In 2004, as part of the sale of Robert Mondavi Winery, half of Opus One was sold. For several years the wine was blandly referred to as napanamedoc until Opus One was ultimately decided as an appropriate name reflecting the significant efforts and details that go into creating the wine each year – and referring to a composers’ first composition. Vintages until 1990 were produced at Robert Mondavi Winery which is physically located almost on the other side of Highway 29 in Oakville. As part of promoting these early wines both Robert and his wife Margrit and the Rothschilds attended select events including the San Francisco Symphony’s appropriately named Opus One Ball, held in April of that year. The first vintage of Opus One was from 1979 and along with the 1980 vintage were both released in 1984. And some years production is extremely small like in 2001 in which only 2 barrels were produced.
And this wine generally sees less French oak then its older sister. Overture is always a blend of multiple vintages from lots that were not selected for the Opus One wine.
This wine is labeled as a Napa Valley Red wine and interestingly is one of a select few annual release wines from any winery in the Napa Valley that is not labeled with a vintage date. However, since 1993 they have created a second much lesser known and promoted label called Overture. The focus of Opus One’s production is on a single world-class wine each year. His philosophy about promoting Napa Valley was that ‘the rising tide carries all ships’ – both promoting his own winery as well as his neighbors – essentially promoting Napa Valley as an entire region. Robert worked at Charles Krug Winery until branching out on his own to begin Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966. Robert Mondavi’s family has been in Napa Valley since the 1940s they purchased Charles Krug Winery in 1943. And this is only their global wine business – they are involved in a diversity of other businesses including financial, mining, real estate and agricultural ventures. Today the Rothschild family owns numerous wine estates in Europe as well as in North and South America, South Africa and Australia. Part of the Rothschild family also owns the equally iconic Château Lafite Rothschild. The Rothschild family traces their wine heritage back to 1853 when they purchased an existing chateau and renamed it to what is now the iconic Château Mouton Rothschild. The Napa Valley Wine Train as seen through one of the Opus One columns This refined and age-worthy wine offers lively acidity and a sturdy structure with a long lingering finish.A coveted photograph that we hope to obtain again with our real camera. The wine’s round mouthfeel and satiny tannins wrap around classic flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry. The wine effuses dark fruit aromas accentuated by subtler notes of forest-floor and graphite. Through careful and precise management of the incoming fruit, harvestĬontinued evenly until it was completed on October 20th. Picking started on September 21st at the fresh fruit stage of ripeness to keep flavors bright and lively. At harvest, the fruit exhibited the classic style of our Oakville estate vineyards with incredible depth of flavor, layers of complexity and excellent structure. Mother Nature continued to favor the vintage with a superb growing season characterized by moderate temperatures and bountiful sunshine resulting in one of the valley’s most exceptional vintages. Picking started on September 21st and continued through October 20th.Īfter a warm and dry winter, generous rains returned in March just in time for bud-break and provided the water needed for the rest of the year. At harvest, the fruit exhibited intense flavor, layers of complexity and excellent structure. Mother Nature favored the 2012 vintage with a superb growing season characterized by moderate temperatures and bountiful sunshine.
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