Velvety textured, without a had edge to be found, notes of creme de cassis, blueberry, subtle wood and floral notes gently rise from the wine?s dense purple color. The 2013 Opus One, a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, is a beauty. Max scoring Opus, we tasted this magnificent 100 points Opus One and were suprised by the elegancy and readiness to drink for such a young wine. We will receive our allocation in about 3 weeks, so no picture yet. This multi-vintage wine is a hommage through incredible blending work to the original masterpiece.No picture, indeed. This wine, whilst still being comprised of the same overall varieties as Opus One, is very different. The winery has since expanded and now also produces a second non-vintage wine – the Overture a musical term in Latin referencing the beginning piece played before an opera or play. Opus One then became known as America’s first ultra-premium wine, establishing a category of wine priced by the bottle at $50 and above… From left to right : Robert Mondavi, the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and her father the Baron Philippe de Rothschild in California. The 19 vintages were simultaneously unveiled in 1984 as Opus One’s first release. After sleeping on this name the word One was added. Philippe suggested Opus: meaning a composer’s first masterpiece. They both agreed on a Latin Phrase to make it easier in their respective homelands. A year later they began to design a label and think about a name. In 1981 the first case of this astounding, and yet unnamed, wine was sold for $24,000, at the time the highest price ever paid for Californian wine. The following year the partners officially announced their joint venture. After a few hours of these two heavyweights sitting together they hatched a plan.Ĭhâteau Mouton Rothschild winemaker Lucien Sionneau and Robert Mondavi’s son Tim made the partnership’s first vintage at the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1979. In 1978 Philippe invited Robert to visit him in Bordeaux. Crabb in the 1860’s.Ī year after founding the vineyard they took the wine world by storm by making a heavily oaked Sauvignon Blanc, which was very unpopular at the time, and selling it under the monica Fumé Blanc which was a major success for the new winery. Including land from the historic To Kalon Estate, founded by Californian wine pioneer H.W. Robert Mondaviīeing the first major winery to be opened in California since prohibition. The focus of this winery was to produce wines that would compete with the finest Europe had to offer. This fueled him to found the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville with his sons Robert and Tim. However in 1965 he left after a serious feud with his younger brother over the direction of the winery. In 1942 he joined his brother and father on the Charles Krug Estate located in St. Mondavi is also viewed as one of the major pioneers in the world of wine.
However his achievements don’t stop there, he also through intense lobbying managed to elevate Chateau Mouton-Rothschild from a second growth to first growth – a feat not since repeated. In conjunction with this he started a secondary brand (Mouton Cadet) for the wine he thought wasn’t up to scratch or from a unsatisfactory vintage. Post World War II, Philippe commissioned labels from great artists and sculptors – Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Henry Moore and Jean Cocteau – and many more luminaries were included. Tied in with this was Rothschild’s unique approach to labeling. This idea quickly spread through many Grand Cru and Premier Cru producers. This revelation gave them complete control on every aspect of the wine. Instead of selling everything En Primeur h e introduced on estate bottling. Soon after he changed the whole idea of wine sales. Retaining management of his family estate in Pauillac at the tender age of 20. Rothschild is considered one of the great personalities in the history of wine and definitely one of the true pioneers of the 20th century. This fateful meeting marks the genesis of this composition… The first meeting between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild occurred in 1970 in Hawaii. One representing the new world and one the old. Two names which are unavoidable when talking about Bordeaux blends are Mondavi and Rothschild.
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