Opus One

The famous winery is located in the Oakville AVA in California's Napa Valley. The vineyards cover 110 hectares of vines. It was founded as a 50:50 joint venture by wine legends Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) and Robert Mondavi (1913-2008) in 1979 with the aim of producing a Bordeaux-style wine in California. The idea was born in 1970 at a meeting in Hawaii. According to eyewitness reports, the concept was fixed within an hour at a meeting in Bordeaux in 1978. The name "Opus One", however, was not decided until 1983. The first experimental red wine was produced in 1979 by Lucien Sionneau of Château Mouton-Rothschild and Thimothy Mondavi. The wine was made from the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon (80%), Cabernet Franc (16%) and Merlot (4%) and aged for 24 months in 100% new barriques. In the period 1979 to 2001, the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon ranged from 80% to 97%, which roughly corresponds to a classic Bordeaux blend from the left bank of the Gironde. The length of ageing in barrique barrels ranged from 15 to 24 months.

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Opus One

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