Wine Advisor
Opus One 2013
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Description
Opus One is the realized dream of two men: Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux and Napa Valley vintner Robert Mondavi. Together, our founders set out to create a single wine dedicated to the pursuit of uncompromising quality. This singular mission shapes every vintage, today and for generations to come.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2013 Opus One needs a little swirling before exploding with preserved black and blue fruits—blueberry compote, blackberry pie and blackcurrant cordial—giving way to notes of unsmoked cigars, new leather, beef drippings and menthol with wafts of roasted rosemary and rose oil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both powerful and ethereal, charged with energy and backed up by profound black fruits, supported with plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and beautifully perfumed.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
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. Velvety textured, without a had edge to be found, notes of crème de cassis, blueberry, subtle wood and floral notes gently rise from the wine’s dense purple color. Beautifully full-bodied and extraordinarily elegant and pure, this is certainly one of their great achievements over the last 37 years. The wine has an exquisite finish and can be drunk now or cellared for 25-30 years.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2013 is a powerhouse. Dense, heady and massively structured, the 2013 is impossibly young. Huge swaths of tannin wrap around a core of intense dark red fruit in this potent, brooding wine. Graphite, smoke, cedar and tobacco run through this virile, statuesque wine. The wine's sheer youthful intensity is truly remarkable. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle before age ten, and even that may not be enough. The 2013 Opus One is shaping up to be an iconic wine.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2013 Opus One is powerful, dense and super-concentrated, with heady aromatics, intense fruit and an unreal level of richness for this wine. A host of dark cherry, crème de cassis, licorice, smoke and dark spices infuse this decidedly masculine, potent Opus One. Raw and intense to the core, the 2013 is going to require quite a bit of time to fully come into its own. Like so many wines in this vintage, Opus One possesses striking depth of fruit and a level of intensity that nearly covers the tannins.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Dark cherries, plums, smoke, licorice, new leather and menthol race across the palate in the 2013 Opus One. Firm yet also voluptuous, the 2013 has it all. The combination of fruit and structure is superb. Today, the 2013 reminds me of the 2010 when it was young, especially in its energy and pure power. The flavor remain quite primary, one of the signatures of this great Napa Valley vintage.
About the Producer
The world-renowned Opus One was created in the 1970's as a result of a merger between two visionaries, Baron Philippe de Rothschild (lengendary Bordeaux wine magnate and owner of Château Mouton-Rothschild in Pauillac) and Robert Mondavi (an icon in the history of American wine with a namesake wine empire in California). It was their aim to develop a New World equivalent to a Bordeaux First Growth in the Napa Valley region of California. The exceptional style of Opus One resulted from the combination of their talent, their vision and the unique terroir of the Oakville AVA (an Eden for Cabernet Sauvignon). Today, this highly sought-after wine is produced from four different parcels, two parcels making up the famous 40-hectare To-Kalon vineyard, along with the River and Ballestra Parcels surrounding the Opus One winery. While the exact proportions depend on vintage, the blend is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, complemented by Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec, reminiscent of Bordeaux's Left Bank. The wines are vinified separately before being matured in French oak barrels for a period of 18 months. They stay in the cellar, ageing in bottle for another 15 months, before being released on the market in October of each new year.
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