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94 Wine Spectator
Bordeaux-like in structure, this is an impressive showing. Firm tannins wrap around the currant, black cherry, anise, spice and cedar notes. Long, persistent finish.--Opus One vertical. Drink now through 2006. 11,500 cases made. ?JL
87 Robert Parker
Most of the early Opus One vintages (1979-1986), have neither lived up to their early hype, nor the quality level implied by their bold pricing. The 1986 exhibits a medium dark plummy color with some lightening at the edge. The reluctant bouquet offers moderately intense, straightforward aromas of new oak, earth, and currants. Clipped and compressed on the palate, but elegant, with purity and a Bordeaux-like austerity, this appears to be a very good, yet polite and understated wine. It should last for 7-8 years, but I suspect it will continue to lose its fruit. The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore.
Producer
Opus One Winery
Unarguably the most well-known European wine families, the Rothschilds, paired up with one of the great New World wine pioneers, Mondavi, to create this legendary Californian estate. What started as a joint venture between the two, Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux’s Château Mouton Rothschild back in 1978, the Opus One Estate is now one of California’s most high-profile wineries. They released their first vintage, the 1979, in 1981, at a then astonishing price of fifty dollars a bottle. When the Cabernet blend was released, it was originally named Napamedoc, but in 1982, they began to label it under Opus One - accentuating the bond between the old and new world. A blend of all five Bordeaux varieties, the icon wine consists of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. This flagship wine, along with the duo’s innovative vision, has made the Opus One Estate Napa Valley’s leading cult-winery.