1980 Opus One, Napa Valley, Bottle (750ml) [Torn Capsule]

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

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