Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives
So here is my wine review for the week of October 13th...
OPUS ONE 2005
Description: Full disclosure; Opus One, in my opinion is the single most overrated Napa Valley Red Wine ever, in history.
A combined effort of Mondavi and Far Niente, Opus One is a red wine blend designed to be an upper-end Napa wine, priced near $200 per bottle. The 2005 is a varietal of cabernet, merlot, cab franc, petit verdot and malbec.
How and when I drank it: Friday, October 10, 2008 at my house.
How to get it: Given its totally undeserved level of acclaim, Opus One is surprisingly attainable, found at many wine stores, some warehouse locations and online and at the winery in Napa Valley.
How Much: Given its totally undeserved level of acclaim, Opus One is surprisingly attainable, found at many wine stores, some warehouse locations and online and at the winery in Napa Valley.
My Thoughts: Given my bias, I decided to taste the wine twice and blindly, while also tasting (blindly as well) two wines of similar stature which I have an affinity for; Pride reserve and Phelps Insignia. In both tasting flights, the results were identical.
Opus One continues its long standing tradition of being a name, not a wine. I can think of a dozen $50 bottles of Napa red that far exceed the quality of the 2005 Opus One, a stunning revelation given the overwhelming quality level of the 2005 vintage. This bottle is tighter than most young reds (a consistent quality of Opus), and filled with unpleasant, unbalanced flavors of leather, spice, death and tannins up the wazoo.
Overall Score: I don’t know why I continue to torture myself with this wine. The only thing worse than tasting this wine every year is listening to abject idiots tell me how great Opus One is. It not only isn’t great, it’s not good. At $200 per bottle, this wine should sing in your mouth, not make you crave a beer.
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OPUS ONE 2005 = 0 VINES |
