The maceration period for the 2017 Opus One was 20 days and the wine was aged for 17 months in new French oak barrels. Optical sorting at the winery ensures only the best fruit goes into the blend. Out in the Opus One vineyards, winemaker Michael Silacci (who has been at the winery for over two decades) begins tasting grapes rather early in order to pinpoint the perfect harvest date. Harvest began earlier than expected, on the 5 th of September. The summer of 2017 brought warm temperatures and optimal conditions for the ripening of the fruit. In fact, the rain pushed the budbreak date back two weeks and the water reserves of the soil allowed for healthy vine development throughout the rest of the vine cycle. The 2017 vintage will be remembered for its abundant rainfall, with January recording the most rain in the past 20 years. The Opus One vineyards are planted with classic Bordeaux grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The grapes from here are blended with fruit from the River and Ballestra Pacels, forming 70 acres that surround the Opus One winery. The first two parcels form the world-renowned To-Kalon vineyard, measuring roughly 100 acres in total. The 2017 Opus One is produced from four different parcels situated in the western region of the Oakville AVA in Napa Valley, California. Opus One stands as a brilliant example of the enormous potential of American wine country, conceived as the must-have Bordeaux First Growth of California.
Together, these two wine giants have developed a California wine that brings together the unique New World terroir of the Oakville AVA with unparalleled Old World French savoir-faire. The legendary Opus One wine brand was created in the 1970’s through a merger between two visionary individuals: Baron Philippe de Rothschild (owner of the famous Pauillac First Growth Chateau Mouton-Rothschild ) and Robert Mondavi (an iconic American wine producer whose namesake wine empire stretches across California). A Legendary California Wine With A Nuanced Aromatic Profile
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