FLOAT 100 · Wine · No. 94
Opus One 2013
Born of a 1970 meeting in Hawaii between a Bordeaux baron and a Napa pioneer, Opus One made a 2013 that one critic called the greatest Opus ever and named his wine of the year.
- Maker
- Opus One
- By price in wine
- 65 of 100
Create a free account to see every recorded price and every grade.
Create a free account- Producer
- Opus One Winery, Oakville, Napa Valley, California
- Founders
- Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi
- Founded
- 1978; first vintage 1979
- 2013 blend
- 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec
- Harvest
- September 5 to October 8, 2013
- Aging
- 18 days of skin contact, then 17.5 months in new French oak
- Winemaker
- Michael Silacci
- Production
- Around 25,000 cases a year, by one count
- James Suckling
- 100 points and his 2016 wine of the year
A grand opus
Opus One began with a meeting in 1970 at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii between Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, and Robert Mondavi, the Napa Valley winemaker. They set out to merge Old World and New World wine styles into one grand opus, and formed their joint venture in 1978.
The first vintage, 1979, was made from grapes grown in Mondavi's To Kalon vineyard in Oakville. It was not released until 1984, alongside the 1980. The project was first known as Napamedoc; the name Opus One was adopted in 1982.
The winery building, a limestone structure built between 1989 and 1991, became one of Napa Valley's best-known landmarks. Since 1993 the estate has also made a second wine, Overture.
Two families, then one partner
After Constellation Brands bought Robert Mondavi Winery in 2004, the Rothschild side negotiated control over Opus One's marketing, vineyard management and administration, while the two owners kept the joint venture.
The 2013 was made under Michael Silacci, who led the winemaking for a quarter century and made his 25th and final Opus One vintage in 2026. The winery describes his approach as putting the vineyard before the winemaker, with a focus on a single wine refined year after year.
Opus One is made on a much larger scale than Napa's cult wines, around 25,000 cases a year by one count, from vineyards planted at about 2,200 vines per acre.
2013: the second great crop in a row
Across Northern California, 2013 was a very fine vintage with optimal weather throughout the season and the second high-quality bumper crop in a row. Its wines have strong structure and tend to need time in bottle.
At Opus One, a very dry and unseasonably warm winter gave the vines an early start. Flowering came under near-perfect conditions, setting up a generous crop, though smaller than 2012. Summer temperatures stayed moderate, and harvest began just after midnight on September 5. With a few stops for weather, picking finished on October 8. The wine spent 18 days on its skins and 17.5 months in new French oak.
Critics were unusually unanimous. James Suckling scored it 100 in September 2016, called it the greatest Opus ever and made it his wine of the year. Jane Anson gave it 100 in 2019 and again in 2025, when she found it still barely getting going at 12 years old. Lisa Perrotti-Brown of Wine Advocate scored it 98 in 2021, and Antonio Galloni of Vinous called it a powerhouse that was shaping up to be an iconic wine.
How to know it
The 2013 is a Cabernet Sauvignon-led blend of all five Bordeaux red grapes. Tasters describe crushed blackcurrant, blueberry, violets and roses with sweet tobacco when young, and later black olive paste, rosemary, leather and menthol. Its tannins are dense; one critic said he would not open a bottle before it was ten years old.
Because production is large by luxury standards, the 2013 is easier to find than most wines of its caliber, and its price rests on the vintage's reputation more than on scarcity.
On the market
The 2013 sells by the single bottle through U.S. merchants. In October 2026 one U.S. merchant listed a 750ml bottle at $549.95, while another U.S. merchant asked $1,000.00 for a single 750ml bottle, a spread that shows how much asking prices for the same wine can vary.
For comparison, the 2014 vintage was reported to retail for $325 a bottle, well below what sellers now ask for the 2013.
The numbers
- 2013 blend
- 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec
- Harvest
- September 5 to October 8, 2013
- Typical production
- About 25,000 cases a year
- James Suckling
- 100
- Jane Anson
- 100
- Wine Advocate (Perrotti-Brown)
- 98
- Vinous
- 96
Timeline
Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi meet in Hawaii.
The two found their Napa joint venture.
The first vintage is made from To Kalon vineyard grapes.
The wine, first called Napamedoc, is named Opus One.
The 1979 and 1980 vintages are released together.
Construction of the limestone winery building is completed.
The second wine, Overture, is introduced.
Constellation Brands buys Robert Mondavi Winery; the Rothschild side takes control of key operations.
Harvest of the 2013 begins just after midnight.
The 2013 harvest is completed.
James Suckling scores the 2013 100 points and later names it his wine of the year.
Wine Advocate's Lisa Perrotti-Brown scores the 2013 98.
Jane Anson retastes the 2013 at 12 years old and scores it 100.
Michael Silacci makes his 25th and final vintage at Opus One.
The world in 2013
A meteor explodes over Chelyabinsk, Russia, injuring about 1,500 people.
Benedict XVI resigns, the first pope to do so since 1415.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio is elected Pope Francis.
Bombs at the Boston Marathon kill 3 people and injure 264.
Edward Snowden's disclosures of NSA mass surveillance begin to appear.
Typhoon Haiyan strikes the Philippines, killing at least 6,241 people.
Nelson Mandela dies.
Daily price data
FLOAT reprices this wine every day from completed sales. Last updated November 12, 2026.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | $550 | Asking price, not a saleOne bottle listed by a U.S. merchant. |
| Oct 3, 2026 | $1,000 | Asking price, not a saleOne 750ml bottle listed by a U.S. merchant. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, Opus One 2013 is number 65 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (94 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- The partnership behind Opus One began at a beach hotel in Hawaii in 1970.
- The wine was originally going to be called Napamedoc.
- The first vintage, 1979, waited five years for release.
- Harvest of the 2013 started just after midnight on September 5.
- James Suckling named the 2013 his wine of the year and called it the greatest Opus ever.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026