Punkerdoo and I used to have a fairly snappy wine cellar, but I don’t have that job anymore. Our cellar contained, among others, a vertical of Sterling Private Reserve which started in 1982, a couple of 1986 Beringer Private Reserve, two 1985 Opus One and our subject bottle, a 1989 Opus One. We had been sitting on the last Opus, knowing it was probably past its prime, but needing a reason to find out. New Year’s Eve 2007 seemed to be a good time to investigate as we were having some fine grass fed moo cow tenderloin courtesy of Earth Fare. The Opus looked right as I decanted, dark and red. The nose was surprisingly good. The taste however, was quite wrong; not completely unlike weak berry Kool-Aid, but close. The cork was loose and had lost its seal. #@$%^&%*@!

The replacement Ravenswood Cabernet was not nearly as exciting, but it did taste quite a bit better.