301150 Sat Nov 19 12:58:12 -0800 2005 12 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1678023 I keep hearing about how great Opus One wine is....haven't done a search here, so forgive me if this has been discussed. Has anyone tried Opus One? Is it that good? Which kind have you tried? Does the year matter? And, last, where in the SF Bay Area is the best place to purchase this wine? I looked for it at Draegers, but didn't see it. Is it pricey. Is it worth it? Thanks for any input. Thinking of getting a bottle for the holidlays. Sat Nov 19 12:58:12 -0800 2005 0 Barbara 1 1678025 We bought a bottle at their winery in Napa Valley in 1998 - it was the first day the 1996 vintage came out. We paid $100.00 for it and drank it about 2 years later, stored properly. We were disappointed and so were our friends - all of us are fairly knowledgeable about wines and try new ones all the time. We thought it was rough on the tongue and not at all worth the price. We love Duckhorn Cab or Merlot and you can get that for $48-52.00 Hope this helps! Sat Nov 19 13:46:15 -0800 2005 1678023 0 claree 2 1678028 Thank you very much.....will check out Duckhorn. I was wondering if Opus might have had a lot of hype. ty Sat Nov 19 14:40:23 -0800 2005 1678025 0 Barbara 3 1678038 The thing is about Opus One is that it is made to be aged, unlike many other wines of it type these days. You want to try it fifteen to twenty years after its release date, or thereabouts, assuming excellent cellaring, for it to show well. Sat Nov 19 23:22:57 -0800 2005 1678028 0 Jeremy Newel 4 1678040 A voice of wisdom. Sat Nov 19 23:55:42 -0800 2005 1678038 0 Hugh Lipton 4 1678065 I've always aprreciated the Mondavi's efforts to emulate the french vin de garde style of finesse and ageability in spite of critical pressure to the contrary. However, this wine is flat out overpriced. A equivalent bordeaux in the vin de garde style (which I admit are harder to find these days) can be had for half the price. Mon Nov 21 14:16:24 -0800 2005 1678038 0 oddlite 4 1678074 I agree that Opus One is a wine that gets better with age and will age for a long time. However, I will stand by my contention that there are better wines at half the price. If I want a great Bordeaux blend, I'll buy a Bordeaux. I can get the better 2nd growths for less than Opus One. Mon Nov 21 16:00:50 -0800 2005 1678038 0 dinwiddie 5 1678076 I agree with you absolutely! Opus One is not a wine we much care for. It is a wine, in my opinion, that has a relatively small range of foods with which it is compatible, until it has a good bit of age on it. Mon Nov 21 16:27:20 -0800 2005 1678074 0 Jeremy Newel 2 1678039 What a shame you drank it only two years later. I am just now starting to drink the 1996 and it is everything you could want from a Bordeaux style wine. You'll pay a lot more than the $100 today. Fine Wine in SF is charging $325 a bottle. This is a truly luscious wine with sophistication that deserves to be paired against a great prime rib roast or a filet mignon. I got 36 bottles of the 1996 for three bottles of 1982 Mouton and I still think I got the better of the deal. Sat Nov 19 23:54:25 -0800 2005 1678025 0 Hugh Lipton 1 1678026 Hi- For a retail source in the Bay Area, please post a query on the S.F. board. This is the right board to discuss the relative merits of the wine, though. Thanks. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/sanfrancisco.html Sat Nov 19 14:04:08 -0800 2005 1678023 2 The Chowhound Team 1 1678030 I've tried it once and, while I thought it was quite good, I just didn't think it was as good as it's hype. Last Thanksgiving, my local ALbertson's had it for $125. There are many other Napa cabs and cab-based blends that are as good or better. Shafer, for one, is amazing at far less. (SF only): If you want to try Opus, though, they may have it at Vino Venue (SOMA area), where you can taste 100+ wines by the ounce. To buy, try Wine Club or K&L. Sat Nov 19 16:40:41 -0800 2005 1678023 0 Midlife 1 1678059 Opus One is what we refer to as a "restaurant wine" because that is its main focus. Is it good, sure, is it worth what it costs, not on your life. There are many better Bordeaux blends (Opus is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the clasic Bordeaux blend) that are better for less money. Consider that Château Léoville Barton, Château Beau-Séjour Bécot, or Château Branaire-Ducru from the 2001 vintage were all superior to the 2001 Opus One and cost less than a third of what it did. If you don't want to buy a Bordeaux consider Pride, Whitehall Lane, Chappellet, Buehler, or Chimney Rock from the 2001 vintage. All of them were better wines and cost less than a third what Opus does. Opus One has done a great job of marketing, is very popular in Japan, and has done a good job of making folks think that it is one of the premium brands of wine. Also consider that they make over 25,000 cases of it each year, so it is not rare. Mon Nov 21 08:25:20 -0800 2005 1678023 0 dinwiddie 1 1678098 Opus One is a very fine CA Cabernet but pricey......others I recommend are Karl Lawrence, Emilio's Terrace, Caymus Napa, Corison, La Sirena, Spottswood, Hartwell, Cardinale, Corley Family, Etude, Vineyard 29, Groth, Merus, Abreu, Araujo, Shafer, Silver Oak, Hess Collection, Plumjack, Rodney Strong Reserve, Altamura, Insignia, Ladera and David Arthur. These wines run $40/$250/bottle. The lower priced ones are Hess, ET, Corison, Caymus Napa, Karl Lawrence, Altamura, Ladera and DA. Some are hard to find. These are all small CA wineries that make some terrific deep bold red wines.. Contact Michelle at San Francisco Wine Trading Co. in SF and tell her you know her friend in Mississippi....I just got some Abreu today by mail........Uuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmm Link: http://www.sfwtc.com/ Tue Nov 22 13:59:47 -0800 2005 1678023 0 Ike.........