I’m unsure of your definition of “what is approachable now” vs what is not, in your mind. History has show us that undrinkable wines that were thought to ‘age’ into fantastic wines is more fiction than fact. Old Barolos are the easiest examples of this; they were literally ‘bottled to order,’ and if they were too dried out for you or your tastes, “just give them 20 or 30 years!” Problem is, dried fruit doesn’t turn into fresh fruit, and really harsh tannins often don’t fade away. My point (and the point of many modern winemakers and *gasp* Robert Parker, devil that he is…) is that for wines to age truly gracefully, they need to be balanced, and dare i say, delicious in their youth. Obviously, they’ll need more than just primary fruits to withstand ageing, and they’ll need a great depth of flavor and structure, but those same wines can be delicious in their youth. I just had the 2005Opus this evening. Will it age, AND IMPROVE, for 10-15 years? Absolutely! Was it hedonistically good tonight? Yes indeed. Was it worth $200? Different question entirely…(no, but still damn good). Well written story, Joe!

Nice job. One of my more favorite posts from you.

I'm blind tasting the 2005 Opus One with the (relatively) local Penns Woods Winery Ameritage 2005 tonight – should be interesting…!

I really appreciate Opus’ retooling efforts and the integration of the employees at all levels. I truly think this is one of the best business models, and can, if done correctly and whole heartedly, create excitement and energy from the ground up, so to speak. :)

I visited Opus my first year in Napa, and was awstruck by the palace and the experience. Although the wine was very good, I always have a hard time spending $100+ for a bottle of wine, unless it is completely orgasmic.

In any business I think it is important to look at the long term, and I am glad to see that Opus is planning for the future but acting accordingly in the present.

Again, great post Joe, made my afternoon.
Cheers
John

Superb write-up Joe.

Some background on this post:

After the Wine Bloggers Conference break out session on Credibility, I started thinking about the perception of bloggers in general as sources of media (not just on wine, really, but on any topic). Yes, I'm a Class-A Nerd.

Anyway, this in turn got me thinking about how maligned blogging is sometimes in the mainstream press. Wasn't it a WineSpectator senior editor that called wine blogging "lazy journalism"?

So I thought, let's try to provide a Wine & Spirits or Wine Enthusiast caliber article in the wine blogosphere. Except, it would be a bit different in that:
a) I'm not a trained journalist,
b) I don't have to worry about advertising from the same winery causing a conflict of interest,
c) I don't taste thousands of wines per year,
d) I paid to make the article happen out of my own pocket.

Otherwise, my intention (as egotistical as this might sound) was to get the same type of access to a winery that a big mag would get, and write an article (nearly?) as good as what they might publish, but do it for free.

It's a long way of saying "Lazy journalism my ass!"

:-)