Opus One 2018

A baron, a Napa vintner and a hotel bar in Hawaii

Opus One began with a chance meeting. In 1970 Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi met for the first time at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on Hawaii's Big Island, during a wine and spirits industry convention. Each knew the other by reputation: Mondavi as the first man to build a major new winery in Napa since Prohibition, the baron as the owner of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, then still fighting to have it promoted to First Growth. The critic Jane Anson writes that the idea of a joint wine came up there, apparently from the baron, but it was premature.

Both men were busy. Mondavi was locked in a bitter dispute with his brother Peter, and Rothschild's campaign for Mouton did not end until June 23, 1973, when it finally joined the First Growths, 118 years after the 1855 classification. By 1978 things had changed. The 1976 Judgment of Paris, where California wines beat French ones (including the 1970 Mouton) in a blind tasting, had drawn attention to Napa, and in 1978 Mondavi settled with his brother. Anson reports that the settlement gave him cash and 250 acres of the To Kalon vineyard.

Later that year the baron invited Mondavi to Pauillac. After a family dinner served with an 1870 Mouton and a 1945 Yquem, Mondavi went looking for his host the next morning and was told that the baron worked from his bedroom. There, Anson writes, the 76-year-old Rothschild sat in bed with his spaniel and a giant cup of coffee, and in about an hour and a half the two men sketched out almost everything Opus One would become. The estate itself says the plan was set 'in a single hour': one exceptional wine, a Bordeaux-style blend from Napa grapes, made by French and American winemakers side by side.

From 'Phil and Bob's Big Red' to Opus One

The notes from that bedroom meeting survive, according to Anson. The venture would be split 50/50; it would use winemakers from both sides of the Atlantic, at first Lucien Sionneau from Mouton and Robert's son Tim Mondavi; the wine would be made at the Robert Mondavi Winery until it had its own home; and Mouton would supply the oak barrels. The first vintage was 1979. Sionneau, who had never left Bordeaux and spoke very little English, and Tim Mondavi each went off to make a separate blend, until Robert Mondavi sent them back to make one together.

For a time the wine had no name. Merchants nicknamed it 'Bob and Phil's Big Red,' Anson was told, and Wikipedia says it was called 'napamedoc' until 1982. Its first public outing was in July 1981 at the first Napa Valley Wine Auction, where the last lot, a mixed case listed as NapaMedoc Cabernet Sauvignon, sold for $24,500, which Anson reports was then the highest price ever paid for an American wine. That was a case, not a single bottle.

The name came from Paris. The baron suggested 'Opus,' prompted by his son-in-law, and Robert Mondavi's wife, Margrit, suggested adding 'One.' The estate explains that in music an opus is a masterpiece and 'Opus One' marks a composer's first. The label, with the founders' profiles back to back, was drawn by designer Susan Pate, who remembers making more than 200 designs before both men agreed. The 1979 and 1980 vintages were released together in 1984 at $50 a bottle, by Anson's account the highest price yet for an American wine.

To Kalon, a limestone winery and a 50/50 split

The first vines came from Mondavi. Wikipedia says he sold 35 acres of To Kalon to the venture in 1980; the critic Jeff Leve describes the same 35 acres, from the Q block, and dates the sale's completion to 1981. Today the estate counts four parcels in the western part of Oakville: two inside To Kalon, plus the Ballestra and River parcels around the winery. A 2026 newspaper report puts the total at 170 acres, 100 of them in To Kalon, and Leve also gives close to 170 acres. A 1991 newspaper story cited by Wikipedia gave 108 acres at the time.

The winery came later. Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, the baron's daughter, and Robert Mondavi broke ground in July 1989, and the building, designed by Scott Johnson of Johnson Fain, opened in October 1991, in time to make its first wine within its own walls that harvest. The baron did not see it; Anson notes that he had died three years earlier. The estate describes some 80,000 square feet of limestone, arcades and peristyles that rise so gently from the ground that the building is hard to pick out from the vineyard.

Ownership shifted when the Mondavi family sold its company. Anson writes that the 2004 sale gave the Rothschilds a right of first refusal, but they chose to keep the 50/50 joint venture with the buyer, Constellation Brands; a 2026 newspaper report dates Constellation's acquisition of the Mondavi share to 2005. Wikipedia says the Rothschild side then negotiated control of marketing, vineyard management and administration. Robert Mondavi died in 2008. A second wine, Overture, has been made since 1993.

2018: cool, slow and late

Across Napa, 2018 was an unusual year. The critic Lisa Perrotti-Brown, writing in The Wine Independent, called it 'a type of vintage that Napa had not experienced for decades,' with foggy mornings, cooling breezes and chilly nights, and summed up the harvest in one word: late. Flowering and fruit set went so well that crops were large; the Napa Valley Vintners trade group noted volumes 20% to 30% above average, and Perrotti-Brown reported that some unharvested Cabernet Sauvignon was still hanging into the first week of November.

Opus One's own account matches that picture. The year began notably dry, but well-timed rain just before budbreak gave the vines water for their canopies, and flawless flowering and fruit set led to higher-than-average yields. The season started late and veraison came only seven days behind average, giving the fruit time to ripen. Picking began on September 19 and continued at a steady pace until the last fruit arrived on October 25.

The final blend is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, with 18 days of skin contact and 17 months in new French oak. The estate's general description says each vintage spends 18 months in barrel and 15 more in bottle before release on October 1; for 2018 its vintage notes give 17 months. Its tasting note describes blackberry, cassis and black cherry, with violets, white pepper and rose petals, and a 'soft, creamy mouthfeel.' Michael Silacci, who joined in 2001 and became sole winemaker in 2003, made the wine; in July 2026 the estate announced he would retire after the 2026 harvest.

What the critics said

James Suckling gave the 2018 99 points, calling it 'extremely perfumed and floral with lavender, lilacs and violets' and the tannin 'exquisite,' and said it was wonderful to taste now 'but better after 2026.' The Wine Advocate gave 98, describing boysenberries, cassis and black plums with 'firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness.'

Jeb Dunnuck gave 97, writing that it 'leans to lively, fresher side of the vintage' and has 'a Pomerol-like elegance and purity'; he expected it to evolve for 30 years or more. Wine Spectator gave 96, comparing its 'ironclad structure' to the 2013 and adding 'Patience required.' Decanter gave 95, in a note that called the wine 'incredibly elegant and polished' and observed that 'it is pretty rare for Opus One to be so approachable at this stage.'

Not every critic has always been a fan of the label. Leve writes that Opus One went through a bad patch of close to a decade before improving from the 2007 vintage, as more To Kalon fruit went into the blend.

A Napa wine sold around the world

Opus One is made in large volume for a wine at its price. Wikipedia gives 25,000 cases a year and Leve more than 25,000, and Leve writes that close to half is sold outside the United States, with Japan one of the leading markets. Wikipedia says the wine was widely sold in Asia and Europe from the 1990s, and in September 2012 Opus One opened a sales and distribution office in Bordeaux.

In October 2026, U.S. merchants listed the 2018 in 750 ml bottles at $439, $455 and $469. These are asking prices, not sales. Merchants also offered six-bottle cases and magnums, which are not comparable to a single bottle. For scale, the estate's newest release was priced at $490 a bottle in 2026, according to a newspaper report.

The estate's published vintage notes skip from 2019 to 2021 and list no 2020; they do not explain the gap. Across Napa that year, Perrotti-Brown wrote, very few reds were produced because of wildfire smoke.

The numbers

Estate vineyards

About 170 acres in four Oakville parcels, 100 acres in To Kalon (2026 report; one critic also gives close to 170)

Typical production

About 25,000 cases a year (Wikipedia); more than 25,000 (one critic)

2018 blend

84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec

2018 aging

17 months in new French oak

James Suckling

99

The Wine Advocate

98

Jeb Dunnuck

97

Wine Spectator

96

Decanter

95

Timeline

1. 1970

   Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi meet for the first time, at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii.

2. Jun 23, 1973

   Chateau Mouton Rothschild is promoted to First Growth.

3. 1978

   Mondavi visits Mouton; the two men plan the joint venture in a single morning meeting.

4. 1979

   First vintage, made at the Robert Mondavi Winery by Lucien Sionneau and Tim Mondavi.

5. 1980

   Mondavi sells 35 acres of To Kalon to the venture, per Wikipedia (one critic dates completion to 1981).

6. Jul 1981

   A mixed case listed as NapaMedoc sells for $24,500 at the first Napa Valley Wine Auction.

7. 1982

   The wine is named Opus One.

8. 1984

   The 1979 and 1980 vintages are released together at $50 a bottle.

9. Jul 1989

   Philippine de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi break ground on the Opus One winery.

10. Oct 1991

    The winery opens in time for harvest and makes its first wine on site.

11. 1993

    The second wine, Overture, is introduced.

12. 2003

    Michael Silacci becomes sole winemaker, two years after joining.

13. 2004

    The Mondavi family sells; the Rothschilds keep the 50/50 venture with Constellation Brands (one report says 2005).

14. Sep 2012

    Opus One opens a sales and distribution office in Bordeaux.

15. Sep 19, 2018

    Harvest of the 2018 begins.

16. Oct 25, 2018

    The last 2018 fruit arrives at the winery.

17. Jul 9, 2026

    Opus One announces Michael Silacci will retire after the 2026 harvest.

The world in 2018

• Feb 6, 2018

  SpaceX flies the Falcon Heavy for the first time.

• Feb 9, 2018

  The Winter Olympics open in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

• Jun 12, 2018

  The first summit between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader is held in Singapore.

• Jul 10, 2018

  Twelve boys and their soccer coach are rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand.

• Jul 15, 2018

  France beats Croatia 4-2 to win the World Cup in Russia.

• Nov 8, 2018

  The Camp Fire ignites in Butte County, becoming California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire.

• Nov 26, 2018

  NASA's InSight probe lands on Mars.

Daily price data

FLOAT reprices this wine every day from completed sales. Last updated November 12, 2026.

Every grade and recorded sale for this wine

Price record

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 2018 is number 67 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 (56 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Opus One was planned at Baron Philippe de Rothschild's bedside: he worked from his bedroom, and that is where he met Robert Mondavi to sketch the venture.
• Before it had a name, merchants called the wine 'Bob and Phil's Big Red.'
• The 'One' in Opus One was Margrit Mondavi's idea; the baron proposed 'Opus.'
• Designer Susan Pate made more than 200 label designs before both founders agreed on the back-to-back profiles still used today.
• The first two vintages, 1979 and 1980, were released together in 1984 at $50 a bottle, then a record for an American wine.
• The 1979 and 1980 wines were made at the Robert Mondavi Winery; Opus One did not make wine in its own building until 1991.
• Close to half of each vintage is sold outside the United States, with Japan one of its leading markets, according to one critic.