Opus One
The name Opus One refers to both the Opus One Winery in Oakville in California's Napa Valley and the only wine produced there . This article describes both the winery and the wine.
The winery
The winery is a joint venture between Robert Mondavi (Robert Mondavi Winery, California) and Baron Philippe de Rothschild ( Château Mouton-Rothschild , Bordeaux ).
When the two of them met in Hawaii in 1970, they had the idea of founding a joint company. This company should aim to produce a premium Californian red wine that has the characteristics of a Bordeaux wine. But it wasn't until 1978 that there was a second meeting in Bordeaux. At this meeting, the framework conditions for the new company were defined within an hour. But they hadn't found one name yet. The company was founded in 1980 and presented to the public. But from 1979 the first grape harvest for the company was carried out by Lucien Sionneau from Château Mouton-Rothschild and Timothy Mondavi from Robert Mondavi Winery. Like the 1980 harvest, this harvest took place at the Robert Mondavi Winery. In 1981 Robert Mondavi sold 14.16 hectares of his vineyards to the company. These vineyards are the winery's first holdings. The company's vineyard area is now being continuously increased through acquisitions (in 2005 the total vineyard area was 110 ha). Two years later, The River Parcel ranch in Oakville is purchased and the company's headquarters are relocated there. This year Mondavi and Rothschild also agree on a common name: Opus One. After the wine was produced every year in the Robert Mondavi Winery, Mondavi and Rothschild made the decision in 1989 to build their own winery for Opus One. In the same year the foundation stone was laid on the property of the Opus One Winery. The new winery was completed and put into operation in 1991.
In 2004 Michael Silacci became the new managing director (CEO) of Opus One Winery and took over sole management. This was a novelty in the company's history, as the company management has always been seen by two representatives of the two owners on an equal footing. Silacci took over the management from Peter Ventura (representative for Mondavi) and Douglas Morton (representative for Rothschild).
The wine
Opus One is one of the most expensive and highly rated wines in the USA. The goal of Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild to produce a high quality and typical Bordeaux wine in California has been achieved. Opus One is considered one of the best Californian wines in the professional world.
Grape varieties
The type and quantity of grape varieties used in Opus One varies from year to year. Typical Bordeaux grape varieties are used. Up to the 2001 vintage, the following types of wine were pressed in variable proportions: Cabernet Sauvignon (80–97%), Cabernet Franc (1–16%), Merlot (0–7%), Malbec (0–4%) and Petit Verdot (0-2%). The high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon gives Opus One the typicality of a Bordeaux blend from the left Gironde side.
Vinification
The winery is built on a slope; All operations on wine should be able to be carried out without the use of pumps by using the principle of gravity. The harvested grapes enter the building at the top of the slope. With each processing step, grape juices and wine are conveyed further downwards. The wine is bottled and delivered down on the slope. The expansion of the wine takes place 100% in barriques made from new French oak . The barrel maturation is between 15 and 25 months.
Vintages
The 1979 and 1980 vintages were presented simultaneously in 1984 as the first products from the Opus One Winery. These and the following vintages were not exported and only supplied to dealers in the USA. It was not until the 1985 vintage, which came onto the market in 1988, that it was also exported to dealers outside the USA. The export took place to France, England, Germany and Switzerland. In the following years the export was expanded more and more, so that in 1998 Opus One was delivered to 65 countries.