The initial pricing of the first Opus One-at $50-was not shocking to those who realized that this price was partly set to gain attention. Of course, with the prestigious names of Mondavi and Rothschild behind it, no one had seriously expected the wine would be cheap. If anything was ever criticized, it was the price. From the first it has been viewed as a sublime and complex wine and-unlike a lot of other expensive Cabernets-always among the top wines of the vintage. Opus One, bearing a label with silhouettes of both men, was released in 1984 and won awe-struck critical praise. Cabernets such as Beaulieu Vineyard’s Georges de Latour Private Reserve, Ridge Monte Bello, Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, Beringer Reserve and Caymus Special Selection are beginning to accumulate a certain heritage. Opus One also adds an element of history and heritage to California winemaking-a melding of California grapes and French tradition. Considering that winemakers rarely agree on anything, accord between these two would seem to be a monument to harmony and perhaps even world peace. Call it the grandest gimmick wine of all time if you want, but Opus One is quite unlike anything in the history of the Napa Valley, perhaps in the history of wine itself.įor one thing, it’s the product of two immense egos, Robert Mondavi and the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild. The price has been startlingly high right from the first day it was offered. A lot of them are not even wealthy, merely mildly insane and prepared to spend their money on wine instead of, say, shoes.įor these big spenders, Opus One has been a wine to covet since it was announced 12 years ago. Those who have discovered the attractions of great wine, however, live to get their hands on it-no matter what the price. That’s $63 for one bottle-and not a rare old bottle, but the most recent vintage.Ī lot of people have a hard time understanding how any wine could be worth more than $10. In these austere times, it might seem strange that a brand-new multimillion-dollar winery, devoted to the production of a single, very expensive wine, should have opened here two weeks ago.
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