He is a regular judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards, the IWSC, the SA Top 100, Nederburg Wine Auction and WOSA World Sommelier Awards, and tastes many of the world's finest wines every week.Description/ Tasting NotesInky purple color and nose of crushed black and red currants, black cherries and mulberries with touches of underbrush, sautéed herbs and pencil shavings plus a waft of spice box. Greg Sherwood MW is a London based South African Master of Wine, Specialist Fine Wine Buyer and Consultant at Museum Wines. The Harwood Arms, Walham Grove, Fulham, SW6 1QP Grilled Mackerel and fennel salad Norfolk Quail and black pudding scotch egg Rump of Herdwick lamb On this occasion, 1 Michelin star The Harwood Arms provided a fantastic gastronomic back drop to enjoy both the Opus One Overture NV Red Blend (91/100), the Opus One 2006 (95/100), the Opus One 2013 (97/100) and a superb, classically toned, graphite laden, Silver Oak 1995 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (94+/100). (Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW) This is a fine wine that moves you, sensorially and emotionally. There’s a lovely, seductive, fresh long finish that goes on and on. With complex black fruits to the fore, the oak is subtle and superbly integrated already. The 5 varieties are packaged into a super elegant parcel that builds to a crescendo in the mouth. Hard to imagine tasting more polished, refined tannins. The palate is dense and seamless with pinpoint purity. Without even tasting, you know this is serious kit. Wave upon wave of violets, cherry blossom and white flowers waft from the glass. The nose is perfumed, pristine and pure with lashings of blueberry confit, creme de cassis, black cherry liqueur and damson plums. Tasting Note: Opus One 2013, Napa Valley is a beautifully rich, dark Bordeaux blend using all 5 Bordeaux varieties. Ideal conditions continued during the summer with moderate temperatures prevailing until harvest began after midnight on September 5th. Harvest was completed on October 8th. Flowering occurred under near-perfect conditions which led to excellent fruit set throughout their Oakville estate vineyards and ensured a bountiful harvest in 2013 – though smaller than in 2012. Skin contact 18 days and 17.5 months aging in new French oak.Ī very dry and unseasonably warm winter gave the vines an early start to the growing season. Varietals: Opus One 2013 ~ Cabernet Sauvignon 79% Cabernet Franc 7% Merlot 6% Petit Verdot 6% Malbec 2%. I did however recently attend an incredible Vina Chadwick Masterclass with their importer, Hatch Mansfield, and got to taste an amazing vertical of this fantastic wine back to 2000. So, whether or not you agree with James Suckling’s score pronouncements, we can surely agree that both are certainly fine wines of the highest order. After already accepting an invitation to attend a private tasting and dinner with Opus One at the 1 Michelin Star Harwood Arms, I then had to sadly pass on a fantastic, subsequent tasting and dinner invite with my good pal Eduardo Chadwick at 67 Pall Mall, celebrating the triumph of Vina Chadwick’s 100 point score from James Suckling, a first for a Chilean wine.įor those unaware, Opus One 2013 received a 100 point score from Suckling and was rated his No.1 Wine of 2016, with Vina Chadwick 2014 cracking Chile’s first 100 points and following Opus One 2013 as Suckling’s No.2 Wine of 2016. This week seems to have been a week full of colliding wine stars, none more so than yesterday.
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