![]() Vintage 2007 was pasture perfect until August when a heat spell in September followed by rains and then threat of a frost posed an usual challenge. It is still available on-line for $299.00 a bottle. This blend was 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, and 1% Malbec. The 2003 harvested between September 17h and November 2, this wine recalls the elegance of Bordeaux, nuances of dark chocolate, black licorice, and herbs. The skin contact was 36 days and 16 months in New French oak barrels. The blend that year was 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot. 1998 was the first wine sampled.Īlready slowed by El Niño's flooding, the harvest was extended to late October thus a very long growing season for the grape. Opus One produces 25,000 cases of wine a year.įollowing in the founders’ footsteps of attention to details, France had grapes flown in from California the day before for us to sample along with the wine. To get a first hand appreciation, every few years the sales people participate in the harvest. One can just imagine how time consuming and labor intensive the task was. By 2004 they switched from sorting clusters to sorting grapes, grape by grape. As time went on and as the wine maker, Michael Silacci–who was always tasked with making every vintage better than the last–came up with a better idea. The grapes are hand picked and at first they were put on a conveyer belt in bunches to be sorted by hand to take out any matter such as leaves and stems and to check for ripeness and quality. The taste should be never be gritty.įrance recounted the harvesting process which starts at three in the morning to capture the dew that is still on the grapes. If the chocolate does not melt in your hand in 20 seconds it is of inferior quality and it should make a crisp clear sound when it is broken into pieces. Quality chocolate has to be glossy, the more mahogany the better the chocolate. We could tell the difference among the three types: dark chocolate from Mexico Marou made with chocolate from Vietnam and Dick Taylor, a chocolate from the Dominican Republic. To bring the point of terroir home to us France included a tasting of chocolates from around the world. The five that comprise the Opus One-Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec-are rooted in the clay loam with natural veins of gravel, perfect for draining and deep rooting. It is ideal for growing Bordeaux-heritage varieties. The famed Oakville region has the ideal mesoclimate and alluvial fan soils on its 80 acres and across the road to the 80 acres that surround the winery that are all organically farmed. The East Coast Sales Manager, France Posner, a 27 year veteran of the winery guided us through a vertical tasting of five Opus One vintages.įrance also told us about how important the terroir is. Each year the mixture is changed so that the wine is balanced depending on the taste each grape has and the weather conditions.Īt the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival I was fortunate to attend a seminar about the Opus One. The skin contact was 10 days and the barrel aging was 24 month in new French oak barrels. The mix was 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Merlot. Early harvesting yielded clean well balanced fruit and wine of power, resilience and finesse. ![]() The first vintage in 1979 seemed to enjoy a perfect growing season but it was challenged by rains in September. They would strive to make each vintage better and better. ![]() The grapes would be grown in Napa and wine would be made by both French and American wine makers working together. The idea was to make one great wine and only one, a Bordeaux blend. The two wine giants wanted to meld the traditional gravity flow design to modern state of the art innovation. They wanted to take the tradition of old world wine making and marry it to the new world aesthetic. In 1978 Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux and Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley, got together in France at Rothschild Chateau. New England Wine Gazette - Fall 2016 Opus One Seminar: Five Grapes Blend to Form One Amazing Wine
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