Opus One launches its 2012 vintage
After a warm and dry winter, generous rains returned in March just in time for bud-break and provided the water needed for the rest of the year. “Mother Nature continued to favor the 2012 vintage with a superb growing season characterized by moderate temperatures and bountiful sunshine resulting in one of the Napa valley’s most exceptional vintages.”
At harvest, the fruit exhibited the classic style of the Oakville estate vineyards with great depth of flavor, layers of complexity and excellent structure. Picking started on September 21st at the fresh fruit stage of ripeness to keep flavors bright and lively. Through careful and precise management of the incoming fruit, harvest continued evenly until it was completed on October 20th.
“The 2012 Opus One effuses fresh dark fruit aromas accentuated by subtler notes of forest-floor and graphite. The wine’s round mouthfeel and satiny tannins wrap around classic flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry. This refined and age-worthy wine simultaneously offers a long lingering finish, with lively acidity and a sturdy structure at the close.” (Opus One)
During fermentation and maceration, component lots received an average of 18 days of skin contact prior to 18 months of barrel aging in new French oak. Bottled a year and a half prior to its release, the 2012 Opus One is blended with 79 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 7 % Cabernet Franc, 6 % Petit Verdot, 6 % Merlot, and 2% Malbec.
The VERTDEVIN wine review is available here.