DR99 "This wine was stunning when I tried it in June 2018, and delivers again here. Just a wonderful nuanced wine rippling with flavour. Richer and more layered than the 1979, with dense black cherry and black truffle, finishing on softer forest floor notes. Opened up and kept surprising over hours in the glass. No Merlot in this vintage. One of the coolest growing seasons on record, long and slow with two weeks of hot weather just before harvest that brought the grapes to perfect ripeness. Just 10 days skin contact during the winemaking, but still inky in colour and still going strong almost 40 years on. (Drink between 2019-2034)" JA for DR Sep 2019 JA99"The tenacity of the colour is impressive, tawny around the edges, ruby red in the core with vibrant reflections. A little younger in feel than the 1979, still nuanced and gentle, with black cherry, black truffles, touches of mint and firm tannins, overall if feels impressively present and delivers excitement and joy, as it has every single time I have tasted this wine. Takes a beat on opening, and then the aromatics and flavours explode out of the glass, dominanted by rose petals along with gentle smoked caramel, tobacco leaf, raspberry puree, saffon strands, so melted together and utterly delicous. This is a piece of Napa history that is still talking and sharing. 10 days skin contact, winemakers Lucien Sionneau and Tim Mondavi." Jane Anson for inside bordeaux Jun 2022 AG95 "Black cherries, plums, tobacco, incense, new leather, licorice and savory herbs take shape in the 1980 Opus One. A wine of extraordinary richness and pure power, the 1980 impresses for its depth and size. Absolutely nothing is out of place in this impeccably refined, layered wine. Cinnamon, cloves, menthol, hard candy, tar and licorice all flesh out on the rich, resonant finish. Today, the 1980 is firing on all cylinders. It remains a monument to the greatness of California wine. The growing season was long and cool. A late season heat spike pushed the fruit to ripeness, and the winery struggled to pick everything during what turned out to be a fairly narrow window. Tim Mondavi told me that, today, under similar conditions, the fruit would be picked much later. Back then, the custom was to pick only on sugar ripeness. The 1980 is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc." AG June 2013
