Neither 19, especially 1980, was a particularly good vintage, and so the debut of Opus One was not greeted with great acclaim by the critics. The next year a magnificent state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery was built 1984 also marked the debut of Opus One's first two vintages, the 19. In 1983, the main vineyard was purchased by Opus One, almost opposite the Robert Mondavi Winery on Highway 29 in Oakville. Mondavi's son, Timothy Mondavi, and Mouton Rothschild's winemaker became joint winemakers of Opus One both winemakers had their own team of assistants. The first Opus One vineyard utilized a block of the To-Kalon Vineyard, which had been owned by Robert Mondavi. These two creative men agreed to pool their resources and make a joint-venture wine in 1978. Opus One was the brainchild of two legendary wine greats, the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of the great first-growth Bordeaux, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Napa Valley's most famous vintner, Robert Mondavi. And so Opus One is truly a Cabernet Sauvignon, even if not labeled as such. In reality, each vintage produced since its first, in 1979, has been at least 80 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and up to 97 percent in two vintages.

Today, Opus One exports over 20 percent of its wines, mainly to Europe, and you can find it on the wine lists of some of the world's best restaurants.Īctually, Opus One is not labeled as a Cabernet Sauvignon, because the producers want the option to use different blends of the five Bordeaux red varieties planted in its vineyards - Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot in addition to Cabernet Sauvignon. But these wines were sort of California's little secret the rest of the world didn't know about California wines back then. It is certainly true that California did produce a few excellent Cabernet Sauvignons even before World War II - Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve, Inglenook, and Simi come to mind. The California wine industry really didn't get moving until 40 years ago, and so it is somewhat amazing that the state can boast of a wine that is regarded by many as world class, but Opus One has attained that status. That's no surprise, because European wine regions have been established for hundreds of years. Most of the world's well-renowned wines come from Europe - many of them being either Bordeaux or Burgundy. Although it is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Opus One makes use of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec in smaller percentages.Wine Review Online - Opus One: American Royalty After an additional year and a half in bottle, Opus One is released to the market. The wine is then aged in new French oak for a year and a half, during which time blending takes place. The grapes are hand-harvested, and gravity flow is used to get the fruit from the destemmer into stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Opus One is a single wine, a Bordeaux Blend sourced from the estate vineyards in Oakville, which include blocks of the famous To Kalon vineyard. Opus One's brand grew considerably in the 1990s, particularly in markets outside of the United States, and in 2005, when Robert Mondavi Winery was acquired by Constellation Brands, Opus One also became part-owned by the multi-national company. It was released to the public in 1984, but had already attracted attention, as a single case of the wine had sold for $24,000 at the first Napa Valley Wine Auction in 1981. The collaboration was conceived in the 1970s and then first realised in 1979, when the first vintage of Opus One was created. It continues to be one of the most expensive Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wines produced in Napa Valley.

It was the first premium California wine sold in Europe. Opus One is one of the world's most famous wines, and is a partnership of two of the most respected figures from Bordeaux and Napa Valley, Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi.

Opus one 1995 wine price