Mondavi and Rothschild: history and innovation

'Rich, powerful and seductive, the 2012 Opus One blossoms in the glass with superb textural richness and volume. Dark red and black fruit, smoke, cedar, new leather and tobacco all meld together as the 2012 shows off its personality. Fine, silky tannins support the huge, creamy finish. The 2012 has just been bottled, but it is superb. I expect the 2012 will offer a long and broad drinking window of pure pleasure. 96 points' - Antonio Galloni, vinousmedia.com, Dec 2014

The Opus One project is a joint venture between two vinous dynasties - Game of Wines, you might say. The Rothschilds and the Mondavis combined in this important project, based in California and with Bordeaux management. From the beginning Opus One has been a significant player in the global fine wine market, not just because of its intrinsic quality, but because of the pull it has exerted on many other producers, encouraging them to raise their own game.

The 2012 vintage in California is already recognised as a great year, perhaps one of the best for Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines in a generation, yet the price of the 2012 is the same as the 2011. Located in central Napa, the closely planted vineyards look more like Burgundy than the usual Californian vista and are ideally situated to catch both sun and cool, ocean breezes. /CW

Offered subject to confirmation for shipment winter 2015