Close
Search
Filters
Critics scores
93 Wine Spectator
An exquisite, complex, stylish wine, wearing a cloak of earthy, leathery tannins around flavors of mineral, currant, earth and blackberry. Gains intensity and shows its depth and concentration on the finish, which is long and detailed. Best from 2004 through 2012. 24,000 cases made. ?JL
88 Robert Parker
While it is a big, rich effort, the 1999 Opus One exhibits a distinct earthiness as well as a sweaty saddle-like characteristic. It builds nicely on the attack and mid-palate, but finishes short, displaying hints of herbs, chocolate, and black currants. Drink this medium-bodied offering now and over the next 7-8 years. I tasted this wine twice, once at someone else?s expense, and once from a bottle I purchased in Napa. Both tastings were consistent. This wine gets my vote as one of Napa Valley?s most over-priced offering.
Producer
Opus One Winery
Unarguably the most well-known European wine families, the Rothschilds, paired up with one of the great New World wine pioneers, Mondavi, to create this legendary Californian estate. What started as a joint venture between the two, Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux’s Château Mouton Rothschild back in 1978, the Opus One Estate is now one of California’s most high-profile wineries. They released their first vintage, the 1979, in 1981, at a then astonishing price of fifty dollars a bottle. When the Cabernet blend was released, it was originally named Napamedoc, but in 1982, they began to label it under Opus One - accentuating the bond between the old and new world. A blend of all five Bordeaux varieties, the icon wine consists of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. This flagship wine, along with the duo’s innovative vision, has made the Opus One Estate Napa Valley’s leading cult-winery.