Opalo Cabernet Sauvignon 2024

Opalo is the range of wines that made Mauricio Lorca famous in the early naughties. Whilst all around him winemakers were opting for more and more oak, more ripeness of fruit and more extraction, Mauricio had the vision – and courage – to craft a range of premium reds with no oak at all. It sounds pretty straightforward now, but back then his fellow producers were bemused, and more than a little sceptical. After more than two decades this philosophy has come home to roost and this pioneering range has never been better, with its focus on purity, elegance and freshness. Wines that are great with food, that you want another glass of, a happy world away from the ‘fruit bombs’ of old.

 

Each varietal wine is a study of the grape in question, and this Cabernet Sauvignon screams typicity whilst showing delightful restraint. Classic aromas of ripe blackcurrant and plum mingle with notes of capsicum and wild herbs. In the mouth the wine is mouthwatering and juicy, with very fine tannins and delightful lively acidity, with an incredible finish. The wine is fermented in small concrete tanks with superb natural temperature control for ten days, where it stays until it is ready for bottling.

 

The nay sayers of yesteryear thought that without oak – plenty of oak! – wines like this would not age well but how wrong they were. We have tasted Opalo reds with more than twenty years in bottle and they remain daisy-fresh whilst having developed marvellous complexity. Take a bow Mr. Lorca!