To inaugurate the historic winery project forged between Robert Mondavi (left) and Baron Philippe de Rothschild, pictured here in Napa Valley with Baroness Philippine in the 1970s, the Robert Mondavi Winery sold Opus One a prime, 35-acre block of its portion of Oakville’s famed To Kalon Vineyard.
Opus One - then and nowBy Steve PitcherOpus One's joint inaugural release of its first two vintages 25 years ago merited a May 1985 cover story in the premier issue of this publication, then titled East Side Wine News - Miami's Guide to Fine Wine. The eight-page, bimonthly newspaper was modestly priced at 50 cents, while editor and publisher Tom Smith reported that the 1979 and 1980 bottlings were boldly priced at a then-astounding $50 each.His article covered the birth of Opus One - a 50/50 joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild, S.A. and Robert Mondavi Winery - and was laced with numerous quotes from the Baron. Also recounted was the opportunity to evaluate the 1979 Opus at a blind tasting of Cabernets in August 1984. The verdict: "An exceptionally well-made, balanced wine with a big future." Smith nevertheless expressed some reasonable doubt about a brand-new release commanding $50: "Can any wine that is not tested over a decade or more really be worth such a price?" Concluded the author, "As to Opus One's future success, only time in the cellar will tell."
A companion piece by Smith detailed the launch of the 1981 Opus One in Florida at a press luncheon presided over by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, the Baron's daughter, and the Mondavi brothers, Michael and Tim, where the first three vintages of Opus One were presented side by side. Smith exulted in his great fortune at being seated at the same table as the Baroness, giving him access to "firsthand tasting notes as we drank!" [See the publisher's letter on page 10.]
He found Opus 1979 "still a closed wine, but showing signs of fruit"; 1980 "was definitely the best of the three vintages in terms of balance, color, aftertaste and the promise of a long-lived life"; 1981 was "more of a soft, elegant wine [and] as we drank the Baroness felt the '81 tasted more like a Bordeaux wine than the '79 or '80 and had more qualities of a Pauillac than a Napa Valley vintage."
I covered Opus One's spectacular, two-day 20th anniversary celebration in October 1999 in Oakville and reported on it in the February/March 2000 issue. Included were tasting notes and scores for every Opus One from 1979 through 1998, with commentary by the Baroness, Robert Mondavi and co-winemaker Tim Mondavi (his counterpart Patrick Léon remained in Bordeaux). The tasting bar on page 22 compares a handful of the notes from that article to the vintages tasted for this issue. The contrasts are remarkable.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Opus One's founding, and much has transpired in the intervening decades. The founders have both gone to their reward - Baron Philippe in 1988 at age 85 and Robert Mondavi last May at age 94 - leaving behind a formidable legacy that continues to thrive.
For the first several years of the brand's existence, two winemakers - one French (initially Lucien Sionneau and later Patrick Léon from Mouton) and one American (Tim Mondavi) - made Opus One in joint consultation at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville. Robert Mondavi recalled in his autobiography Harvests of Joy (Harcourt Brace & Co., 1998) that, "The joint venture had no vineyards of its own yet, so they used grapes from the best of our vineyards." Beginning in 1981, the push to acquire vineyards and construct an Opus One estate was under way. To inaugurate the project, the Robert Mondavi Winery sold Opus One a 35-acre block of its portion of the famed To Kalon Vineyard, sited in Oakville on the west side of Highway 29. Shortly thereafter, two vineyards across the highway from Mondavi were purchased. By 1984, Opus One had gathered 138 acres of prime Oakville vineyard land, about 108 of which were planted. Mondavi observed, "The new parcels also gave Opus One something more: the site of its future home."
Today Opus One owns some 169 acres of closely spaced vines (2,555 per acre), 139 of which are in production, planted chiefly with cabernet sauvignon (112 acres), and smaller amounts of the traditional Bordeaux varieties: merlot (8.5 acres); cabernet franc (8.5 acres); malbec (3 acres); and petit verdot (7 acres). Since 2001, only the very talented and dedicated Michael Silacci has been calling the winemaking shots.
Silacci notes that ground was broken for the Opus One winery on July 6, 1989 (coincidentally, his 36th birthday, at which time he was employed at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars). Completed in time to process the 1991 harvest at a cost of about $30 million (nobody's sure of the precise figure), this exquisite jewel-of-a-building was designed by the same architectural team that conceived San Francisco's 49-story Transamerica Pyramid 19 years earlier at a cost of $34 million. Mondavi wrote in his autobiography, "I loved the [Opus One] design and so did the Baron. Some critics would later say that it looked as though a spaceship from Mars had plopped down in the middle of our vineyard." Critics were even harsher in their initial comments about the Transamerica Pyramid. Both structures have since become iconic Northern California landmarks.
The year 2004 was great for Opus One as a wine, but a difficult one in the boardroom for the then-struggling Robert Mondavi Winery, which was grappling with discord among Mondavi family members; the publicly owned winery's board of directors was debating splitting the company in two and selling off the winery's luxury brands piecemeal, including its stake in Opus One, among other draconian plans. In November of that year, the turmoil ended when Constellation Brands, the world's largest wine conglomerate, snapped up the prestigious winery for $1.03 billion and $325 million in assumed debt.
As head of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, S.A., Baroness Philippine could have exercised the right of first refusal to purchase Opus One outright under the joint venture agreement, which provided that if one of the cofounders lost ownership control of its business, the remaining owner gained the buyout right. Instead, she decided early in 2005 to maintain the 50/50 joint ownership arrangement with Constellation taking the place of the Mondavi winery on the board of directors.
The terms acknowledged Opus One's autonomy and established its operating independence in three key areas: administration, vineyard management and winemaking, and sales and marketing. Noted the Baroness at the time, "These agreements reflect the unique direction, identity and culture of Opus One, an estate one might call the 'grand cru' of California."
"The winery is essentially independent [today]," explains Opus One CEO David Pearson, who reports twice a year to a board of directors consisting of three representatives from each of the owners. "We meet in either New York or Paris in the spring, and at Opus in the fall. The meetings are very cordial and there's no evidence that either owner wants to interfere with winery operations."
Pearson notes that Baroness Philippine has a great fondness for Opus One, which she visits usually once a year to take in the magnificent setting of the classic winery and meticulously maintained vineyards, and offer encouragement to every person on the winery staff, as well as the 18 full-time members of the vineyard crew. "She insists that her remarks be translated [into Spanish] for the vineyard personnel, and seems genuinely to enjoy the experience." On one such visit Pearson recalls that she remarked, "I often get up in the morning [in Pauillac] and think to myself, what time is it in California."
Baroness Philippine's visits invariably include sitting down to taste current and older vintages. In a winery as spectacularly planned as Opus, such a pleasant activity can be undertaken in a perfect place: A comfortable, richly appointed, semicircular room overlooking the Grand Chai through floor-to-ceiling glass. The mood is very hushed so as not to disturb the wine resting in the 1,000 unstacked barrels fanning out on the other side the glass. It is here that I settle in with winemaker Michael Silacci to taste the wines reviewed for this article.
Those made by Silacci, starting with the 2001 vintage, reveal a departure from earlier efforts in their depth of fruit and luscious texture. They are clearly Californian in style: opulent yet not over-the-top, and never garish. Silacci explains: "That's what the estate vineyards give me to work with, and it would be foolish to turn the wine into something it doesn't want to be."
With the exception of the 1993 vintage, which was misbehaving, the early vintages of Opus One tasted for this reprisal make positive answer to Smith's "As to Opus One's future success, only time in the cellar will tell" musing back in 1985. And based on the showing of the magnificent wines from the 21st century, Opus One's future under the capable direction of winemaker Michael Silacci is assured.
Tasting BAR
The vintages that follow were comparatively tasted open from 750-ml bottles (except the 1979, from magnum) in January. The corks were pulled about an hour before the tasting, but the wines were not decanted. Prices, except for the current release, are approximate market value or recent auction prices sourced from wine-searcher.com. Notes on corresponding wines tasted with Tim Mondavi at the winery in October 1999 and reported in the February/March 2000 issue appear in italic beneath the current note.
1979 (blended with 16% cabernet franc and 4% merlot) - $315 (from magnum): Complex, mature, intriguing nose of cedar, dark fruit and subtle chocolate. Smooth as silk and still quite fruity with medium tannins, lovely spice and a lingering, cassis finish. Remarkably sound for a 30-year-old California Cab. Score: 91
1979: Wonderfully evolved, intense, fragrant nose of cedar, black fruits, smoked meat, leather and brown spice. Sweet and luscious with soft tannins and brimming with flavor, yet supremely elegant and complex. French-like in delivering depth and richness without weight. Drinks fine now. Tim Mondavi's favorite of this flight [1979 through 1984]. Score: 92
1987 (blended with 3% cabernet franc and 1% merlot) - $155: Even more cedar in the aroma than the '79, plus a hint of leather and underlying cassis. Firm
yet plush on the palate with medium tannins, offering moderately deep flavors that echo the nose, finishing with a subtle leathery note that may indicate a touch of Brett. Score: 89
1987: A spectacular wine offering forward, appealing scents of raw red meat, black pepper, clove and black cherry-cassis. Huge on the palate, yet finely balanced, offering luscious, rich, deep, extracted black fruit accented by notes of dried herb and leather. Score: 94
1993 (blended with 7% cabernet franc and 4% merlot) - $200: A very unusual wine with aromas of celery, cedar, white smoke, earthiness and low-level dark fruit. Smooth on the palate with medium tannins and flavors as uncharacteristic as the nose, finishing with a flourish of smokiness. Score: 84
1993: Exotic nose of vanilla, geranium, sandalwood, mineral and black cherry. Luscious and succulent with medium-full tannins, the flavors replicate the nose and are deep and concentrated. A distinctive and delicious Opus. Score: 93
1997 (blended with 8% cabernet franc, 5% merlot, 4% malbec and 1% petit verdot) - $240: Lovely scents of cassis and black cherry, forest-floor earthiness and a wisp of sweet oak. Big and bold on the palate; loaded with spicy cassis; firm, medium-full tannins provide great structure. Finishes long and harmoniously. A complex, succulent wine that's a joy to drink. Score: 93
1997: Even more impressive than the fabulous 1996, offering wonderfully fragrant aromas of licorice, vanilla, toasty oak, clove and ripe blackberry-cassis. The vanilla dominates the palate now, with blackberry-cassis extract and brown spice swirling below. Silky smooth and seamless on the palate with flavor-enhancing acidity, medium-full, supple tannins and a firm, tight structure. Score: 97
2001 (blended with 6% merlot, 3% malbec, 2% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot) - $165: Nicely evolved, complex nose of violets, black cherry-cassis fruit and dark chocolate. Round, luscious and juicy in the mouth with deep, complex flavors that echo the bouquet, accented with a note of minerality that extends in the long finish. A supremely elegant Opus. Score: 94
2004 (blended with 7% merlot, 4% petit verdot, 2% cabernet franc and 1% malbec) - $180: Forward, very fragrant and appealing scents of violets, cassis and dusty berry, minerality and a hint of dried sage. Velvety smooth with supple tannins, this is a deeply fruited wine with notable Bordeaux-like structure, offering wonderfully complex flavors of ripe cassis and subtle oak spice, finishing long and lovely. Score: 93
2005 (blended with 5% merlot, 3% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot and 1% malbec) - $190: The current release is immediately appealing with aromas of rose petals and violets, cassis and brown spice. Big and bold on the palate, yet tightly knit and years away from drinkability with more than sufficient ripe cassis and red cherry fruit to balance the firm tannins. Fruit resonates in the medium-long finish. This superb Cabernet deserves at least five years of cellaring. Score: 94
2006 (blended with 12% merlot, 4% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot and 3% malbec) - $N/A: Bottled in August 2008, this unfined Opus offers a floral nose of violets, dusty geranium and cassis. On the palate, the wine brims with copious sweet cassis and blueberry and is smooth, rich and luscious with fine-grain tannins. Medium-long, violet-tinged close. Deep and complex even now, this youngster shows great promise and evokes the founders' desire to fashion a wine reminiscent of Bordeaux with sublime Napa fruit. (Release date: October) Score: 94
2007 (blended with 8% merlot, 6% cabernet franc, 6% petit verdot and 1.5% malbec) - $N/A: A lovely whiff of cigar box leaps from the glass, followed by dark chocolate, cassis and blueberry. Round and supple with copious dark cherry-cassis fruit and medium-full tannins and near-perfect acid balance, the wine is generous, as would be expected from a barrel sample, yet shows great potential. Score: 91 - SP
Based in San Francisco, Contributing Editor Steve Pitcher is a 2003 recipient of the German Order of Merit, conferred in recognition of his contributions as a writer in educating consumers about the many facets and pleasures of German Rieslings. He can be contacted viawine2words@aol.com.
