1997 Opus One

Community Tasting Notes (174) Avg Score: 92.2 points

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  10/29/2023 - ONEFIVE wrote:

  Similar to laser note.
  Bretty and ripe but stemmy.
  The palate is much better than the nose but it’s still kind of an awkward wine. Med body, med+ tannin, and med acid. The acid/tannin balance is off and this comes off quite stringent.
  Still holding up fine but not sure this will ever really be great.

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  10/7/2023 - Jhalpern27 Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Thanks to my friend Kim who put together a flight of 95,96,97,98,99 Opus and paired with several Waygu prepared by our friend Steve. Oh What a night, spectacular food paired with an amazing Vertical that will most likely not be repeated by our group. What a great performance from a 26 year old wine. This wine started out my favorite after a 2 hour decant, but eventually faded slightly and the 95 took over. Still incredibly solid, definitely should pop the corks now if you’re still holding

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  7/12/2023 - thesternowl wrote: 93 Points

  Opened about four hours prior to service and allowed to breath. Two bottles were opened tonight from the same cellar and one of the corks showed some small signs of seepage but both wines showed equally. No formal notes. The 1997 Opus One pours a fairly youthful looking deep ruby color with moderate signs of sediment and a near opaque core. The nose exhibited powerful aromas of dark fruits, organic earth, tobacco, leather, horse blanket (brettanomyces?!), and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry and the structure remains quite firm but the texture is plush and almost chewy. The notes on the nose are confirmed and the finish is long and satisfying.
  
  But the tasting notes only tell half the story here. This was consumed alongside a 1990 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Had these been served together double-blind, I would have absolutely understood if someone called both as left-bank Bordeaux. Yes, the texture was plush and yes, the color was dark(er), but only just. It was just waaaay more Old World leaning to me with the earth and presence of brett. Which makes me wonder, why hasn’t brett been noted very often in other TN’s for this wine? Only (Charlie Carnes and OneFive) really address it directly and maybe this is what most are getting at when they mention “Bordeaux-like” and all the Pauillac vibes. What I can confirm is that these notes were consistent between two bottles from the same case, still in their tissue paper, so I’m reasonably confident that this is characteristic of the 1997 Opus One. I digress; I liked the wine. There, I said it. It was a bit of a one foot in Old School Napa, one foot in New School Napa, handled with an Old World touch. I liked it even better side-by-side with the ’90 Mouton, especially considering the relationship between the two. That being said, folks that can’t get down with a little brett will be turned off by this vintage of Opus. In my case, I would enjoy another opportunity to drink the 1997 some time. Great now with some air to stretch its legs and should be enjoyable through the next decade.

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  7/1/2022 - KVM wrote:

  Some old bottles at lunch:
  
  1992 Guenoc Lily Langtry Beckstoffer IV; light to medium red, red to black-fruited, still vivacious despite crumbly cork.
  1995 Saintsbury Reserve Chardonnay, Carneros. Dark yellow, mature, only medium body, acid is obvious but so is the pear fruit. Long finish. well cellared!
  1997 Opus One. Dark-fruited blackberry, a little tannin, very Bordeaux. like the Guenoc, this could go for several more years.
  2010 Beringer Private Reserve. This is young and powerful. The fruit/oak balance is proper and one should expect 10 or 20 more years of development.
  1978 Mauro Osvaldo & Figli Barolo. Amber with sediment. Shy nose takes 30 minutes to show caramel. Tasty, rich and vivacious in the mouth. Holding beautifully.

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  2/23/2022 - ONEFIVE wrote:

  The “Bordeaux-like” comments in recent reviews has me thinking not many people can recognize brettanomyces. While there is some refinement here and pleasant red fruit on the nose, it’s overshadowed by a medicinal/metallic quality that’s hard to see past. Luckily, the aroma improves with air. On the palate there is more acid than expected for Oakville and refined tannin. However, recent vintages have tasted cleaner than this and are more enjoyable. This falls short for me considering the pedigree of the winery and vintage.

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