Tech Notes
Wine Details
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni
James Suckling
Wine Advocate
Decanter
By Buoncristiani Family Winery
Napa Valley Proprietary Red O.P.C. 'Ol' Pa's Cuvee' 2018 20th Anniversary Blend
Background
We, the Buoncristiani brothers, take pride in performing all aspects of enology, viticulture, wine production, marketing, and package design in order to share with you a true expression of our winemaking passion.
Wine Description
The Buoncristiani O.P.C. is our Napa Valley proprietary red blend. In the quest to create a wine uniquely ours, we discovered the synergy of marrying Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with Syrah while also folding in further complexity of texture and flavor with Napa Malbec and Merlot blenders. Grapes are sourced from some of Napa's most prestigious vineyards, including Hyde, Stagecoach, Hossfeld, and Bennett. Like our winemaking fathers before us, with "Ol' Pa's Cuvee," we brothers continue the family tradition of handcrafting blends that help accentuate the enjoyment of life.
Production
To ensure our highest quality standard, the vineyards are managed by growers who adhere to our strict viticultural philosophy, and the wines are crafted with our hands. The components of O.P.C. were harvested and fermented separately in small batches, then carefully blended in several phases during the second year of barrel aging. This 2018 O.P.C. was aged in French oak barrels for 20 months and bottled in June 2020.
Wine Details
Blend: 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, 18% Malbec, and 16% Merlot
Appellation: Napa Valley
Harvest: October 1st through October 31st, 2018
Aging: Twenty months in 100% French oak barrels, 60% new oak
Winemaker: Jay Buoncristiani
[Information provided by Merchant 23]
Unit Size | 750.00 ML |
Varietal | Red Blend
|
Vintage | 2018 |
Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Merlot |
Country | United States |
Region | North Coast |
2018 Buoncristiani Family Winery Red Blend O.P.C.
Producer: Buoncristiani Family Winery
Location: USA, California, North Coast, Napa Valley
Color: Red
Price: $70
Rating: 92+
Tasting Date: 1/27/2021
Maturity: 2023 - 2036
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck
Source: Napa Valley’s 2018s
The 2018 Red Blend O.P.C. is based on 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, 18% Malbec, and 16% Merlot. As with all these 2018s, it's inky colored and has a classy nose of cassis, violets, tobacco, lead pencil, and peppery herbs. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it offers good acidity, a focused texture, and the purity and elegance that's the hallmark of the 2018 vintage. It's going to be better with 2-3 years of bottle age and should keep for a solid decade.
2018 Red Blend O.P.C. 20th Anniversary Blend
Producer: Buoncristiani Family Winery
Place of Origin: United States, Napa
Color: Red
Grape/Blend: 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, 18% Malbec, 16% Merlot
Rating: 92
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030
From: Napa Valley’s Thrilling 2018s and 2019s, Parts 1 and 2 (Jan 2021)
The 2018 Red Blend O.P.C. races out of the glass with an exotic melange of red cherry, raspberry, rose petals, cinnamon and blood orange. The tannins are potent, but there is just enough fruit to balance things out. Give it a few years to soften.
By: Antonio Galloni on February 2021
BUONCRISTIANI NAPA VALLEY O.P.C. 2018
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Country: United States
Region: California
Vintage: 2018
Score: 92
Aromas of blackcurrant, wild blackberry, clove, bark and some peppercorn. It’s medium-bodied with firm, sleek tannins. Lovely freshness to the layers of black fruit and dried spices. 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, 18% Malbec and 16% Merlot. Try from 2021.
2018 Buoncristiani O.P.C. Red Blend
Rating: 92
Producer: Buoncristiani
Wine Region: USA, California, North Coast, Napa Valley
Variety: Proprietary blend
Color / Type / Sweetness: Red / Table / Dry
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Release Price: $70
Drink Date: 2020 - 2032
The 2018 O.P.C. Red Blend is composed of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, 18% Malbec and 16% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it offers up alluring notes of stewed plums, Black Forest cake and blackberry pie with suggestions of violets, star anise and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with spicy black fruit flavors, supported by finely grained tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing on a lingering peppery note.
Published: Nov 30, 2020
Buoncristiani, OPC 20th Anniversary Blend, Napa Valley, 2018
Tasted by Matthew Luczy (at Los Angeles, 12 Oct 2020)
Points: 87
Drinking Window 2022 - 2028
Producer: Buoncristiani
Brand: OPC 20th Anniversary Blend
Vintage: 2018
Type: Still
Colour: Red
Country: USA
Region: California
Appellation: Napa Valley
Sweetness: Dry
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.80%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
A blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, 18% Malbec and 16% Merlot. An intense nose of ripe black cherries, cola and tobacco leaf. Initially rich and wide on the palate before short-circuiting and falling flat. Finishes on a bone dry, chewy note.