Opus One 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.

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.