Wine Advisor
Opus One 2014
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Description
Opus One is the realized dream of two men: Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux and Napa Valley vintner Robert Mondavi. Together, our founders set out to create a single wine dedicated to the pursuit of uncompromising quality. This singular mission shapes every vintage, today and for generations to come.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2014 Opus One opens with youthful notes of warm blackberries, chocolate-covered cherries, redcurrant jelly and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of bay leaves, tobacco leaf and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, firm and grainy with a lively backbone and tightly wound black and red berry layers, it finishes with a compelling herbal lift.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Blended of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec, the 2014 Opus One sports an inky purple color and nose of crushed black and red currants, black cherries and mulberries with touches of underbrush, sautéed herbs and pencil shavings plus a waft of spice box. Medium-bodied, finely crafted and with an energetic line lifting the red and black fruits, it has a bold frame of grainy tannins and a very long, earth and spice-layered finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2014 Opus One is not as showy or obvious as some of the other surrounding vintages, but it will have its day. Stylistically, the 2014 is bright and also a touch linear, with a construction built more on focus rather than opulence. Readers should plan on giving the 2014 another few years in bottle at a minimum. The mid-weight style is a bit Old World-leaning in this striking, super-classic Opus One.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2014 Opus One is super-classy, elegant and polished, with mid-weight structure and tons of pure class. This is one of the more restrained recent vintages of Opus One and yet all the elements are impeccably balanced. The flavors are bright, precise and beautifully delineated. Even so, the 2014 is not an easy or immediate Opus One. I wouldn't touch a bottle for at least a few years.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2014 Opus One has turned out to be a gorgeous wine. Savory, tightly wound and intensely aromatic, the 2014 is going to need time to unwind, but it looks like it will develop along the more classic vintages here. The tannins are firm but also impeccably balanced. A sleeper wine for the year, the 2014 is shaping up to be a gorgeous wine that will handsomely repay several decades of cellaring. The 2014 is not an obvious Opus One, like the 2010, 2012 or 2013, but over time, I will not be surprised if it challenges or even surpasses some of those vintages. In short, the 2014 is a wine of tension, power and grace.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2014 Opus One offers a compelling interplay of aromatics, fruit and structure. Rose petal, exotic spices, menthol, plum and dark cherry are all nicely delineated in the glass. Suave, silky and beautifully layered, the 2014 is still holding quite a bit back in reserve. Today, the 2014 comes across as dark and brooding, with mid-weight structure and terrific overall energy.
About the Producer
The world-renowned Opus One was created in the 1970's as a result of a merger between two visionaries, Baron Philippe de Rothschild (lengendary Bordeaux wine magnate and owner of Château Mouton-Rothschild in Pauillac) and Robert Mondavi (an icon in the history of American wine with a namesake wine empire in California). It was their aim to develop a New World equivalent to a Bordeaux First Growth in the Napa Valley region of California. The exceptional style of Opus One resulted from the combination of their talent, their vision and the unique terroir of the Oakville AVA (an Eden for Cabernet Sauvignon). Today, this highly sought-after wine is produced from four different parcels, two parcels making up the famous 40-hectare To-Kalon vineyard, along with the River and Ballestra Parcels surrounding the Opus One winery. While the exact proportions depend on vintage, the blend is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, complemented by Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec, reminiscent of Bordeaux's Left Bank. The wines are vinified separately before being matured in French oak barrels for a period of 18 months. They stay in the cellar, ageing in bottle for another 15 months, before being released on the market in October of each new year.
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