Wine Advisor
Opus One 2018
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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
Very deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Opus One soars out of the glass with bright, bold boysenberries, warm cassis and ripe, juicy black plums notes, plus emerging nuances of lilacs, oolong tea, cinnamon stick, tilled soil and black truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly wound layers of crunchy black fruits, supported by firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing with lifted fruitiness and on a lingering mineral note.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
This is a barrel sample of the final blend, made up of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot and 1% Malbec. It will be bottled in 2020. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes prancing out of the glass with energetic notes of freshly crushed black cherries, boysenberries, raspberries and crushed black currants with nuances of star anise, yeast extract, lilacs and cardamom with a waft of dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, the palate explodes with intense black fruits, even more intensified by fantastic freshness and super fine-grained tannins, with great length and depth.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Opus One is absolutely exquisite. Bright red berry fruit, crushed flowers, mint and spice are all finely cut. The 2018 impresses with its energy and focus. It's a gorgeous wine, and is also showing especially well today, with all of the potential I first saw in barrel very much on display. Bright acids linger on the persistent finish. The 2018 is supremely elegant.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Opus One is incredibly elegant and polished, right out of the bottle. Silky tannins and lifted, perfumed aromatics add to an impression of finesse that distinguishes the 2018 from some of the preceding vintages in a pretty big way. It will be interesting to see if the 2018 gains body with a bit of time in bottle. It is pretty rare for Opus One to be so approachable at this stage.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
I tasted the 2018 Opus One from three working blends, one of which will very like be the blend. All three wines share a core of inky dark fruit laced with hints of graphite, lavender and mulling spices. The 2018 is clearly embryonic, and yet it shows tremendous finesse, with more refinement than pure power. It is going to be a fascinating wine to follow, that much is clear.
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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