2015 Opus One Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend (lightly bin soiled label)

“This wine was too much—too much like a caricature for me,” winemaker Michael Silacci confessed to me while tasting the 2015 Opus One together again recently. “So, when we took it out of barrel to prepare for bottling we added a few more components.” Medium to deep garnet-purple color, it bursts from the glass with beautiful violets, lavender, rose hip tea and chocolate-covered cherries scents over a core of crushed blackberries, black cherries, cassis and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully bright and crunchy, with bags of fresh black and red berries and a wonderfully plush, finely grained texture, finishing long and fragrant. (LPB)

The 2015 Opus One is every bit as glorious as it was on release. I am so taken with the wine's freshness and verve. Flowers, red-toned fruit, spice and blood orange are very finely delineated. In its youth, the 2015 was decidedly exotic and flamboyant. Time has done a lot to settle down some of that initial exuberance. Today, the 2015 doesn't have the mid-palate body of some years, but that actually plays in its favor. The profile is also distinctly on the red-fruited end of the spectrum. Time is the ultimate judge when it comes to wine, and the 2015 exceeds all expectations. (AG)