Opus One
Napa Valley
2018

The producer

Opus One was established in 1979 as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild (of Chateau Mouton Rothschild) and Robert Mondavi. Their goal from the outset was to create a wine which would have the intensity and fruit purity of Napa Valley combined with the elegance of a top Bordeaux. The first vintage was 1979, released in 1984.

The estate consists of four vineyard parcels located in the western part of the Oakville AVA. Two of the vineyard parcels (totalling 40 hectares) are within the famous To Kalon vineyard and are complemented by the Ballestra and River parcels (totalling just under 30 hectares).

Today, Opus One is arguably one of Napa Valley’s most famous wineries and is the first US winery to be distributed through the Bordeaux distribution network, La Place. Following the sale of Mondavi to Constellation Brands in 2004, the Rothschilds took full control of the Opus One vineyards and winery.

The wine

The Opus One blend consists of varying proportions of the five classic Bordeaux varieties but is usually around 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller proportions of Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. Matured for 17 months in new French oak barrels, this is an incredibly refined, polished and concentrated wine, with layers of complexity and a dense and refined texture.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.