Crushed flowers, bright red-toned fruit, mint, lavender and rose petal are all beautifully delineated. Silky tannins and bright, floral aromatics add to an impression of total finesse. The 2019 Opus One is a remarkably elegant wine. Great now with some air to stretch its legs and should be enjoyable through the next decade. In my case, I would enjoy another opportunity to drink the 1997 some time. That being said, folks that can’t get down with a little brett will be turned off by this vintage of Opus. I liked it even better side-by-side with the ’90 Mouton, especially considering the relationship between the two. It was a bit of a one foot in Old School Napa, one foot in New School Napa, handled with an Old World touch. 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. 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.

It was just waaaay more Old World leaning to me with the earth and presence of brett. Yes, the texture was plush and yes, the color was dark(er), but only just. Had these been served together double-blind, I would have absolutely understood if someone called both as left-bank Bordeaux. This was consumed alongside a 1990 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The notes on the nose are confirmed and the finish is long and satisfying.īut the tasting notes only tell half the story here. On the palate, the wine is dry and the structure remains quite firm but the texture is plush and almost chewy. The nose exhibited powerful aromas of dark fruits, organic earth, tobacco, leather, horse blanket (brettanomyces?!), and fine baking spices. The 1997 Opus One pours a fairly youthful looking deep ruby color with moderate signs of sediment and a near opaque core. 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. Opened about four hours prior to service and allowed to breath.

2002 opus one tasting notes