For those readers who are unfamiliar with the name Opus One I will give you a quick crash course. This winery is the brainchild of Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild to make a single Bordeaux style wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Malbec) in Napa California. That’s right, they make only one wine! Well… they do make a second one that is a non vintage blend with wine that is leftover from previous years that is a 1/3 of the price, called Overture.
Now for a history lesson about the great Baron Philippe de Rothschild. He inherited Chateau Mouton estate in 1922. This winery was deemed a second growth winery by the 1855 classification (if you ain’t first you’re last). It is widely speculated that the second growth rating was due to the fact it was an Englishman that owned the estate. Back in that time there was only 4 first growth wineries. He then dedicated the next 40 years of his life to elevate his Chateau from a second growth to a first growth classification. He fought tooth and nail and had to go through many layers of red tape to get this accomplished. Remember that the French wine laws are EXTREMELY strict. In 1973 he accomplished his lifetime time goal of achieving a first growth classification for his Chateau. It was well fought for and well deserved (his wine was just as good as the other first growth wineries in France) and he celebrated. To this day there have been only three changes to the 1855 classifications and the other two were very minor. Think about how hard and long he must have worked to get this accomplished.
Next comes the 1976 Judgement of Paris. Most of you will know about the 1973 Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena (Dramaticized by the 2008 movie Bottle Shock) that took first place for the Chardonnay category and rocked the wine world! A modern day equivalent would be when Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey in UFC 193. This really shook the foundations of the wine world and showed that a bottle of French wine was no longer the guaranteed top dog on a wine menu. What gets overlooked many times at the 1976 Judgment of Paris is that Rothschild just had his life work accomplished and his Cabernet Sauvignon came in second to a then unknown winery called Stag’s Leap from Napa California! I am pretty sure he was in tears and pretty pissed. It didn’t take him long to get his butt over to Napa and create Opus One in 1978 with Mondavi (the father of Napa).
So enough with the history lesson. Let’s get to the good stuff about Opus One. I visited there in the Fall of 2017 and let me tell you there is a bunch of pomp and circumstance going on. I would dare say even a bit pretentious. Remember that this is a 1st class winery that is known around the world and is must on all the wine menus at a 5 star dining venues in the United States. The drive up to the structure itself was breathtaking. I was a few minutes early to my scheduled tour, so I checked in with the concierge where I was told I could wait on the balcony and take in the views. The stone white structure with sloping grass on it sides is situated in the middle of the vineyards and is very impressive. I opted to do the estate tour which was $85 and well worth it. I would say it was the second best tour I have taken of a winery to date. I got to see the vines, their facilities, tanks, barrel room, and they gave everyone a very good lesson/overview of the history and production of the wine. My tour guide was SUPER professional and knowledgeable. He also looked like Jamie from Game of Thrones, I had to do a few double takes when I first meet him.
He talked about all the efforts they take in making the best wine possible. To list a few: Harvesting at night, straining their vines (so that they go deeper), hand harvesting, optical sorter (takes pictures of each of the grapes and rejects ones that are not the right color or size), a bladder press (best type of press on the market), and gravity fed tanks. They even have a laboratory, so they can reduce cork taint in their corks to a negligible percentage. Cork taint is estimate to effect 2%-7% of all bottles that use natural cork. With their testing they get it well below 1%.
Opus One service is truly world class. Remember that they didn’t know who I was when I was there. I was just some average Joe (which I prefer when visiting a winery). They gave me a high end booklet that spared no cost for both their Opus One and their Overture that describes their wines in detail since the beginning of their winery. They also gave me another glass of their Overture to take notes on since they gave us a glass at the beginning of the tour and I was unable to take my notes and walk. They make you feel important without you even realizing it, which is very hard to do. I highly recommend taking the tour there if you go to Napa. They do a great job of education and demonstrations, but be warned! Make reservations WEEKs in advance, they fill up fast.
1) Wine = 4.8
2) Price Point = 2.6
3) Service = 5.0
4) Decorum / Scenery = 4.8
5) X factor = 4.8
Overall: 4.4
(0-5 scale, anything above 2.5 you will have a good time)
Now let’s talk about their wine. I tasted their 2013 Opus One which was 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. It was left in contact with skins for 18 days and aged 17.5 months in new french oak. This is probably top twenty wines I have ever tasted. It had such a complex and long lasting flavors. I got the typical Napa Cabernet flavors of bell pepper, vanilla, dark chocolate, and black currant. What impressed me the most was how the flavor latest from nose to many seconds after I swallowed. It was silky smooth. By the way their Overture was really good too. Some of the same flavors, but a bit lighter with some baking spices and plum.
Let’s talk about the price tag. Opus One 2015 will set you back around $350 and their current Overture is about $130. Before knowing the prices on their 2013 I would have paid $60-$70 for their Overture and $120 for their Opus One, but that was me on a sailor’s paycheck (btw I make less now then when I was in the Navy). Ladies and Gentlemen by no means is this the most expensive Napa wine out there. Some of them are in the thousands of dollar price range.
I would relate Opus One wine to a Tiffany’s ring. You are paying alot for their care and technology they put into making their wine making process. They are also a world class brand that any wine fan will instantly recognize their logo of the bust of Mondavi and Rothschild on their bottle. Just like that little baby boy blue box of Tiffany & Co. It is a great wine to order at a dinner party where you are trying to impress your guest. Did I mention they limit their production and sales to customers to keep their wine in high demand? So is it worth the price tag?!?!?
I have found a handful of better Napa wines out there that are less expensive. They are out there, but they don’t have the brand recognition and pomp and circumstance going for them (or at least not as much). So it really boils down to two factors for the consumer. Do you have the money to spend to purchase a bottle? If yes, buy it! You know you are getting a very great product. Are you the type of person that likes to show off to you friends? If yes, buy it and make a memory of sharing a bottle of Opus One with them.
As for me, that wine will always be on a pedestal that is out of my reach. It is too much of a safe bet and expensive. I prefer the road less traveled, the chase, and the hunt of traveling all over America searching for that wine that shakes that pedestal which Opus One sits on. I will always savor the memory of visiting a truly breathtaking winery and the experience of having a taste of the historic wine called Opus One and I urge each and everyone to try it at least once. So is it worth it? Well it is up for you to decide.
Featured image sourced from Opus One Winery Facebook page