On Nov 19, 2:21�pm, Dana Myers > wrote:
> Bi!! wrote:
> > I ran across a bottle of 1998 Opus One in my cellar which I assume I
> > was gifted since I haven't bought a bottle of Opus in my life. �I've
> > drank it many times from a variety of vintages and never found it
> > quite up to its hype. �This bottle was no exception. �The wine was
> > medium to light reddish purple in the glass with a bit of pink at the
> > rim. �Fairly mature nose of red currant, plum, leather and a bit of
> > sous bois. �The palate was underwhleming with little impact other than
> > faint hints of red plum, a hint of currant and a bit of red berries.
> > The tannins were fairly inconsequential and the finish was light.
>
> 1998 was a mediocre vintage in California. �In general, Napa
> Valley reds were all a bit light, some more than others. �I did
> taste the '98 Opus One shortly after release and found it quite
> light on the palate and vaguely recall even a bit of something like
> green olive which *might* have matured into sous bois. �After the
> string of 1994-1997 vintages of Opus One which seemed to indicate
> that Opus One had become a real contender (though still over-hyped),
> 1998 was disappointing, even when the mediocre vintage is taken
> into account. �I was a Mondavi shareholder at the time, and went
> back to Opus One a few months later to taste the '98 again, with
> identical impressions.
>
> > I served this wine blind to my dinner guests and they all guessed that
> > it was a cheap Bordeaux from a borderline appellation. �On a 0-5 scale
> > my guests gave it a 1.5 and were shocked when I revealed it to be Opus
> > One. �A quick check on Winesearcher shows pricing from $100USD to
> > $350USd....Yikes!
>
> It's just amazing. �I'm sure there are collectors out there that
> just have to have a '98 to make complete vertical or something.
> I'd much rather buy a case of current vintage BV Rutherford Cab
> than one bottle of '98 Opus One.
>
> Dana

I understand that 1998 wasn't up to the standards set by other
vintages in Napa but I've had a number of wines (Caymus, Shafer
Hillside Select, Phelps Insignia, etc) from the '98 vintage that were
quite good and are still drinking well. I recently read the "House of
Mondavi" and after reading it I'm surprised that they were able to
produce any decent wine at all. It seems that if it weren't for the
high quality fruit that they were blessed with that they would have
really had a bust on theri hands with Opus. Too many chefs in the
kitchen, etc. I also seem to recall that the pricing for Opus was
basically done by the Baron by taking the benchmark for pricing of
luxury Napa cabernet and doubling it.