Earlier this year it was announced that David Pearson, the long-time CEO of Opus One, would be leaving the Napa Valley estate to embark on a new project with Bill Harlan (Harlan Estate, Promontory, Meadowood, Bond). Seeing as this will be his last harvest with Opus, we put the estate back in the spotlight, evaluating its performance over the past decade.
Seen in the chart below, Opus One used to account for most of the Napa Valley trade: 90% in 2008 when it almost stood alone as a global Californian brand. But with the broadening market for Californian wines (and the high average value of other Napa Valley players), Opus One’s share has dipped. Thus far in 2020, it stands at 8.2%.
By volume, Opus One remains one of the most favoured wines in the region, surpassed only by Caymus Sauvignon, charted below. The most recent vintage of Caymus, 2017, is on offer for £734 per 12×75, a relative value buy for cult wines out of Napa. Harlan estate 2016 has been the most traded wine by value in 2020 and is available for £5,310 per 6×75 SIB.
Even with some large price tags, Napa Valley wines have seen more demand this year than any prior, already surpassing 2019 in terms of value, volume, and quantity of trades. Attached are all LIVE Offers of Napa Valley wines – starting at £38.3 for Napanook 2014.
