now). Like most 2012's, it is very approachable and tasty now, but this wine is definitely built for the long haul. If you are saving a bottle for a special occasion, you should have no problem opening it whenever that occasion arrives!
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Feminine and elegant, with no hint of astringency from the tannin but decent mid palate with light acidity. Notes of blue berries, chocolate, earth and leather on both the nose and the palate, both reflecting what I've had from Bordeaux and California. Next day the tannin started to show and I noticed more vegetal and spice notes.
I prefer wines with more power and intensity even at the expense of balance but I can't deny what it is.
Still don't know why people say it will age well as it's already excellent out of the bottle. 94-96
Confused. While smooth and velvety, I expected more from this vintage. Nice nose, great balance, moderate finish, but strangely unable to outshine in a significant way the 2012 Sequoia Grove we had before it, which is 5 times cheaper and a deal of the century if you ask me.
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No rating, consumed at a restaurant and the wine was so closed down hard to decipher any meaningful notes or flavor elements. So disappointed. Perhaps a bad bottle.
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Shame to open this so young but restaurant so what can you do? Superbly balanced. Nose of berry, rose, and powdered sugar. Berries and caramel on the palate with an indescribable complexity for such a young wine. Some heat and confusion in the middle which in my mind begs for more cellaring. Possibly the best vintage of Opus I've had.
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Rated it 93 points for what it is today, but this wine will warrant much higher score in the long run. Great structure, purity, and balance. The finish was long, but the tannins were grippy. Overall, this wine will warrant 95+ points with about 8 more years of age the bottle. We decanted it for 1hr.
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This Left Bank Bordeaux lookalike has really been on fire since 2007. This elegant, ripe, sweet, lush, charmer is no exception. Silky tannins, solid concentration of ripe, dark fruits, great mouthfeel and long, fruit filled, stylish finish is another winner from Opus One. The wine was made from a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec.
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Spring offer tasting. All wines not decanted. The Opus One 2012 was pretty good. I think with a bit more air it might be much better. No rating now. Future potential: 93-95+ pts.
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At the Oakville tasting during PNV week, great event hosted at Far Niente (best food of all the tastings...). Nice that they are pouring a wine like this a this tasting.
Fragrant nose, blue fruits and violets. Palate has dark fruits, sour cherry, plums, black tea, Asian spice, licorice. Intense mid palate, balanced, long finish. Great combination of power and elegance - especially at what I consider to be a primary stage. Long term winner, great wine from a great vintage. Needs 3+ years to settle in
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Second bottle in a week. Similar profile on the nose, but tannins is more prominant this time. 1 hour or so slow ox did smooth it out. Very very good still!
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Simply great! The intensity of the aroma almost knock me off. Of course it is Yong, but tremendously enjoyable nevertheless. This is why many favor Cali Cabs over Bordeaux blend.
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Drank this with David Pearson (CEO Opus One) along with the 2000, 2005, 2010. Sat next to him at dinner Friday & Saturday at the Naples winter wine festival. The 2012 has a slight nose of dusty & Musty bordeaux. It doesn't smell like California at all. It comes in layers of evolving waves across your palate. Lots going on. Lots of chocolate, cola, Asian spices, tobacco, with some musty notes.
A very promising vintage and one that will have a big success on the market, even young. It shows aromas of black cherry, black berry, sour cherry, with coffee, white pepper, licorice, leather and an earthy touch (which I expect to develop further). In the mouth it shows much intensity, with full body and pronounced (but ripe) tannins, but it is also wonderfully balanced by a good acidity which prevents it to become too heavy. The finish is long and the more fragrant aromas of coffee and mocha come back to please the palate, together with hints of vanilla and earthy aromas.
The 2011 was (and still is) not exactly my favourite, but the 2012 has fantastic power, elegance and ripeness. Outstanding.
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We followed a 2008 & 2010 Shafer HSS with this Opus. The opus came off with a huge nose and flavor of a very old wine. Very musty and dusty, wet wood, wet leather, and tobacco. I believe these notes may have dominated because our palate was off a little from the shafer. Over all good wine but not for $300.
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Decanted for 30 minutes, drank with a filet at Morton's. Somewhat lighter than the 09 and 10 I've had before. The nose is delicate, hints of blueberries and violets. Fruit forward with an impeccable finish. The word elegant comes to mind.
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Opus One Tasting (67 Pall Mall): Ideal vintage with perfect flowering, hot days, cold nights, no rain during harvest. This is a brooding monster with incredible depth. Come back in 10 years. Amazing.
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poured for me and sorry, it's not my cup of tea. possibly in a decade this might be worth trying, so if you have it do yourself a favor and tuck it away. otherwise if you try it today get ready for a very woody experience.
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2015 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/19/2015-10/27/2015 (New York City, NY): This deep-to-opaque ruby wine is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec, aged 18 months in 100% new French oak. Gorgeously effusive of cassis, fig, licorice, loamy earth and pencil shavings on the nose, it follows with a full-bodied, fresh palate delivering flavors which mirror the aromas. The alcohol, tannins and oak are harmoniously integrated and the wine is dense in the middle. Long and smooth on the finish, this iteration of Opus One defines elegance. Already quite drinkable, it should provide pleasure for many years to come. Drink now-2032.
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Drank at black and blue in Williamsville NY. Nose was amazing. Smelled like a fruit bomb of blueberries and raspberries. Tasted like a Bordeaux upon opening . Dusty, earthy, cedar, fruit forward. After an hour the wine had a very spicy finish that almost tasted more like a syrah with a heavy black pepper finish. This 2012 is also on the lighter side. Its not thick and chewy or mouth coating like the 2010. As this is still pretty good, the 2010 blew it away. Needs a few years for sure.
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2/27/2024 - Jzboxtas Likes this wine: 94 Points
delicious, aged properly. needed every one of those 11 years.tha
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2/21/2024 - BLam Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened and served in bottle after one hour in the CNY fathers' lunch gathering along with other "dragon vintages" wines. All guessed right in vintage but BDX wine instead. It was by all means a BDX character but not in structure. It was very easy approachable as other american wines.
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12/28/2023 - Grappa Cellar wrote: 93 Points
Pachabel Canon
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12/24/2023 - jyensan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank with Bob and Michelle while watching the Bills game. Drinking very well right now. Did not take formal notes but well developed and balanced. Will certainly improve with age but ready to enjoy now.
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11/23/2023 - starkravingmad Likes this wine: 94 Points
smooth, delicious - fruit forward
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11/23/2023 - Gates House Wines wrote: 97 Points
Outstanding. Decanted 3 hours prior to consuming. Complex wine, good fruit, with graphite, tobacco, and black pepper notes. Incredible pairing with salty foods and red meat. Avoid eating anything sweet pairing with this wine.
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10/10/2023 - RayT Likes this wine: 95 Points
Great night of drinking with a 2016 Checkerboard Aurora, 2017 Arrow & Branch Dr. Crane, and a 2012 Opus one. The Opus One was the second bottle of the night that we gave a splash decant at Rare Society steakhouse and we drank this with the appetizers.
At 11 years old this was impeccably smooth with satiny tannins. Flavors of cassis, black cherry, chocolate, lavender, and a touch of spice. This is a medium body, old world style of wine, so it didn't match the power of the other bottles but it is not made to. I drank this a year ago and I gave that bottle a 97 but it was much more complex with secondary flavors of graphite, earth, and tobacco that this bottle lacked. That bottle I gave a one hour decant.
I know this style of wine needs 10+ years and I tried to wait till 15 years but just couldn't make it. If I had to do it over again I would give this a 2 hour decant. Also after I drank the 97 point bottle I went out and bought a 2019 Opus One. After this bottle it just doesn't seem worth the price point. I also had a terrible experience drinking at Opus One where they pour a $350+ bottle of wine like they are herding cattle. The place is packed and the servers are rude. I have never been treated that poorly at a high end tasting. 94+
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9/24/2023 - DrZett wrote: 95 Points
Beautifully balanced classic Bordeaux blend. A great vintage from Opus in my opinion. Powerful dark fruits, with some nice and soft tobacco and coffee notes. An elegant structure and an amazing complexity. Tannins are smooth and beautifully integrated. Great overall balance and a sexy long finish.
Even better than my last bottle 3 years ago. It’s in a great spot now but there’s no need to hurry. Drink from now until 2032. (IG)
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9/8/2023 - Odedis.Wine.reviews Likes this wine: 96 Points
This is a delicious Bordeaux blend from Napa valley. Rich, extracted and opulent.
Dry on the palate and fruit forward.
Showing black fruits with tobacco, cedar, coffee, vanilla, licorice, chocolates, light earth, herbs and peppercorn.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and cherries.
Easy drinking, smooth and elegant. A great sipping wine to have with good friends and talk about.
This great 2012 vintage will continue to age nicely in the next 20 years. Showing great complexity already.
Wine Spectator 93 points. Robert Parker 96 points.
I've had many vintages of this wine, but this is one of my favorites.
Good by itself or with food. Will pair nicely with barbecue meats.
A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
96 points.
$450.
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8/2/2023 - jacodav wrote: 91 Points
Decanted flor 1 hour prior to drinking. Smooth and enjoyable but not exceptional
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7/17/2023 - Yffudp Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for two hours before consuming. Beautiful nose of black currant, blackberry, forest floor and cedar/graphite. Velvety tannins with a finish that goes on for well over a minute. In a really good place right now!
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7/5/2023 - steinersing wrote: 93 Points
Well made but vanilla from oak slightly disturbing me - still a pleasant wine to drink
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5/8/2023 - dchain Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was a very pleasant surprise to the upside after an unpleasant tasting of the 2013 vintage a few years ago. Wonderful cassis nose, so much crunch Cabernet fruit, sweet and ripe nose, warm and solar vintage. Could be a 2009 Left Bank! Palate is an. Explosion of cassis fruit, a little one dimensional but very elegant and balanced with some vanilla oak which is complimentary rather than overwhelming. A touch sweet but very long and very pure and the tannins have melted away and are well integrated. First window of drinking and could get more complex on the palate with more time.
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3/20/2023 - aquaman Likes this wine: 96 Points
Let it breath for 1 hour and strain for sediment. It was enjoyable.
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3/5/2023 - Takao Likes this wine: 96 Points
Deep ruby with a slight garnet rim; very pronounced, developing aromas of menthol, medicine, dark chocolate, strawberry, coffee, tea, mushroom, violet; full body, high acid, low tannins, high alcohol, long finish; very soft and silky tannins, big but elegant, though alcohol might be a bit high; drinking very well now but would probably still improve in the few next years
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2/11/2023 - cpl100n wrote: 95 Points
In New York for a long Valentine weekend having dinner at the River cafe pop & pour just fabulous
So so happy to drink River cafe is a solid Five star
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1/24/2023 - Jason Wu Likes this wine: 97 Points
Got a glass from the winery. Red currant, red cherry, gamy, savoury, earthy, violet. Start into its drinking window with lovely tertiary notes but still has fresh red fruits, red roses and subtle graphite note. Pronounced flavour intensity and long persistent finish. The tannins start to mellow a little bit. Really enjoyable and delicious! Outstanding wine!
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11/25/2022 - Leinike Likes this wine: 93 Points
Needs to sit for at least 1 hour before drinking.
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11/16/2022 - hiddejan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lots of fruit on the palate, strawberries, blackberries; nice tertiaries too. The tannines are superbly integrated with a beautiful long finish.
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11/9/2022 - bobadopolis Likes this wine: 96 Points
Smith Dinner, 11/05/22
Opened 3 hours prior to consumption, not decanted. This was the first wine served of those listed below, and an absolute tour de force. Dark purple and blue fruit, impeccably balanced, huge yet dichotomously restrained at the same time. Soft tannins, and smooth mouthfeel. Nearly everyone agreed this exceeded their baseline high expectations. Phenomenal now; hard to imagine this will improve from here, but acknowledging there may be room for more tertiary characteristics to develop in years to come. I would personally favor drinking in the short term for those who appreciate mature Bordeaux without significant loss of fruit.
2012 Opus One: 96
2012 Sine Qua Non Stock Syrah: 95
2015 Kosta Brown Keefer Ranch Pinot: 94
1996 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Corton Bressandes: 94
2010 Domaine Janasse Vielles Vignes CDP: 94
2015 Flowers Camp Meeting Ridge Pinot: 93
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9/26/2022 - Bodyfxr wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for over an hour. Had this after a 2012 Caymus Special Selection. Coming after that, this wine was medium to full bodied with less heft than I remember when I had it at the winery five years ago. Had this with wagyu bessette. Great pairing. This wine has traded some unctuous fruit characteristics with complex notes of vanilla, florals, cedar and some pencil shavings. This wine continues to evolve. Can't wait to see where it's at in another 5 years. Drink or hold.
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8/13/2022 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very nice wine! Opened and decanted about 1 1/2 hours prior to consuming. Wine showed nice red fruit and bramble on the nose with hints of vanilla, purple flowers and some cedar. Palate was luscious with plenty of red fruit, some dark fruit, bramble, earth, chocolate and toasty oak. Tannins are silky and smooth. A pleasure to drink! Easy 95 for me! Drinking well now, but no hurry.
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7/16/2022 - WineCPA wrote: 96 Points
Bordeaux like. Well balanced. Tannins are integrating nicely. Cassis and graphite. Excellent.
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7/10/2022 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Just entering its prime IMO. Top 3 wines of my Napa/Sonoma trip. Much better than the 2016 and 2018 tasted alongside. Good for many years ahead. Drank at Opus One winery. Noticed 2012 Napa cab sauv are drinking very well now over a couple of producers.
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5/21/2022 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Clear deep ruby; clean medium nose of cassis, sweet barnyard, mint and fresh raspberry; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; pronounced flavour intensity; palate is tarter with cloves, cocoa, florality and some fruit; long finish; drink now - lovely balance of fruit and tertiary; more Bordeaux than Napa; tasted at winery
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5/18/2022 - Margaux Bro Likes this wine: 96 Points
Enjoyed side by side with 2012 Scarecrow. This was a much more refined and elegant wine with the scarecrow being a bit more of a bruiser with lots of french oak. The Opus had an odd funk to the nose that I had trouble placing, but juice itself was fantastic! Its drinking window is just getting started.
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3/5/2022 - Michael Hung Likes this wine: 93 Points
March 2022 - Opus One Winery Tasting (Opus One Winery): TN: Lots of black fruit on nose and palette, black cherry, licorice, baking spices, vanilla. This one reminded me a bit of the 2018, but with a lot more raw power. Guide had mentioned that this is the vintage where they finally understood how to perfect winemaking throughout the drought (from the lessons of 2010 and 2011).
I found it to be the most "Californian" of the two flights, being very bold and showing a lot of oak integration with the wine. And with its boldness and strength, I found it to have the least balance of the two flights. The rest of the group liked it a lot. Unfortunately, not really my go-to style. 93pt
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1/21/2022 - LB88 wrote: 93 Points
Opened in the morning and left it in the cellar, decanted it just before dinner. Refined tannins on drinking but just not as open and approachable yet as the 2005 but certainly has the same potential. Drink in 5 years!
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12/18/2021 - Dr. Bee Likes this wine: 93 Points
Served with a wagyu flight. Hitting it's prime window. Classic opus. After an hour all the notes had been made. Lovely wine but overpriced imo. Had a 2016 quintessa with it. Similar flavor profile. Still, it's opus. For the $$, I'd take a venge generations and get dessert.
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11/1/2021 - Geofferson Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is tasting great right now, extremely well-balanced but can also age a few years longer. This is oak-forward with earthy tones on top of berries. Complexity adds to how enjoyable it is to drink!
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9/14/2021 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 96 Points
Splash decant, then 3 hours of slo-O - I don't know if it is bottle variation, the wine coming into its own, or the prep, but this was the best Opus One I have ever had! I can't see this wine drinking any better...well, if the tertiary flavors were just a little more pronounced, but that is being very picky!
Nose showed plenty of violets and cherry flowers, with hints of sweet oak and a touch of woodsy scents. The palate was simply awesome, i.e., a symphony of dark fruit, chocolate, anise, earth, pencil lead, toasted oak, and vanilla, wrapped in silky tannins and a long, decadent finish. This wine showed new world fruit with old world tertiary goodness. A tad bit more fruit than tertiary components, which I didn't mind at all.
I think this wine will continue to improve for a couple more years, and should remain there for quite a few years more (enough tannin and acidity and fruit to carry this wine for a while). 96+ tonight (and that is likely very conservative) with a chance to put on another point with a little more time. Drink or hold, you shouldn't be disappointed!
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7/8/2021 - tomoem Likes this wine: 95 Points
Fabulous showing as always with Opus. Rich expressive and loaded with iron and graphite.
The wine is enormous and worth the money at $300-$400 bottle. Simply beautiful.
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6/3/2021 - franinnyc Likes this wine: 97 Points
Outstanding. Drink now.
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5/21/2021 - jyensan Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank at Mirabeau for Kelly’s birthday with Michael and Rita along with a 2016 they brought. Both were still young, and the ‘12 was more softened. Great wines with plenty of time and potential to improve.
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5/9/2021 - SilverSommCertified wrote: 98 Points
This wine is simply amazing. I had it on my birthday on January 2020 with a 2 hour decant and it was exquisite. Powerful, balanced, complex and nuanced! Rich fruit without being slutty or jammy. Aromas and flavors of blackberry compote, lead, mineral, currant paste , black fig, and vanilla. You can taste the To Kalon vineyard. Over a year later this is still the most memorable Napa Bordeaux Blend I experienced in the last 14 months and I’m a wine director and floor sommelier. Most of the time the Value of Opus is bit off as there are equal wines at half the price from down the road in Oakville, however the 2012 vintage is worth every penny! I have 2 left and need to find the right time to celebrate with them. Drinking fantastic now with a 2 hour decant and will age gracefully for the next 10-15 years without a doubt.
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4/19/2021 - polearyloveswine wrote:
Gave to Alesia
Birthday 4/22/21
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4/4/2021 - Libbidog Likes this wine: 97 Points
Appearance
The wine a clear deep ruby.
Nose
The wine is developing and exhibits pronounced aromas of blackberry, black plum, black cherry, currant, vanilla, coconut, cedar, leather, earth, wet forest floor, and mushroom.
Palate
The wine is dry with a full body, high acid, medium (+) tannins, high alcohol, exhibiting pronounced flavors of blackberry, black plum, black currant, black cherry, savory herbs, vanilla, cassis, and mushroom with a long finish.
Conclusion
The quality of this wine is outstanding. It tastes lovely now but certainly has the acid and tannins to age for a long time. First family gathering in a year! Thank you vaccines! Happy Easter. Life and wine are good!
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3/30/2021 - JustBert wrote: 99 Points
My absolute favorite wine, period full stop... apologies for messing up the app rating system 😅 but I love this wine that much...My "perfect wine"
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3/13/2021 - A&C Likes this wine: 95 Points
This was an extraordinary wine. Smooth, balanced, with great fruit, and a great finish. Complex. Succulent. Delicious. I think it is perfectly in its drinkability window. Open for business. Decanted for two hours before dinner. Served with aged Wagyu NY Steaks, home-made pasta with alfredo sauce, and slow roasted Brussel sprouts. A perfect pairing. This was a real treat.
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12/24/2020 - starkravingmad Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rich, full-bodied - berries, but nicely balanced - not overpowering. At or near its peak now.
Dark ruby color and smooth
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9/15/2020 - christianderivel wrote: 92 Points
Totally agree with most tasters especially MSUWRIGHT. It does not meet price and expectations. It's a fruity, polished old classic on the boring side, a good cab that sits on its laurels but has no wings. Good, not great.
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7/18/2020 - Mortgage92 Likes this wine: 90 Points
I know "everybody LOVES this wine"...well sorry! Did I enjoy it...yes, but too much hype...for the money, try Bryant, Scarecrow, Carter, etc. Yes, this was consumed at Morton's (steak), but a higher score, come on really?
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5/23/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Decanted ~2.5h which worked very well, but feel free to go shorter. No major decant needed in my opinion. Ripe, dark fruit of bramble-berry comfit and red berry aromas of raspberry jam. This came across more extracted than the previous bottle but still all in green territory and in no way overripe despite a jammy fruit profile. Licorice, vanilla, orange zest, dried herbs, tobacco, sage, lavender, gingerbread, but also eucalyptus and nose-tickling pepper. Tannins provide for a strong backbone, acidity is fresh and the finish just keeps on going and also adds tertiary, leathery complexity. Sweet and dry and at the same time soft and velvety. Chewy yet light. Layered palate starting with dark berries and cascading down to fresh, ripe red berries accompanied by herbal flavours. There is so much depth and concentration you become dizzy from smelling this too long. My wife and I tried to have this along with dinner. Don‘t do that. We just stuffed down the food and had the wine as a separate course. The main course. The course. Forget about whatever you planned on having. Bin it. This is better. There is no food even remotely a worthy side. I was already blown away 1 year ago as part of a bigger tasting, but this time around with the opportunity to revisit time and again over hours was simply magical. Of ~170 bottles Napa wines reviewed over the last 2-3 years this is top 4 for me and on a par with Futo 5500 (also 2012), Maybach Materium (2014) and Dana Lotus 2016.
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5/1/2020 - msuwine wrote: 92 Points
This rich and round Cabernet is drinking well right now, but it doesn't have the precision or tension you expect (and should expect) at this price point. Instead, it’s kind of straightforward: fruity, polished, and classy - but a little generic. There's nothing wrong with this wine, but it’s not that exciting, either.
Ruby red in color and medium in body, the wine offers aromas of fresh plum, anise, eucalyptus, and cardamon. Tastes of blueberry tart, macerated cherry, and dried mint, with an integrated finish. Blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot, and 2% Malbec. 14.5% alcohol. I can't tell whether it's going to descend into plumminess or gain complexity with time. I'd wait to open for another year or two, but - if you haven't bought it yet - don't.
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4/7/2020 - ejgibson wrote: 92 Points
Improved with additional air time. Long finish but not as velvety as one would expect from the brand
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4/4/2020 - SmokeTaint Likes this wine: 92 Points
powerful wine. but sort of disappointing to me perhaps due to my expectation. I liked it overall but wouldn't drink it again if it was my choice.
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2/20/2020 - mkribar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opus One (SWS): Darker color, going to a ruby. On the nose, cedar and currant. Mint/cocoa, which gives almost a thin mint effect. Floral/rose. Slate. Espresso.
A bit more generous on the body than the 2010. Medium plus body with some noticeable glyerol. Some pyrazines/oregano, which give it a clear cabernet character. Glossy fruit, red/black cherries, some plum, a bit of cocoa. A bit closed on the palate, compared to the younger wines. Very long finish, and a very small hit of funk, which was a pleasant surprise.
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1/24/2020 - EricLi wrote: 91 Points
Obviously it is in an awkward phase right now. Fruit has receded and second flavor has not entirely emerged. If you have to drink it, long decant is required.
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12/1/2019 - jyensan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Kelly and I shared at our anniversary dinner at Josephine in Nashville. Translucent with a sexy sheen. Decanted for an hour which wasn’t enough time for this young wine. Began to really shine toward the end of the meal. Medium to full bodied with dark fruits, cigar box, tobacco and graphite. Can’t wait to see where it is in 5 years.
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11/29/2019 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really like this vintage of Opus. While it is still young and primary, it shows incredible structure and layers of complexity combined with great Oakville fruit concentration. This will be a beauty in 10 more years in the cellar.
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11/2/2019 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted and served from 375. Drinking great with elegant and balanced palate and the usual mellow cassis, light earth, perfect acidity. Emergency bottle so it didn't have a chance to put on weight and intensify but it was still beautiful. Great vintage of Opus for lovers of balance.
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10/27/2019 - galewskj wrote: 93 Points
C-Note night (Ray and Teresa's): Decanted several hours. This wine was huge. There was massive fruit and a fair amount of oak. I said this at the tasting and stand by it, this tastes like a Bordeaux blend from NAPA, it does not taste like a Bordeaux blend from Bordeaux. I feel my 93 is based more on power than finesse at this point.
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10/19/2019 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Ray & Teresa's Wine Dinner (Minneapolis, MN): Can we say high octane!!! Certainly not something I would pay $200 plus for but I really enjoyed the wine. Cherry, ripe plums, spice, coffee beans, oak and vanilla beans. Long finish but not over the top. This is young and should drink well through 2035.
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7/26/2019 - Scar510 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opus flight Del Friscos 7-26-19
2012
Licorice, earthy, not fruit forward,
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7/24/2019 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
At first this was a bit hard to drink: a young Napa following a bunch of Burgs as well as a Chave and Jamet comes across as quite sweet... too sweet. But with some time the wine unfolded its beauty. Classic Bordeaux styled Napa top shot (but make no mistake, this is no Bordeaux today but will be in 20 years). Very good to drink today with a bit of air but I clearly prefer them with more age and tertiary aromas (such as the 1996 we had alongside). 96 points for the best moments and the inherent quality, but on a hot day, along some Pinots/Rhone Syrahs the enjoyment level was most of the time lower (93/94).
TN: Vanilla, smoke, ripe red fruit, black forest berries, bakings spices, smoke and some first hints of tertiary development. Yes, it is dense but at the same time very harmonious and round with very fine tannins and a good freshness. Still it needs to shed some baby fat. This will be an amazing 97+ point wine once mature.
Decanting: Decanted for roughly 2 hours. I would strongly advise to decant it for 8 or 10 hours. Or 4+ hours the day before you drink it. In my experience that will do great things!
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7/24/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Tasted blind. This wine had a lot of blue berry, toast, chocolate. It was visible that we are in Napa here. For me way too sweet. What was interesting was, that the 1996 also tasted blind next to it looked very different, fabulous wine, really Bordeauesque, cooler, with forest floor and good acidity. If this 2012 turns out like that, my score is too low.
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7/23/2019 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 98 Points
I‘m such a sucker for these kinds of wines! A bit more than 2h decant. Beautiful, sexy cassis fruit, vanilla spices, a bit of savoury and green herbal notes. Kirsch. Cedar would. Savoury and sweet spices abound on the palate as well. Round, balanced, dense and concentrated. This is fantastic if you like the opulent Napa style but without the overpowering over-extraction. Excellent craftsmanship.
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6/17/2019 - shellylowen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Changed over two hours. Mushrooms to bacon fat to essence of Napa. Yum
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5/30/2019 - Wine Fellow Likes this wine: 92 Points
It was drinking well lots of blk fruit med finish had it after drinking L Cabernet wine
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4/8/2019 - Bro-rolo Likes this wine: 96 Points
Bro-Rolo's 2019 Masters Bro-down (ft. Tiger Woods & Ja Rule); 4/8/2019-4/14/2019 (Augusta, GA): so we're sitting here...just scratching the surface of this epic week...when BAM! Tiger Woods shows up and says "Listen here you NERDS! I only drink OPUS ONE! and when I win this week, I'm gonna SHOWER IN THAT $HIT!! Watch me"...then we were all like "yeah whatever man...I think you're washed up LOL!" he poured me some...I mean it's pretty first-growthy...maybe Tiger should just buy a Chateau...(to be continued.........)
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3/22/2019 - Snowryeder Likes this wine: 94 Points
Black and red fruit, vanilla. Soft tannins, drinking well now from a 375. Medium finish. Velvety, Still early and will develop more complexity over time. Great potential.
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3/2/2019 - Sunocoblue Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wonderful wine from wonderful year! Still has some time left in bottle before I will open another. Fruit not over bearing and tannins mesh well with the wine.
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2/9/2019 - jyensan Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank with Kelly at Rosalie’s in Skaneateles. Outstanding as usual. Silky smooth but firm tannins, cassis, baking spices, hint of leather. Plenty of years ahead.
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1/29/2019 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Really great nose. Soft and elegant. Musty and dusty with red fruits and burnt coffee beans. Very much like an aged Bordeaux.
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1/19/2019 - wcvogeljr@comcast.net wrote: 94 Points
Drink 2012 2035
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12/14/2018 - Clipcon wrote: 94 Points
The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. The body is medium. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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11/22/2018 - Otaku Oenophile wrote:
Just wasn't feeling it this thanksgiving. Closed down? Dumb Phase? Bottle Variation?
What I got was mainly cherry, currants and liquid rock.
Edit: Probably my allergies that day, someone else said it was amazing.
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7/5/2018 - Oolivia123 Likes this wine:
The best
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5/4/2018 - Berge65 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Had tasting at Winery
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4/8/2018 - JS199 wrote: 95 Points
Mini Opus vertical(07, 08, 12). Young and quite polished. Very enjoyable. The lightest of the three, also more oak on the palate. 94-96
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3/24/2018 - raek wrote:
Double decanted. Definitely old worldly. Blackberries, blue berries, graphite, crushed stones and plenty of tannins. After about a few hours this started to really have vanilla and chocolate notes. This will age for a long time. No rush to drink now.
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3/17/2018 - markydecker Likes this wine: 94 Points
Killed a baby but it was still very enjoyable. Dark ruby to the rim, cassis and dark chocolate on the nose. Medium to full bodied, lovely acidity, silky tannins. Some vanilla but not too much. Tight and very promising. Way too young, great things ahead. Thanks to my good friend Doug Hickok for opening this stellar wine.
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2/18/2018 - Justinwine wrote: 93 Points
Great potential though young and tight at this time.
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2/10/2018 - distilled wrote: 95 Points
Really amazing and complex, good structure. Classic Opus. Was the first from this vintage that I opened, will be holding the others for a while.
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12/14/2017 - jwilliams6 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Black fruit, clear notes of vanilla and baking spices. Eucalyptus and mint. Soil. Complex and different
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12/3/2017 - Margaux Bro Likes this wine: 95 Points
Keowee Wine Mixer; 12/2/2017-12/3/2017 (Seneca, SC): Tasted blind. My notes immediately read "French Oak - Vanilla, Expensive" LOL. This wine was easily identified as a Napa Cab dominant Bordeaux blend, and I figured it would be the Opus or the Insignia having tasted neither before that night. The wine is extremely high quality but I docked it a bit of points because the Oak was a little too intense. The tannins were also very much present, which is to be expected in a 2012. I think this wine has a chance to improve to a 97 with more age if the oak becomes more subtle with time. Hold for at least 5 more years.
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11/4/2017 - FGS Likes this wine: 95 Points
Exactly what you’d expect from a great vintage with Opus. Dark, garnet colors. Deep, dark fruit layered with chocolate and cassis giving way to velvety tannins. At five years it’s probably just getting into its drinking window, and could age well for 10+ yrs more.
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10/21/2017 - df1962 wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with previous note. So complex classy and flavourful with tons of life ahead.
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9/22/2017 - df1962 wrote: 93 Points
PnP at Jerry's in Longwood Fl. Deep dark purple garnet almost saturated. Cassis cherry cola tobacco chocolate herbs (mint) and a touch of cola on the nose. Medium weight with velvety tannins. Flavours echo the nose. Lingering cherry and tar finish. So approachable but with structure to age. Exceeds my expectations for the wine and a nice showing of balance in what is widely viewed as an exceptional vintage (96 from both WA and WS).
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7/26/2017 - SonnyChiba wrote: 94 Points
Decant the heck out of this. Was so much better after several hours of being opened. Very opulent, rich, layered Opus One - a great vintage for this wine. This will really be fantastic in the future. Expensive though. Why not buy Pichon Baron, Ducru B, Pontet Canet, or even Las Cases at this price point? That said, it is a very good wine.
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7/18/2017 - Jeffkunins Likes this wine: 95 Points
deep gleaming crimson, clear thin rim; heady explosion of blackberry, black currant, rose, eucalyptus, vanilla, and thyme; enormous yet fully balanced and silky mouthfeel, delightfully intense tannin, and achingly long finish. indeed :)
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7/4/2017 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. Reminds me a lot of the Dominus or Accendo style. Refined and subtle at first with sweet tobacco, bright red fruit, new leather, and a green vegital note. Depth and texture really start to emerge with time showing classic Napa notes of cassis, vanilla, and extracted black fruit. About as elegant as Napa gets. Not overly tannic but still needing 5 plus more years.
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7/2/2017 - The Wine Guy Likes this wine: 94 Points
little concerned with evidence of wine penetration to seal, the wine has been in my possession, temp cellared, till its trip to Colorado.
Open for an hour, dark cherry, currant, jammy fruit, soft tannins and full mouth feel gave no indication of being flawed. Perhaps the softness of the silky tannins at such a young age would have been a negative. cedar, mushrooms, leather, hint of coffee rounded this wine.
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5/24/2017 - Sean Tay wrote:
The wine looks ruby colored. It smells like strawberry, blackberry, cranberry, blueberry, raspberry, red currant, mushroom and toast.
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5/9/2017 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 94 Points
The nose was undeniably sensual and inviting, as rich crushed red fruits came together with mulled apple, sweet herbs, cinnamon, clove and holiday spice. On the palate, I found silky-smooth textures with red berry, currants, cola and hints of bright cherry. The finish was dark and saturating with bitter black fruits yet very easy to like.
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2/20/2017 - Wine Buergler Likes this wine: 96 Points
Expected this to be exceptional and it was 2012 obviously a great year and, well, it's Opus. Cherry and chocolate most dominant flavors to me - very drinkable .. almost too much so. The flavors were so subtle that I almost wanted a little more "in your face" taste to it. Great bottle though ...
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2/18/2017 - Badmonkey wrote:
Tasting at a local wine shop. Dark red and black fruit - cherry, currants, and a little blackberry. Nice depth mid-palate but the fruit was fairly closed. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep and also somewhat closed. The bottle was apparently decanted for around three hours. In my opinion, this vintage needs a couple years for the fruit to soften and open-up which is no surprise in light of its youth and the producer. I'll refrain from rating it because it isn't ready yet, however, I wasn't overly impressed with this vintage at this stage. Cabernet sauvignon 79%, Cabernet Franc 7%, Petit Verdot 6%, Merlot 6% and Malbec 2%
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1/30/2017 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank this Christmas Eve so this is from memory.
Opening this fills the room with cherry. Still one of the more complex wines I've had. Chocolate, leather, tar and smoke, cassis and cherry. The oak influence could still use more time to integrate nicely in the bottle.
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1/21/2017 - DrinkEverything702 Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Super young still. Needs at least another 5 years. Not sure why people are so into this wine as it is probably the last one I would pick for the price range it is in. I feel like this is the emperors new clothes of wine.
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12/31/2016 - ElSol wrote: flawed
This is the priciest bottle in my cellar, and I had high expectations. The cork fell apart when I was pulling it out, which happens occasionally but it didn't bode well for this wine. The cork smelled like wet socks, and in the glass it showed some bricking. We drank some of it anyway, since some had described a barnyard taste, and I wasn't 100% sure it was corked or this was just part of the character. The wine expressed some interesting complexities, but was flat and lacked the pronounced fruit or dense extraction common in high end Napa wines. If I were to grade this, I'd compare it to a below average Burgundy red and give it perhaps an 84. But because I suspect it may have been flawed, I'm withholding a score.
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12/24/2016 - Vino Monkeys Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep ruby with purple hues. Aromas of developing ripe bramble berries, blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, pencil lead, eucalyptus, barnyard. Intense fruit with almost perfectly balanced acids and dusty fine tannins. Plenty of structure and, while it might not be the longest lived Opus, will definitely age well for another decade. Fruit lingers for nearly a minute. Beautiful. (93-95)
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11/8/2016 - MarcelloW Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opus One Dinner at the two stars Michelin Restaurant Ecco in Zürich.
No formal notes taken. Preferred 2012 (elegant and fruity) over 13 (more earthy and tannic, needs more time, but might be the winner in a few years) followed by 09!, 08, 05 and 06. All wines were excellent. 92-95
And also the food was high class!
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10/23/2016 - danckie Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank over the course of two days. Silky smooth, a little bit to young ofcourse but with definate pedigree. Elegant Lot's of dark fruit. A hint of dark chocolate in the finish. Tannins desolved after 4 hours double decant. This has many years to go but is surprisingly accessible now.
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9/2/2016 - For the Love of Wine Likes this wine: 96 Points
This wine is awesome! It is packed with integrated black fruit, with an elegance and sophistication one would expect from a top notch wine. Although this wine is delicious now (and I wouldn't hesitate in opening a bottle if you have a few), I would expect this wine to continue to improve for another 5 years, with a drinking window of at least another 10 after that.
The nose is perfumed and very Bordeaux like, with hints of lilac, berries and sweet wood. On the palate I tasted cassis, blackberry, violets, a hint of clove and some oak. The tannins and alcohol were present, but daily integrated with the fruit, and the acidity was there to maintain a freshness in the wine. With time, I would expect this wine to gain even more complexity, and be even smoother (although it is very smooth right now). Like most 2012's, it is very approachable and tasty now, but this wine is definitely built for the long haul. If you are saving a bottle for a special occasion, you should have no problem opening it whenever that occasion arrives!
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8/31/2016 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine: 96 Points
Feminine and elegant, with no hint of astringency from the tannin but decent mid palate with light acidity. Notes of blue berries, chocolate, earth and leather on both the nose and the palate, both reflecting what I've had from Bordeaux and California. Next day the tannin started to show and I noticed more vegetal and spice notes.
I prefer wines with more power and intensity even at the expense of balance but I can't deny what it is.
Still don't know why people say it will age well as it's already excellent out of the bottle. 94-96
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8/28/2016 - stschutz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Confused. While smooth and velvety, I expected more from this vintage. Nice nose, great balance, moderate finish, but strangely unable to outshine in a significant way the 2012 Sequoia Grove we had before it, which is 5 times cheaper and a deal of the century if you ask me.
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6/20/2016 - hawkeye54 wrote: 95 Points
Delicious but young.
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6/14/2016 - T.E.D. wrote:
No rating, consumed at a restaurant and the wine was so closed down hard to decipher any meaningful notes or flavor elements. So disappointed. Perhaps a bad bottle.
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5/13/2016 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 96 Points
Shame to open this so young but restaurant so what can you do? Superbly balanced. Nose of berry, rose, and powdered sugar. Berries and caramel on the palate with an indescribable complexity for such a young wine. Some heat and confusion in the middle which in my mind begs for more cellaring. Possibly the best vintage of Opus I've had.
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5/13/2016 - zoom34 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Amazing. I cant imagine a wine can get much better.
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5/10/2016 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Rated it 93 points for what it is today, but this wine will warrant much higher score in the long run. Great structure, purity, and balance. The finish was long, but the tannins were grippy. Overall, this wine will warrant 95+ points with about 8 more years of age the bottle. We decanted it for 1hr.
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4/24/2016 - Ispendtoomuchmoneyonwine wrote: 93 Points
Blueberry more black fruit than red. Lots of oak, smooth tannins, silky feel in the mouth. Excellent wine but not as good as Joseph Phelps Insignia
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3/9/2016 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Very primary, but high quality. All vanilla, caramel and fruit at this point, but polished.
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3/7/2016 - steinersing wrote: 95 Points
dense and silky - great material and balance. excellent.
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3/5/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
This Left Bank Bordeaux lookalike has really been on fire since 2007. This elegant, ripe, sweet, lush, charmer is no exception. Silky tannins, solid concentration of ripe, dark fruits, great mouthfeel and long, fruit filled, stylish finish is another winner from Opus One. The wine was made from a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec.
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3/1/2016 - Romol Likes this wine:
Spring offer tasting. All wines not decanted.
The Opus One 2012 was pretty good. I think with a bit more air it might be much better. No rating now. Future potential: 93-95+ pts.
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2/19/2016 - walkerjfw wrote: 95 Points
At the Oakville tasting during PNV week, great event hosted at Far Niente (best food of all the tastings...). Nice that they are pouring a wine like this a this tasting.
Fragrant nose, blue fruits and violets. Palate has dark fruits, sour cherry, plums, black tea, Asian spice, licorice. Intense mid palate, balanced, long finish. Great combination of power and elegance - especially at what I consider to be a primary stage. Long term winner, great wine from a great vintage. Needs 3+ years to settle in
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2/12/2016 - EricLi wrote: 95 Points
Second bottle in a week. Similar profile on the nose, but tannins is more prominant this time. 1 hour or so slow ox did smooth it out. Very very good still!
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2/7/2016 - EricLi wrote: 96 Points
Simply great! The intensity of the aroma almost knock me off. Of course it is Yong, but tremendously enjoyable nevertheless. This is why many favor Cali Cabs over Bordeaux blend.
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2/5/2016 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 97 Points
Black fruit, plums, Asian tea, cassis, chocolate, spice, layers of flavors finishes with some well balanced and smooth tannins. A
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1/31/2016 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank this with David Pearson (CEO Opus One) along with the 2000, 2005, 2010. Sat next to him at dinner Friday & Saturday at the Naples winter wine festival. The 2012 has a slight nose of dusty & Musty bordeaux. It doesn't smell like California at all. It comes in layers of evolving waves across your palate. Lots going on. Lots of chocolate, cola, Asian spices, tobacco, with some musty notes.
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1/20/2016 - The years of the grape Likes this wine: 96 Points
A very promising vintage and one that will have a big success on the market, even young. It shows aromas of black cherry, black berry, sour cherry, with coffee, white pepper, licorice, leather and an earthy touch (which I expect to develop further).
In the mouth it shows much intensity, with full body and pronounced (but ripe) tannins, but it is also wonderfully balanced by a good acidity which prevents it to become too heavy.
The finish is long and the more fragrant aromas of coffee and mocha come back to please the palate, together with hints of vanilla and earthy aromas.
The 2011 was (and still is) not exactly my favourite, but the 2012 has fantastic power, elegance and ripeness. Outstanding.
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12/22/2015 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 92 Points
We followed a 2008 & 2010 Shafer HSS with this Opus. The opus came off with a huge nose and flavor of a very old wine. Very musty and dusty, wet wood, wet leather, and tobacco. I believe these notes may have dominated because our palate was off a little from the shafer. Over all good wine but not for $300.
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12/8/2015 - PrudenceJuris Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes, drank with a filet at Morton's. Somewhat lighter than the 09 and 10 I've had before. The nose is delicate, hints of blueberries and violets. Fruit forward with an impeccable finish. The word elegant comes to mind.
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11/24/2015 - RayOB Likes this wine: 97 Points
Opus One Tasting (67 Pall Mall): Ideal vintage with perfect flowering, hot days, cold nights, no rain during harvest. This is a brooding monster with incredible depth. Come back in 10 years. Amazing.
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11/11/2015 - soyhead Does not like this wine:
poured for me and sorry, it's not my cup of tea. possibly in a decade this might be worth trying, so if you have it do yourself a favor and tuck it away. otherwise if you try it today get ready for a very woody experience.
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10/23/2015 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 97 Points
2015 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/19/2015-10/27/2015 (New York City, NY): This deep-to-opaque ruby wine is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec, aged 18 months in 100% new French oak. Gorgeously effusive of cassis, fig, licorice, loamy earth and pencil shavings on the nose, it follows with a full-bodied, fresh palate delivering flavors which mirror the aromas. The alcohol, tannins and oak are harmoniously integrated and the wine is dense in the middle. Long and smooth on the finish, this iteration of Opus One defines elegance. Already quite drinkable, it should provide pleasure for many years to come. Drink now-2032.
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5/27/2015 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank at black and blue in Williamsville NY. Nose was amazing. Smelled like a fruit bomb of blueberries and raspberries. Tasted like a Bordeaux upon opening . Dusty, earthy, cedar, fruit forward. After an hour the wine had a very spicy finish that almost tasted more like a syrah with a heavy black pepper finish. This 2012 is also on the lighter side. Its not thick and chewy or mouth coating like the 2010. As this is still pretty good, the 2010 blew it away. Needs a few years for sure.
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