In 1983, the main vineyard was purchased by Opus One, almost opposite the Robert Mondavi Winery on Highway 29 in Oakville. Mondavi's son, Timothy Mondavi, and Mouton Rothschild's winemaker became joint winemakers of Opus One both winemakers had their own team of assistants. The first Opus One vineyard utilized a block of the To-Kalon Vineyard, which had been owned by Robert Mondavi. These two creative men agreed to pool their resources and make a joint-venture wine in 1978. Opus One was the brainchild of two legendary wine greats, the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of the great first-growth Bordeaux, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Napa Valley's most famous vintner, Robert Mondavi. And so Opus One is truly a Cabernet Sauvignon, even if not labeled as such. In reality, each vintage produced since its first, in 1979, has been at least 80 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and up to 97 percent in two vintages.

Today, Opus One exports over 20 percent of its wines, mainly to Europe, and you can find it on the wine lists of some of the world's best restaurants.Īctually, Opus One is not labeled as a Cabernet Sauvignon, because the producers want the option to use different blends of the five Bordeaux red varieties planted in its vineyards - Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot in addition to Cabernet Sauvignon. But these wines were sort of California's little secret the rest of the world didn't know about California wines back then. It is certainly true that California did produce a few excellent Cabernet Sauvignons even before World War II - Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve, Inglenook, and Simi come to mind. The California wine industry really didn't get moving until 40 years ago, and so it is somewhat amazing that the state can boast of a wine that is regarded by many as world class, but Opus One has attained that status. That's no surprise, because European wine regions have been established for hundreds of years. Most of the world's well-renowned wines come from Europe - many of them being either Bordeaux or Burgundy. Wine Review Online - Opus One: American Royalty

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