Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia. Opus One Overture 2016 is a red made with Cabernet Sauvignon (77), Petit Verdot (8), Merlot (8), Cabernet Franc (5) and Malbec (2). In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. The sweet spot for a 750ml bottle is a 2-3 hours decant right now. NOTE: If you are not enjoying this wine, you are not giving it enough of a decant. This was matching my first amazing experiences with 2016 Opus earlier this year, a beautiful showing. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity. A very Bordeaux-styled Californian wine that could pass as an excellent left bank. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. Based largely on Cabernet Sauvignon mixed with 8 each of Petit Verdot and Merlot, with 5 Cabernet Franc and a splash of Malbec, its deep purple hue is followed by a beautiful bouquet of black cherries, crme de cassis, and blueberry fruit. In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% ( Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. The 2016 Opus One is brilliant and shows yet again that 2016 was a magical vintage for Napa Valley. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot.
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