Because Opus One makes only one wine, each tank can be dedicated to a single lot of grapes; each tank is used only once during harvest, so fermentation and maceration need never be rushed.
The long, warm maceration in temperature-controlled tanks draws out myriad rich flavors and colors from the skins, seeds, and pulp. The tanks are raised so the free-run wine can flow into new French oak barrels; the remaining skins tumble easily into basket presses. In another gentle, unhurried step, the skins, seeds, and pulp are pressed.
Like the free-run wine, the pressed wine is put into barrels to be aged. To provide backbone to the wine, a portion of the press is often added to the final blend. Once the wine is safely in barrel, the topping, racking, and fining processes begin. During the first year, Michael continually tastes from each French oak barrel, evaluating the effect of the wood on the wine.
Fining, which occurs after the final racking in tank, also illustrates the hand-crafted nature of Opus One. Carefully added in more turbid vintages, fresh egg whites attract the very small particles that would otherwise remain in suspension. Fining clarifies and polishes the wine.
Get the latest wine investment insight direct to your inbox! We use cookies to provide a better experience for you. Cookies allow us to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. By continuing to use the site you agree to the use of cookies.
Learn more about cookies here. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.
We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies.
But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The To Kalon vineyard is jointly owned by a number of famed Napa producers. It is generally regarded as the best winemaking land Napa has to offer. In , Mondavi sold part of his share of the vineyard to the newly launched Opus One venture, providing high-quality grapes that serve as the backbone of the blend. According to Wine-Searcher data , Opus One is the most-searched-for American-made wine in its database.
It ranks seventh, meanwhile, among the most-searched-for wines worldwide. Grapes are hand-harvested in individual lots — nothing too extreme about that — but, from there, each lot is sorted and fermented separately, requiring over three dozen giant steel fermentation tanks. Rather than being sorted by hand, harvested grapes are processed by a custom-made optical sorter, which uses cameras to analyze the size, shape, and color of every grape.
0コメント