2009 Opus One Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

Technically, we’d had the appointment for about a month. But realistically, we’d been looking forward to it for years. So on a beautiful August day, the Wine Access offices in the town of Napa emptied. Everyone in the company headed north on Silverado Trail to the Oakville AVA, to make our first official visit to the pristine winery that brought First Growth Bordeaux and the best of Napa Valley together: Opus One. 

We’re thrilled to announce that our visit yielded the kind of allocation that normally only comes at auction: A rare allocation of the 2009 Opus One, a dark and gorgeously structured Napa icon that is poised to develop beautifully over until (at least) its 30th birthday.

The Opus One story began when Baron Philippe de Rothschild (of Bordeaux First Growth Mouton Rothschild) conceived of a Bordeaux-Napa Valley project. When he met Robert Mondavi in 1970, Baron Philippe knew he had his man. The two luminaries struck a partnership eight years later, and agreed on a simple three-point philosophy: First, Opus One would be a classic Bordeaux-style wine. Second, it would reflect the partnership between the Mondavi and Rothschild families. And finally, it would be different and unique.

Since its first vintage in 1979, Opus One has become the red wine that represents California to the world. Grown on the estate’s four vineyard plots—the Ballestra and River Parcels, which flank the winery, as well as To Kalon North and South across Highway 29—the Left Bank-style blend is one of the most coveted, envied, and emulated wines on the planet. Robert Parker calls it not only “one of the great wines of Napa,” but “the pinnacle of French viticultural knowledge combined with that of California and Napa’s Shangri La-like microclimate.” 

This wine represents Opus One at its best: A dark, dense wine that is already showing a beautiful evolution, yet will continue to evolve beautifully for years to come.