2008 North America

Opus One was founded as a joint venture between Robert Mondavi and the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Mouton-Rothschild. The first vintage was 1979, and along with Dominus this is considered as a Napa Valley "first growth". The fruit comes from the tightlyplanted vineyards that surround the winery, and is a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. The wine has a very Bordelais "elevage" with 18 months in new French oak.

Monte Bello 2008 is the first vintage with only Cabernet and Merlot in the final blend. 'We think press wines can really make all the difference.' Very firm and savoury with a trace of lively, savoury US oak on the nose at the moment. Beautiful texture, rich and round.
Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com - March 2010

This full-bodied yet elegant Zinfandel is an intense purple colour with a nose of blueberries, blackberries and spice. In the mouth it offers a harmonious balance of rich, succulent fruit and good acidity. Enjoyable now, it will continue to develop over the next eight to ten years.

A vintage that saw rain in late September, the 2008 Syrah Cailloux Vineyard is a co-fermented blend of 90+% Syrah and the balance Viognier, that wasn’t harvested until October 10. Hitting 14.1% natural alcohol, it’s drinking beautifully today and offers a meaty, iodine, peppery and plum-pit bouquet to go with a full-bodied, refined and elegant feel on the palate. It shows more and more floral and rose petal qualities with time in the glass, has plenty of mid-palate depth and will have no issues evolving for another decade.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate - eRobertParker.com - Jun 2015

This rich full-bodied wine features a deep intense ruby colour, and deliciously persistent aromas of ripe red raspberry, dark chocolate with toasty caramel and vanilla notes. Opulent notes of blackberry fruit, spice and pepper grace the palate with a well-rounded tannin structure and fruit-driven lingering finish. 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec.
Our first-ever wine from British Columbia, and offered to us through the Bordeaux market, which is highly appropriate since the style is unashamedly that of old-fashioned claret. This winery is the realisation of a joint venture between Vincor Canada and Taillan Group in Bordeaux. They always believed it was possible to produce top-quality grapes in this sheltered valley in British Columbia and this is the result. The grapes are planted on a mixture of sand, clay, gravel and rock and after harvesting are totally de-stemmed before being fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine then spends 20 months in French oak barrels, 60% new, before bottling. The bouquet is a blend of plum, blackcurrant and graphite; the palate shows more of the same but with crisp acidity and firm tannins added in. The wine clearly has considerable ability to age and has an appeal which will endear it to lovers of traditional claret. It is of a quality level which is unquestionably at the top level of the Cru Bourgeois classification in Bordeaux, if not higher.
Alun Griffiths MW, Wine Director