Opus One Vintage 2012
Country
USA
bottle size
750 ml
Wine Type
Red Wine
Wine Region
California
Grape Variety
Cabernet Sauvignon
vintage
2012 [**VINTAGE MAY CHANGE]
Alcohol
14.50%
characteristics
Body
Full
Full
Full
Acidity
High
High
High
Tannin
High
High
High
2012 [**VINTAGE MAY CHANGE]
Product Description
WINEMAKING
After a warm and dry winter, generous rains returned in March just in time for bud-break and provided the water needed for the rest of the year. Mother Nature continued to favor the vintage with a superb growing season characterized by moderate temperatures and bountiful sunshine resulting in one of the valley’s most exceptional vintages. At harvest, the fruit exhibited the classic style of our Oakville estate vineyards with incredible depth of flavor, layers of complexity and excellent structure. Picking started on September 21st at the fresh fruit stage of ripeness to keep flavors bright and lively. Through careful and precise management of the incoming fruit, harvest continued evenly until it was completed on October 20th. The 2012 Opus One effuses fresh dark fruit aromas accentuated by subtler notes of forest-floor and graphite. The wine’s round mouthfeel and satiny tannins wrap around classic flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry. This refined and age-worthy wine simultaneously offers a long lingering finish, with lively acidity and a sturdy structure at the close.
wine score
96 points Wine Advocate
The iconic 2012 Proprietary Red Opus One is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec aged 18 months in French oak. A classy, complex, suave and savory 2012 Opus One, with notes of toasty oak and crème de cassis. This Pauillac lookalike, made by the staff at Mouton Rothschild, is a beauty. They have continued to strengthen the quality of wine and seem to have produced a brilliant, world-class wine. I imagine the 2013 may even eclipse this, but this 2012 is one of their great ones, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood all present in this beautiful, full-bodied wine that should drink well for 25-30 years.
93 points Wine Spectator
A Pauillac-like expression from Napa Valley, this features smoky, toasty oak from the get-go, framing the intense flavors of earth, crushed rock and gravelly dried dark berry. The dense core of fruit pushes through a front of rustic graphite and loamy earth. Finishes with a long, layered aftertaste. Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec. Drink now through 2028.
97 points James Suckling
Glorious purity of fruit here with black currants, blueberries, dark chocolate, fresh herbs and forest floor. Hints of mint too, plus hazelnut and chocolate. Full body with seamless tannins and balance. Tight and compacted tannins with beautiful fruit and great length. Goes on for minutes. One of the best Opus' in years. Hard not to drink now but better in 2018. October 2015 release. This is 79% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc, 6% merlot, 6% petit verdot and 2% malbec.
Profile
Grape Blended
79%, Cabernet Franc 7%, Petit Verdot 6%, Merlot 6% and Malbec 2%
Palate
The wine’s round mouthfeel and satiny tannins wrap around classic flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry. This refined and age-worthy wine simultaneously offers a long lingering finish, with lively acidity and a sturdy structure at the close.
Colour
Deep purple red
Aroma
fresh dark fruit aromas accentuated by subtler notes of forest-floor and graphite.
Palate
The wine’s round mouthfeel and satiny tannins wrap around classic flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry. This refined and age-worthy wine simultaneously offers a long lingering finish, with lively acidity and a sturdy structure at the close.
Wine Pairing
:Beef
:Lamb
:Hard Cheese
Brand
