Opus One is a Cabernet-led Bordeaux blend from the estate's Oakville vineyards including To Kalon parcels, aged about 18 months in new French oak. Its ≈ 25,000-case production and distribution through the Place de Bordeaux since 2004 make it the most traded Napa wine.
- Made by
- Opus One
- From
- Oakville, Napa Valley
- Style
- RedCabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec
- Bottles made in a typical year
- 300K
Napa cult Cabernet
A small-production Cabernet Sauvignon from the best land in Napa Valley, sold mostly to a private mailing list.

Good years and bad
One square for each year. The darker the square, the better the weather was for the grapes. Tap a year to read about it.
The essentials
The wine and its economics
Opus One is a Cabernet-led Bordeaux blend from the estate's Oakville vineyards including To Kalon parcels, aged about 18 months in new French oak. Its ≈ 25,000-case production and distribution through the Place de Bordeaux since 2004 make it the most traded Napa wine.
Every year in a tableHow each year was rated, and the price the producer first asked
| Vintage | How the year was rated | Release price |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Very Good | — |
| 2022 | Mixed | — |
| 2021 | Excellent | — |
| 2020 | Difficult | — |
| 2019 | Excellent | — |
| 2018 | Excellent | — |
| 2017 | Mixed | — |
| 2016 | Excellent | — |
| 2015 | Very Good | — |
| 2014 | Excellent | — |
| 2013 | Exceptional | — |
| 2012 | Excellent | — |
| 2011 | Difficult | — |
| 2010 | Good | — |
| 2009 | Very Good | — |
| 2008 | Good | — |
| 2007 | Excellent | — |
| 2006 | Very Good | — |
| 2005 | Very Good | — |
| 2004 | Very Good | — |
| 2003 | Good | — |
| 2002 | Excellent | — |
| 2001 | Excellent | — |
| 2000 | Good | — |
| 1999 | Very Good | — |
| 1998 | Mixed | — |
| 1997 | Excellent | — |
| 1996 | Very Good | — |
| 1995 | Very Good | — |
| 1994 | Excellent | — |
| 1993 | Good | — |
| 1992 | Very Good | — |
| 1991 | Excellent | — |
| 1990 | Very Good | — |
What does this wine cost to make?Our estimate: $26–$80 a bottle
We estimate it costs about $26 to $80 to make one bottle of a wine like this. The price in the shop is far higher because the land is scarce, the name is famous, and many hands take a share on the way to you.
| Component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Imputed land cost | $3.82 | $16.44 |
| Vineyard operations | $5.79 | $18.46 |
| Oak barrels | $0.69 | $1.67 |
| Winemaking labour and cellar work | $3.00 | $6.00 |
| Cellar aging | $1.28 | $3.20 |
| Bottle, closure, label, case and bottling | $5.40 | $14.40 |
| Winery overhead | $4.00 | $10.00 |
| Financing over the aging period | $1.53 | $9.82 |
| Estimated winery production cost | $25.51 | $79.98 |
Recent auction resultsWhat bottles of this wine fetched when collectors sold them
| Sale date | Vintage | House and sale | Per bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | 1996 | Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 1511 | $200 with premium |
| Jul 2026 | 2010 | Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 1510 | $400 with premium |
| Jul 2026 | 2013 | Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 1509 | $398 with premium |
| Jun 2026 | 2017 | Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 629 | ≈$372 with premium |
| Jun 2026 | 2016 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online Day 2: Featuring a Collection Direct from González Byass (sale 25045) · lot 1091 | ≈$358 with premium |
| Apr 2026 | 2010 | Christie'sThe Cellar of an Obsessive Collector Part II: Online (sale 24715) · lot 828 | ≈$414 with premium |
| Nov 2025 | 1999 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines Online Featuring The Sierra Cellar (sale 23961) · lot 591 | $375 with premium |
| Nov 2025 | 1998 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines Online Featuring The Sierra Cellar (sale 23961) · lot 590 | $312 with premium |
| Nov 2025 | 1994 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines Online Featuring The Sierra Cellar (sale 23961) · lot 589 | $375 with premium |
| Nov 2025 | 1991 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines Online Featuring The Sierra Cellar (sale 23961) · lot 587 | $375 with premium |
| Oct 2025 | 2014 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition (sale 24578) · lot 345 | ≈$606 with premium |
| Oct 2025 | 2012 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: Hong Kong Edition (sale 23826) · lot 465 | ≈$372 with premium |
The detailsClassification, grapes, bottle sizes and the rest
Comparable wines
Compare →Wines from the same appellation or region that collectors weigh against this one.

Harlan Estate
The Oakville hillside proprietary red, about 1,500–2,000 cases, sold by mailing list since 1990.

Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
About 500–600 cases by mailing list: the scarcity benchmark of American wine.

Dominus
Christian Moueix's dry-farmed Yountville Cabernet from Napanook, about 6,000–8,000 cases.

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon
Old-vine Rutherford Cabernet from 1945 plantings, under a thousand cases, cult-priced within a decade of its 2003 debut.
Sources
- Opus One, 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
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