Fodor's Expert Review Opus One
The Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi and France's Baron Philippe de Rothschild joined forces in the late 1970s to produce Opus One, a Bordeaux blend often credited as Napa's first ultrapremium wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant wine is made and presented at a low-slung limestone structure, much of it concealed by a crescent-shape berm of native grasses and plants. In its poise and varied, textured surfaces, the 1991 neoclassical building mirrors the polished complexity of the wine, whose grapes come from To Kalon across the street and three other estate vineyards. The Courtyard Experience provides a suitable introduction to winery and wine, but consider booking the Opus One Experience. Involving small gourmet bites and including a visit to the tour de force semicircular subterranean barrel room, it takes place in a contemporary salon. Unveiled in 2021, the sumptuous space has views through its north-facing glass wall up the valley to Mt. St. Helena.
