Oakville Quick Facts
Region: Oakville AVA, Napa Valley, California.
Vineyard Size: Approximately 170 acres (69 hectares) across four parcels.
Annual Production: Roughly 25,000 cases per year.
Soil Types: Primarily well-drained alluvial soils composed of gravel, clay, and silt, which are ideal for Bordeaux varieties.
Specialty Grapes
Red Varieties
White Varieties
Awards & Recognition
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The estate has earned the ultimate industry accolade of a perfect 100-point rating from influential critics like James Suckling for several vintages, including 2013 and 2019. -
Opus One has consistently secured top placements on Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 Wines of the Year list, most notably reaching the #2 spot for its 1996 vintage.
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Opus One is officially recognized by the global wine exchange Liv-ex as a "California First Growth," a prestigious designation that ranks it alongside the world's most elite and investable Bordeaux estates.
History
Founding & Early Bottlings:
After first meeting in Hawaii in 1970, the duo officially formed their joint venture in 1980. The first vintage was actually the 1979, produced at the Robert Mondavi Winery before Opus One had its own dedicated facility. In 1984, the 1979 and 1980 vintages were released simultaneously, causing a sensation in the wine world.
The Icon Winery:
In 1991, they opened their permanent winery, a stunning "space-age" limestone structure that is partially submerged in the earth, blending Neoclassical and modern design.
The Oakville Icon
Opus One is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blend aged for 18 months in new French oak and refined for 15 months in bottle. This meticulous process yields a profile of polished tannins and dark fruit, solidifying its status as the definitive American "First Growth" that commands the highest demand in the global secondary market.
The Franco-American Masterpiece
Combining traditional Bordeaux techniques with Napa Valley terroir, this blend of five varietals undergoes extended maceration and nearly three years of total aging before release. Known for its complex layers of espresso, dried herbs, and black cherry, it remains the most searched-for California wine internationally, bridging the gap between Old World structure and New World intensity.
The Precision Blend
Crafted using state-of-the-art optical sorting and gravity-flow technology, Opus One typically sees 17 to 20 months of oak maturation to ensure seamless integration. The resulting wine is celebrated for its remarkable longevity and signature notes of violet, cassis, and cedar, consistently ranking as the top-performing US label on the Liv-ex fine wine exchange.
Did You Know?
- Before settling on "Opus One," the working title for the project was "napamédoc." The founders eventually chose "Opus"—a musical term for a composer's first masterpiece—because it is understood in both English and French.
- In 1983, the wine gained massive political "street cred" when President Ronald Reagan served Opus One at a state dinner for French President François Mitterrand.
- To ensure perfection, Opus One uses a custom-made optical sorter. It uses high-speed cameras to analyze the size, shape, and color of every single grape, rejecting any berry that isn't absolutely flawless.