![]() ![]() In 1983, the main vineyard was purchased by Opus One, almost opposite the Robert Mondavi Winery on Highway 29 in Oakville. The next year a magnificent state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery was built 1984 also marked the debut of Opus One's first two vintages, the 19. ![]() Neither 19, especially 1980, was a particularly good vintage, and so the debut of Opus One was not greeted with great acclaim by the critics. In fact, California was to suffer a very unusual drought of good vintages between 19, not really experiencing a really fine year until 1985. I remember tasting the 1979 when it was first released, and being under-whelmed by it. Can you imagine my surprise at a tasting of older vintages of Opus One at the winery on July this year when the 1979 turned out to be glorious! Just like a really fine Bordeaux, it needed over 25 years to develop and mature to the sublime wine that it is today. Beginning with the 1985 vintage, Opus One became established as one of the state's great wines other outstanding vintages in the next decade included the 1991, 19, with the 1991 always being a special favorite of mine. In late 2004, Constellation Brands acquired the Robert Mondavi Winery, and in 2005 agreed to terms with the Baron Philippe de Rothschild Company to maintain a 50-50 joint ownership of Opus One. 1994 OPUS ONE FULLÄavid Pearson became Opus One's CEO, the first person singly responsible for the winery, and Michael Silacci was appointed winemaker, with full responsibility for viticulture as well as winemaking. Now that Opus One has its own team, a new spirit, a new pride seems to be imbued in all of the people working at Opus One. I was so impressed by the July 1 tasting that I returned in late August with my son, a budding wine enthusiast, to taste the newer vintages of Opus One, from 1996 to the just- released 2003. Opus One, Napa Valley (California) Proprietary Red Wine 1996 ($126, 375ML): Still dark red, the 1996 Opus One is a well-balanced wine, with lively acidity. It is 86 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and eight percent Cabernet Franc, with the balance split between Merlot and Malbec. A supple wine, just lovely to drink now, but it still has a long life ahead of it. ![]()
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