ready-improve2010 Opus One, Napa Valley, California, USA

Very much a young wine in its primary stage, this is silky and powerful and tasted excellent during this vertical, despite 2010 being an extremely difficult vintage for winemaker Michael Silacci.

The year got off to a cool start, followed by a heatwave - the grapes at Opus escaped the shrivelling that much of Napa saw because of leaf cover. There are still plenty of signposts towards a hot summer - olive paste, rosemary, garrigue and liquorice notes, gorgeous ground coffee bean edging, and an excellent layer of freshness that picks things up on the finish and stops it being overly powerful.

I like years in Napa that have a little fault in them - too much perfection with the natural generosity of Napa can make for an overly powerful wine, and I celebrate the nuances here.

1% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot complete the blend. 19 days skin contact.

Drink 2021 - 2040

Jane Anson, Decanter.com (September 2019)