TNs: 91 and 92 Opus One

WINE TALK
1
  • 1991 Opus One - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/23/2009)
    Showing very little age in the color, which is still a nice, deep violet-red, the nose shows a nice mix of fruit, earth and old leather. We had this side by side with the 1992 Opus One. While both of these wines were stunning, I found the 91 to be slightly more rough around the edges and not quite a full and rich as the 92. My preference, the 1992. (93 pts.)
  • 1992 Opus One - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/23/2009)
    Color and nose on the 1992 Opus One was very similar to the 91 Opus, which we opened at the same time. On the palate is where the 92 really outshone the 91 with a much fuller and deeper depth of flavor and concentration. Tannins were nearly fully resolved and all around, this was a fantastic wine that is in prime drinking territory right now. (95 pts.)

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2

I last had the '92 Opus One in the Smith & Wollensky in New Orleans back in May 2001 - beside an '83 Latour. I quite liked the both equally at the time. Good to hear it is drinking well now.

3

Great notes Rob, I love older Opus.

4

I was actually expecting the 91 to be better but both were fantastic. We’re going to finish off the vertical with the 90 on Monday.

5

92 Opus One was probably THE wine that got me into wine drinking… I drank a bunch of it back in the mid 90s (for free, this is while I couldn’t afford wine)… it was largely that experience that got me the wine bug… and I often wonder what it would be like to try again, now that I’ve moved from “novice” to “above novice” wine knowledge.

6

I just grabbed some 94 and 95 for $60/ea. which is where it should be priced. IMO, a majority of the 90s wines are great and Id be happy to have more in my cellar if they werent selling for ludicrous prices.

If it was a $60-70 like Montelena or Monte Bello, I’d be all over it as they usually produce a nice wine. Just not a nice $150 wine.

7

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8

Nice notes and thanks. I had the 1990 last year and that was a great wine and still own a 1999 and a 2003. Many people say that the last great wine that Opus One made was the 1997 vintage but it continues to charge the high price. Must be nice to sell 22k-23k cases of wines at that price every year.

9

Here’s the note on the 90…

  • 1990 Opus One - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/25/2009)
    No decant. The wine had a lot of sediment but still retained a lot of color. Nice fruit and earth on the nose and super smooth and elegant. Reminds me very much of very good bordeaux with the same amount of age on it. In relation to the 91 and 92, this is closer to the 92 and both the 92 and 90 are better then the 91 (in my opinion). Having had a young (04) Opus recently, I can’t help but wonder if the newer, riper styled vintages of Opus can age as well as these ones from the early 90s. (94 pts.)

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