Tasting - Opus One 2004

Name: Opus One

Variety: Bordeaux Blend

Region: Napa Valley, CA

Country: USA

Year: 2004

Price: Don’t want to know (>$200 at least)

Shop/wine critic/Winery Review:  NOTE – This wine review was done in 2007, it is 2013 now
Good full ruby. Roasted black raspberry, blackberry, spicecake, licorice, minerals and nutty oak on the nose. Denser than the 2005 and a step up in intensity but nicely light on its feet. There's lovely sweetness to the black fruit and licorice flavors. Finishes with big but sweet tannins and a lingering minerality. This makes the 2005 seem a bit dry by comparison. Bottled in July of 2006, for the first time without being fined. (I continue to find the '03 too herbal, lean and dry to recommend. The '02 in March was less herbal and minty than my sample two years ago but still high-toned, truffley and a bit vegetal, with a note of black olive and a rather chunky texture. This rather backward wine needs time but I find it disappointing in the context of the vintage, rating 87+?. The wild, distinctly Old World 2001, on the other hand, was wonderfully dense, sweet and lush without coming across as heavy, showing complex notes of cassis, graphite, spicecake, leather and game; lovely inner-mouth perfume; and an explosive finish featuring fine-grained, suave tannins that reach the front teeth. This very sexy and showy wine, rated 91 in Issue 118   

     

My Review/Experience: So this is going to be a little different than the other wine reviews I have done.  I am going to tell you about my evening with Opus and not just want it tastes like!

     Let’s start from the beginning… My dad had come home from an RV (like motor home) trip from Florida.  Now he brought one of his friends along on the trip down so he didn’t have to do it by himself.  For my dad’s friend, his contribution to the trip is to bring some very nice wine.  Apparently he has some sweet wine collection (that I haven’t seen… yet) and loves to share it with fellow wine drinkers (cross your fingers).  The two of them had a 2003 Opus One but didn’t have time to drink the 2004.  So my dad ended up bringing it home with him.  When he got back, he decided to be an awesome dad and open with just him, my mom and me at the house!  Only way to spend the evening with the parents.

     First, I know the label on this bottle looks destroyed but it still gets the point across.  The first thing I noticed while opening it was the foil lose, which mean it hadn’t leaked around the cork which isn’t a good or bad sign it just meant it could still breath.  The problem came when I tried to actually pull out the cork.  With a not so good crock screw, I managed to break it the first time (such a newbie).  I got it out the second time but when I looked at it I saw that it was VERY dry and hence it cracked.  Just an interesting note, maybe reflective of how old it is.  Right as I opened this bottle, I went ahead and took a sip.  The first thing I noticed was the color.  It was a true ruby red with dark tones from all the skins.  When I smelled the wine I got hints of blackberry, slight spice and actually got hints of cedar on it.  This lent its hands to the earthy, mineral tones of the wine.  The taste was very, very smooth and had a wonderful mid-pallet.  It had a little hint of spice right after you swallowed it but faded as you let it sit.  It was complex with heavy tannins but just fantastic.  The finish was very strong and you could definitely feel the 14.5% alcohol still going on.

     We then let it sit for about 45 minutes in the bottle just to let it breathe.  We then all had a glass at dinner which consisted of three cheese tortellini, Italian sausage and garlic bread.  The taste did open up after this time but I think it tasted best right after having some of the tortellini.  The cheese took away the tannins in the wine and really let you with just the fruit complexity.  It really just took the edge off the wine.  As I got into the third small glass (taking my time with it), I started to really notice the alcohol.  While I was impressed that I didn’t get the ‘burning’ sensation in my mouth (sign of a very good winemaker), I did start to feel it down my throat.  Felt like you just came in from skiing and are having hot chocolate and you feel it warming you up from the inside out that was how the alcohol hit. 

         After we finished dinner, I poured myself the final glass (sad).  I took a couple sips but I decided that it just needed more time to breathe.  I left it out for at least another hour and wow.  It totally opened up, it smoothed out, the alcohol started to evaporate off, and it just got better.  Those last couple sips were just amazing.  After I finished it, while sad I did learn something.  A wine like that needs to decant, for a couple of hours.  Even though it was aged for 9 years, it could have sat in a decanter for another 3 that day and it would have been amazing.  After a wine like that, you really start to realize why wine can be so expensive.

     I know this was pretty long but I hope you learned something about it!  Maybe one day you will get this chance to try either an Opus One, or just one of the high quality wines out there.  A final shout out to my dad’s friend, Don, for buying this bottle and saving it for us to enjoy!  Thanks for being a wino!