2019 Opus One, Napa Valley, California, USA

Full bottle 1,424 g. 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec. Notably wet spring and then a warm late summer meant picking started 10 September, a little earlier than usual, and lasted for a full four weeks. Aged for 18 months in French oak.|

Transparent crimson - much paler than the average Napa Cab blend. Heady, complex nose with very many more layers than the Overture launched at the same time. Hints of tobacco leaf as well as very ripe fruit. Really high toned; this could double as a nasal decongestant, I think. Much more pronounced cassis flavours than the Overture even though the proportion of Cabernet is much lower. Sweet palate entry but a real lift and kick on the finish. No heaviness at all. A little less bordelais than the 2018: richer but not concentrated or overripe in the stereotypical Napa Cab idiom. I'd love to see this blind in a line-up with other Napa Cabs. Tannins very well managed with a tiny chewiness on the very end. You could drink it already, but on past performance one has to believe it has ageing potential.

Drink 2022 - 2034

The 2019 Opus One is a remarkably elegant wine. Silky tannins and bright, floral aromatics add to an impression of total finesse. Crushed flowers, bright red-toned fruit, mint, lavender and rose petal are all beautifully delineated. There's a touch of new oak today, but new wood has never been a signature of Opus One, so I imagine that is a stage in the wine's development. Interestingly, the 2019 is the first vintage fermented mostly with ambient yeasts.

Drink 2029 - 2049

The 2019 Opus One is brilliant and certainly a worthy follow-up to the 2018. Pure cassis fruits, notes of violets, rose petals, and lead pencil, medium to full body, nicely integrated background oak, and terrific tannins all define this beauty, and while it has the vintage's up-front charm, it's going to age beautifully for 20 years as well. The blend is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Malbec.

Drink 2023 - 2045

Grapes were harvested ten days earlier than average, on 10th September, with harvest lasting four weeks. 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec complete the blend—ageing 19 months in new French oak.

Intensely perfumed on the nose, rose petals, violets, deeply scented and seductive. Rich yet expansive on the palate, very open with dark chocolate, cherries, fragrant blackcurrant - sweet and scented, with satin-like tannins that effortlessly support the flavours. There is a real drive and persistence to this: fresh, youthful and alive with a vibrant juiciness that is so appealing. No one element is too dominant; this feels harmonious and balanced with excellent tangy acidity and a long, minty, herbal finish with edges of tobacco and dark chocolate—a classic Opus with breadth, finesse and energy.

Drink 2024 - 2045

The blend this year is: Cabernet Sauvignon 78%, Merlot 8%, Petit Verdot 6%, Cabernet Franc 6%, and Malbec 2%. It was aged for 19 months in new French oak.

Deep purple-black in colour, the 2019 Opus One has an incredibly showy nose, with exuberant scents of warm cassis, blackberry preserves, and redcurrant jelly leading to suggestions of candied violets, dark chocolate, and clove oil. The medium-bodied palate shimmers with tension, delivering impactful red and black berry preserves layers, framed by very fine-grained tannins, finishing with epic length and energy.

Drink 2026 - 2060

The purity of fruit is really something else here, with currants and fresh flowers, such as violets and roses. Flower stems as well. Fantastic length and structure to the wine, with tightness and focus. Wonderful fruit. Graceful. A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec.

Try after 2028

Hold 3 years or carafe 4 hours.

The balance of the 2019 vintage in Napa is a pleasure to taste, and this is a brilliant Opus One, showing nuance, depth and concentration, and a ton of rich dark fruits. There is so much to love here, it ebbs and flows through the palate, has some of the character of the early years, those 1979s and 1980s that are still tasting incredible, and the utterly brilliant 1987.

Raspberry, blueberry, damson, cassis, there are crunchy fruits and sweet fruits at the same time, playing off against each other, fine tannins, a full bloom of floral violet and peony aromatics, gentle woodsmoke and white pepper, with tension, depth and poise. 22 day skin contact. A wet winter meant a late bud break, 10-15 days behind average, followed by a hot summer that allowed the vines to catch up, so harvest relatively normal beginning September 10 for one month.

Drink 2024 - 2042