Opus One Winery
The name refers to both the Opus One Opus One Winery wine producers in Oakville in the Napa Valley, California, as well as the only wine produced there. In this article, both the winery and the wine is described.
The winery
The winery is a joint venture of Robert Mondavi (Robert Mondavi Winery, California ) and Baron Philippe de Rothschild (Château Mouton- Rothschild, Bordeaux).
At a meeting of the two in 1970 to Hawaii, they had the idea to form a joint company. This company should have as a goal to produce a California premium red wine, which has the characteristics of a Bordeaux wine. However, until 1978 there was a second meeting in Bordeaux. At this meeting the conditions for the new company within an hour were determined. They had not yet found only one name. The company was founded in 1980 and presented to the public. But 1979 was the first vintage for the company by Lucien Sionneau of Château Mouton- Rothschild and Timothy Mondavi of the Robert Mondavi Winery. This vintage found, as well as the Vintage 1980, at the Robert Mondavi Winery instead. 1981 Robert Mondavi sold 14.16 acres of its vineyards to the company. These vineyards are the first land of the winery. By buying the vineyard for the company is continuously increased ( In 2005, the total vineyard area 110 ha). Two years later, the ranch The River Parcel is bought in Oakville, and the headquarters of the company is transferred there. This year, Mondavi and Rothschild also agree on a common name: Opus One. After the wine has been produced every year in the cellar of the Robert Mondavi Winery, Mondavi and Rothschild 1989 took the decision to build their own winery Opus One. In the same year, the foundation stone was laid on the estate of the Opus One Winery. The new winery was completed in 1991 and put into operation.
2004 Michael Silacci new Managing Director (CEO) of Opus One Winery and took over the sole management. This was a first in the company's history, as the company's management has been always perceived equally by two representatives of the two owners. Silacci took over the management of Peter Ventura (Representative of Mondavi ) and Douglas Morton (Representative of Rothschild).
The wine
Opus One is one of the most expensive and highest rated wines in the United States. The goal of Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild to create a high quality and burgundy typical wine in California, is succeeded. Opus One applies in the professional world as one of the best California wines.
Varieties
The type and quantity of grape varieties used varies with the Opus One from year to year. It uses typical bordeaux varietals. Until the 2001 vintage, the wine was pressed the following varieties in varying proportions: Cabernet Sauvignon ( 80-97 %), Cabernet Franc (1-16 %), Merlot (0-7 %), Malbec (0-4 %) and Petit Verdot (0-2 %). Due to the high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon Opus One gets the typicality of a Bordeaux blending of the left Gironde page.
Vinification
The winery is built on a slope; all operations on the wine should be able to happen without the use of pumps by the principle of gravity is utilized. The harvested grapes are coming up on the edge of the slope in the building. Each processing step grape juice and wine are conveyed further downstream. Down the slope of the wine is bottled and delivered. The expansion of the wine takes place in 100% new French oak barriques. The length of the barrel maturity is between 15 and 25 months.
Vintages
The years 1979 and 1980 were presented in 1984 at the same time as the first products of the winery Opus One Winery. These and the following vintages were not delivered and sold only to dealers in the USA. It was not until the 1985 vintage, the 1988 comes on the market, was also exported to dealers outside the United States. The export was made to France, England, Germany and Switzerland. In the following years the export has been more and more developed, so that Opus One has already been delivered to 65 countries in 1998.