Now don't get me wrong, 88 points signifies a very good to excellent wine. But in the context of the vintage, not to mention what this wine should be, this is a disappointment. The 1997 tastes as if it were made from yields that were too high. They may tell you it is elegant and complex, but, truthfully, there is not much depth, and the wine will have a relatively short lifeline of 10-12 years. A dark ruby color is accompanied by a complex nose of plums, black cherries, currants, smoke, and leather. The wine reveals more new oak than normal for Opus, as well as medium body, good depth, dry, hard tannins in the finish, and little weight or length. Drink this over the next 8-10 years. - Robert Parker (12/2000)
A rich, decidedly earthy style of Opus, showing currant, anise, black cherry, mineral, leather and sage flavors that are focused and complex. Drink now through 2010.
IWC 89 (6/2001): Medium bright ruby. Slightly sauvage aromas of cassis, dark chocolate, meat, leather and black pepper. Stylish and sweet, with moderately dense, creamy flavors of raspberry, roast meat and tobacco. Rather sophisticated texture for California wine. I would have scored this wine higher were it not for its slightly drying tannins, which did not soften even as the middle palate grew increasingly silky with extended aeration.
Producer: Opus One
Vintage: 1997
Varietal: Proprietary Red
Country: USA
Region: CA - North Coast (Napa,Sonoma)
Sub-Region: Napa
Appellation: Napa Valley
Sub-Appellation:
SKU: #
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