Steven Spurrier’s fine wine world

From the cellar Opus One 1980 [subscriber-content]The first vintage of Opus One , the legendary joint-venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi , was the 1979 from Mondavi’s Oakville vineyards in California’s Napa Valley. The Estate Vineyards now cover 69ha across four separate parcels, comprising 81% Cabernet Sauvignon , 6% Merlot , 6% Cabernet Franc , 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec . Head winemaker since 2001 has been Michael Silacci. Over dinner in the elegant Opus One dining room in Rue Foy in Bordeaux we were served three seamlessly textured vintages and then the 1980, overseen by Tim Mondavi and Patrick Léon. For the cellar Dom Pérignon 2008 On a June morning at the French Ambassador’s private residence in London, Richard Geoffroy , chef de cave for Champagne Dom Pérignon , presented the long-awaited 2008. This was an historic moment, for on 1 January 2019 he will pass the baton as chef de cave to Vincent Chaperon, with whom he has worked closely since 2005. Geoffroy’s first vintage was the 1990 , also presented in its ‘troisième plénitude’ or P3, a powerful wine that has become creamy with maturity while retaining the reductive tension that has become its hallmark – described by Geoffroy as ‘not conserving acidity, more managing radiance’. Also served in its P2 maturity was the 1996 , an ‘extraordinary wine that sparkles’, which Geoffroy thinks may well be matched by the 2008 in time. Here are his words to describe the vintage he leaves us with: ‘ 2008 was dominated by overcast skies and it was the month of September which saved the day. Maturity surpassed all expectations. After a long period of reluctance, it is opening up in complete balance, the slender, pure, athletic character is now also expressed with warmth, the fruit is pronounced and clear, the aromatic persistence remarkably intense.’ I gave it a modest 98/100pts . Read a comprehensive tasting note by Michael Edwards on Dom Pérignon 2008 , tasted earlier this year