The essence of place
Since 1993, Overture has been an expression of place across time. In keeping with an internal desire to underscore the importance of the growing season, Opus One has taken the necessary steps for Overture to become a vintage-dated wine. In doing so, Opus One intends to emphasize the diversity of our estate with a renewed focus.
Over the years our winemaker, Michael Silacci, and his team have come to deeply understand the individual blocks within the vineyards. Farming practices may then be adjusted at the block level to enable the vines to fully capture the quality of the estate. The majority of our vineyards are planted in alluvial soils in the extreme western part of the Oakville, AVA, at the foot of the Mayacamas mountains.
The fruit is harvested and vinified with the same care, precision, and attention to detail as Opus One. Unique aromatics, flavors, and textures are recognized as ideal for Overture — more red fruit, herbal characteristics, soft tannins, and creamy texture.
This map represents the Opus One estate and its relationship with the topography of the region. In this map, we have chosen to showcase vineyard placement as it relates to the winery, updated row orientation, as well as the diverse topography of the valley as a whole.
This soil map calls to focus the unique topography of the Opus One estate and illustrates the diversity of the vineyard. Each color represents the unique combination of materials that create diverse fruit profiles – rust representing clay, gray representing gravel, and gold representing sand. Additionally, we can highlight the geographical elements that make our estate unique. Following the lines which represent the Alluvial fan as they meet the gentle crest, we are able to see a shift in soil types which contributes to determining the final blends of Opus One and Overture.
Mother nature does not recognize man-made barriers, so the alluvial soils continue underneath the main highway in front of Opus One. However, as one approaches the Napa River, the amount of gravel decreases and finer clay, and silt starts to increase. The availability of water also grows. This fluvial soil was created by the periodic flooding of the river. The demarcation between the soil types is marked by a gentle rise in the topography which creates a crest (see vineyard map). The team learned that these eastern blocks were regularly delivering grapes with more red fruit flavors and fresh herbal characteristics with soft tannins, creamy texture, and a lingering finish. These attributes are ideally suited for our goals for Overture specifically regarding approachability, and suppleness.
Given this understanding, the team was afforded an opportunity to express the character of the estate blocks while capturing the distinctiveness of the vintage; but, in a decidedly different way than Opus One because of the unique geology of these parcels. In 2021, the team meticulously blended the first vintage-dated Overture. This wine delivers all the approachability and softness for which it is renowned, but with the added benefit of highlighting the sole characteristics of the 2021 growing season. Overture 2021 will be released in 2024.
Varietal Breakdown
Cabernet Sauvignon 89%, Cabernet Franc 4%, Petit Verdot 4% and Merlot 3%
Skin Contact
19 days
Barrel Aging
19 1/2 months in new French oak
Stewardship of the environment
As farmers and artisans, deeply concerned with our collective future, Opus One recognizes that sustainability practices benefit the winery, our neighbors and our customers. The culture and internal practices at Opus One reflect our commitment to conservation and responsible consumption.
In addition to being certified as a green winery as part of the Napa Green Initiative, Opus One has taken the time and care to implement more than 100 favorable and environmentally-friendly policies and procedures across all areas of the winery – including water conservation, land management, and production.