USA · Napa Valley

Opus One

Opus One was the first internationally branded luxury wine in California and remains one of the most widely traded Napa Valley wines at auction — a joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild, conceived at a 1970 dinner in Hawaii and first produced as 'Napamedoc' in 1979. The first commercial release under the Opus One name was the 1984 vintage, priced at $50 per bottle — an extraordinary sum for a California wine at the time and a deliberate statement of intent. The estate farms 170 acres of biodynamically certified vineyards in Oakville, the heart of Napa Valley Cabernet country. The blend is consistently Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant (approximately 75–80%), with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot completing the Bordeaux-inspired assemblage. Michael Silacci has served as winemaker since 2001, maintaining the estate's combination of Bordeaux structure and California richness. Opus One's gravity-flow winery, opened in 1991 and designed by Scott Johnson, is one of Napa Valley's most architecturally ambitious buildings — a crescent-shaped structure embedded in the earth. Production averages 25,000 cases per year — significantly larger than the cult estates of Screaming Eagle and Harlan, making Opus One the most widely available premium Napa wine at auction. The second label, Overture, is produced from younger vines and available only at the winery.