91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec

Food pairings: Beef fillet or a dry-aged ribeye, herb-crusted rack of lamb, braised short ribs, duck breast, roast poultry, mushroom and truffle risotto, and aged cheeses such as Gruyère or aged cheddar.

Winemaking: Overture is the second wine of Opus One, first made in 1993. Its grapes come from the same estate vineyards and are picked and vinified with the same care, precision and attention to detail as Opus One. During and after harvest, the winemaking team tastes the wine from every vineyard block and sets aside for Overture the lots with more red fruit, herbal character, soft tannins and a creamy texture. For many years Overture was a blend of several vintages; since 2021 it has been vintage-dated, so each bottling now speaks of its own growing season. The 2023 spent 22 days on the skins and then 19 months in French oak barrels. It is enjoyable on release, with the structure to age for years.

Vineyards and terroir: The Opus One estate lies in the western part of the Oakville appellation, in the heart of the Napa Valley, in four parcels: two within the renowned To Kalon Vineyard, plus the Ballestra and River parcels that surround the winery. The vines are farmed to California Certified Organic Farming standards, with regenerative practices such as cover crops, no-till methods and precise, limited irrigation, and Opus One was the first winery to earn both Napa Green Winery and Napa Green Vineyard certification. The 2023 season opened with abundant early rain, including a big storm just before budbreak. The vines then kept to the estate's usual timetable, the summer stayed cool with no notable heat spikes, and the harvest ran at an even pace from September 14th to October 16th, keeping the fruit fresh and balanced.

Family and history: Opus One took shape in 1978, when Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux and Napa Valley vintner Robert Mondavi met at Mouton and agreed, in a single hour, to make one exceptional Bordeaux-style blend from Napa Valley grapes, crafted by their French and American winemakers side by side. The first vintage was 1979. In 1989 Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi broke ground on the winery, designed by architect Scott Johnson of Johnson Fain with limestone, arcades and peristyles that echo the châteaux of the Médoc, and it opened in time for the 1991 harvest. The estate remains a union of the two families. Michael Silacci, who joined in 2001 as director of viticulture and enology and has been the sole winemaker since 2003, made the 2023; he retires after the 2026 harvest.

In the pictures: The courtyard and central rotunda of the Opus One winery in Oakville, lined with olive trees (photo: Jim G, 2009, CC BY 2.0). A newly planted block of young vines at Opus One (photo: Helder Ribeiro, 2009, CC BY-SA 2.0).