Opus One

Opus One is a joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild, founded in 1978 in Oakville, Napa Valley — producing a single Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec aged in new French oak. One of America’s most iconic and age-worthy wines. Also produces Overture, the second label.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What was historically significant about the Mondavi-Rothschild partnership?

The 1978 founding of Opus One was the first major transatlantic winery collaboration between a top American producer and a first-growth Bordeaux house — a genuinely unprecedented arrangement at the time. Robert Mondavi was the dominant figure in elevating Napa Valley’s international reputation through the 1970s; Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild was one of Bordeaux’s most prominent figures. The partnership was announced at a 1979 dinner in Hawaii and immediately attracted international attention because it represented a Bordeaux first-growth’s official endorsement of Napa Valley as a region capable of producing wines at the highest global level — before that credibility was broadly established. Opus One’s first commercial vintage was 1979, released in 1984.

What is Opus One Overture and how does it relate to the flagship?

Overture is Opus One’s second label, produced from a combination of lots not selected for the flagship blend and younger estate vine blocks. It uses the same Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec) and the same winemaking team, but is released as a non-vintage blend designed for earlier drinking than the flagship. Overture is typically 40–60% of the flagship’s retail price and represents the most accessible entry point into the Opus One winemaking style. It is not a lesser wine by design — it is a stylistically different product intentionally built for near-term consumption rather than the decade-plus aging trajectory of the flagship.