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  • Country ranking ?

    491
  • Producer ranking ?

    35
  • Decanting time

    1h
  • When to drink

    now to 2025
  • Food Pairing

    grilled Flank Steak with Parsley Sauce

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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The Story

Time is expressed in Opus One by the character of the vintage: sometimes with a personality that is highly defined and sometimes with a shade of difference quite subtle from other vintages.  Through the minds and hands of the vineyard workers we capture time and the essence of the season – coaxing concentration and tempering abundance.

Place is often defined as terroir and denotes the special characteristics that geography, geology and climate bestow upon a vineyard.  Place is best expressed in the mouthfeel of Opus One; it is the balance of power and finesse, structure and texture.

Complementing both time and place is the essential human element: the attitude, will and soulful attention embodied in the team of individuals who prune, harvest, cellar and embrace the vision of our founding partners.

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Wine Information

The first-ever vintage of the joint project between Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi and the Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, the wine was produced under the combined direction of Tim Mondavi, and Lucien Sionneau, the winemaker of Mouton, at the Robert Mondavi Winery.

 

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Vintage 1979

A seemingly perfect growing season from bud break to the beginning of harvest, the 1979 vintage was challenged by rains in September. Early harvesting yielded clean, well-balanced fruit and a wine of resilience and finesse, desribed as having excellent balance, with a delicate but firm structure.

 

Varietals

Cabernet Sauvignon 80%, Cabernet Franc 16%, and Merlot 4%

Skin Contact

10 days

Barrel Aging

24 months in new French oak

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

A seemingly perfect growing season from bud break to the beginning of harvest, the 1979 vintage was challenged by rains in September. Early harvesting yielded clean, well-balanced fruit and a wine of resilience and finesse, desribed as having excellent balance, with a delicate but firm structure.

The first-ever vintage of the joint project between Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi and the Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, the wine was produced under the combined direction of Tim Mondavi, and Lucien Sionneau, the winemaker of Mouton, at the Robert Mondavi Winery.

Opus One 1979 / Fully mature, brick rim but good depth of crimson too. Sweet, gentle fully mature nose. Not desperately intense but certainly eloquent enough. Quite a luscious palate entry with a bit of acidity showing now and some dryness on the finish. As though this wine is going downhill but very, very slowly. Not especially alcoholic. Fresh, refreshing. Contrary to popular folklore, Opus claim they didn’t poach fruit for this from the 1979 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Reserve because Lucian Sionneau of Mouton chose the leaner samples, leaving the fatter ones for Reserve. Only 10 day skin contact and he captured some of the press wines to mitigate this.

  • 88p
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Information

Origin

Oakville, Napa Valley
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