The 1991 Opus One Proprietary Red Wine is a distinguished and notable vintage from the renowned Opus One winery in Napa, California. This wine is a proprietary blend, showcasing the meticulous craftsmanship of its producers and winemakers.
The 1991 vintage marks a significant milestone for Opus One, as it was the first year the wine was produced in their own winery, featuring a collaborative effort from Bordeaux and Napa winemakers, including Patrick Léon and Tim Mondavi. This collaboration is evident in the wine's complexity and depth.
Decanter magazine awarded the wine an excellent score of 96, highlighting its richness and powerful core of black fruits. They noted, "This is a great wine that is still full of life," emphasizing its long-lasting appeal. The vintage was characterized by a cool and slow-growing season, resulting in a late harvest and a large crop. This vintage was produced in the first express-built gravity flow winery in Napa, which was a €27 million investment at the time, a testament to Opus One's commitment to quality.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate also reviewed the wine favorably, giving it a score of 92. The review described the wine as having a "deep garnet brick" color with "complex notes of meat game dried plum black olive and dried Mediterranean herbs." The reviewer noted a distinct "medicinal / band-aid character," adding to its unique profile. The wine is well-structured with "medium+ level of finely grained tannins and a crisp backbone of acidity," making it a balanced and evolved wine that can be enjoyed now through 2014.
Jeff Leve from TheWineCellarInsider.com echoed the positive sentiments, also rating it 92. He highlighted the wine's "smoke, tobacco, cigar box, blackberry, earth, and truffle scents" which opened to a "fully mature, soft textured, concentrated, sweet cassis filled wine." While he noted it may not reach the heights of the 1996 Opus One, he still considers it "one of the better mature vintages of Opus One in the marketplace."
Overall, the 1991 Opus One Proprietary Red Wine is a mature and well-regarded vintage, praised for its complexity, richness, and longevity. Its production marks a significant era in the winery's history, reflecting both innovation and tradition.