If the chocolate does not melt in your hand in 20 seconds it is of inferior quality and it should make a crisp clear sound when it is broken into pieces. Quality chocolate has to be glossy, the more mahogany the better the chocolate. We could tell the difference among the three types: dark chocolate from Mexico Marou made with chocolate from Vietnam and Dick Taylor, a chocolate from the Dominican Republic. To bring the point of terroir home to us France included a tasting of chocolates from around the world. The five that comprise the Opus One-Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec-are rooted in the clay loam with natural veins of gravel, perfect for draining and deep rooting. It is ideal for growing Bordeaux-heritage varieties. The famed Oakville region has the ideal mesoclimate and alluvial fan soils on its 80 acres and across the road to the 80 acres that surround the winery that are all organically farmed. The East Coast Sales Manager, France Posner, a 27 year veteran of the winery guided us through a vertical tasting of five Opus One vintages.įrance also told us about how important the terroir is. Each year the mixture is changed so that the wine is balanced depending on the taste each grape has and the weather conditions.Īt the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival I was fortunate to attend a seminar about the Opus One.
#2001 OPUS ONE SKIN#
The skin contact was 10 days and the barrel aging was 24 month in new French oak barrels. The mix was 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Merlot. Early harvesting yielded clean well balanced fruit and wine of power, resilience and finesse. The first vintage in 1979 seemed to enjoy a perfect growing season but it was challenged by rains in September. They would strive to make each vintage better and better. The grapes would be grown in Napa and wine would be made by both French and American wine makers working together.
The idea was to make one great wine and only one, a Bordeaux blend. The two wine giants wanted to meld the traditional gravity flow design to modern state of the art innovation. They wanted to take the tradition of old world wine making and marry it to the new world aesthetic. In 1978 Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux and Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley, got together in France at Rothschild Chateau. New England Wine Gazette - Fall 2016 Opus One Seminar: Five Grapes Blend to Form One Amazing Wine
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