Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The first year in their own winery, with a winemaking team that still had input from both Bordeaux and Napa, with Patrick Léon and Tim Mondavi. The richness is immediately apparent, and straight away this feels like they were marking the beginning of a new era. There is a powerful core of black fruits, and this is a great wine that is still full of life. 33 days skin contact. This was a cool and slow growing season, with a large crop and late harvest. It was the first express-built gravity flow winery in Napa, and at €27 million controversially expensive at the time.
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Wine Spectator
This is suave, with very stylish notes of red and black currant preserves that have matured, melding with savory, sweet tobacco, singed sandalwood and black tea accents along the way. An underlying iron note keeps pace too. Long, focused and well-detailed. In a lovely spot right now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opus One's 1991 is a gorgeously rich, opaque ruby/purple-colored wine with a knock-out nose of smoke, cassis, vanilla, and a whiff of herbs and licorice. Full-bodied, with surprisingly supple, concentrated, chocolatey, cassis, and blackcurrant flavors that ooze across the palate, this voluptuously-textured example of Opus One is atypical in a vintage that produced so many backward wines. There is no question the wine possesses plenty of tannin, but it is admirably concealed by the copious quantities of concentrated fruit.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.