Opolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles

A bit of blackberry and mocha.

Good

One of the greatest Cabs from Paso Robles, that goes toe to toe with top Napa wines. Aging magnificently, with near black color out to a thin red ring edge. Invitingly perfumed violets, black plum, and black cherry. Glides into the mouth with upfront brightly refreshing acidity and drying tannin that move the fruit toward blackberry and black currants. The flavors are vividly clear, flawlessly balanced and integrated, and rich and mouth coating throughout.

Opolo tasting (AZ Wine) : Oak. Silky and smooth palate. Fairly acidic.

Poured at a retailer tasting. Garnet color. Garnet color with nice red fruit and spice notes. Red fruit flavors abound, picking up a leathery tone on the finish.

This bottle needs and hour or two of decanting as it is very tight and astringent out of the bottle. Wonderful fruits but short on the palate. You can tell this bottle needs a few more years of cellaring. Opened up nicely with decanting. I would call this a competent cabernet.

Medium trending towards dark red in color; aromas of spice, oak and dark fruit. Tannins and/or acidity made this less smooth than I was hoping for; perhaps it's still young or perhaps I've been drinking out of balance reds lately. Was hoping for rounder finish but i've got 2 more bottles to try.

There are many excellent wines coming out of the Paso Robles/San Louis Obispo area. This is a typical California "young" cabernet. It has a very good nose of dark cherry and you can smell the under layers of various bittersweet flavors. The wine is nicely balanced and bright with a fruit forward character. Not a mysterious dark cabernet that would rank as outstanding or extraordinary, but a very competent wine nonetheless. I will buy a few more bottles.