2019 | Far Niente Winery | Cabernet Sauvignon

An elegant perfume of mixed berries, baking spice, dried lavender and thyme open onto a full palate layered with expansive mixed berry, black tea, toasted oak and spice flavors.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Far Niente's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is based on Oakville fruit (about 40% to 50% of the blend), with smaller contributions from Oak Knoll, Calistoga, St. Helena, Diamond Mountain and Stags Leap. The result offers a charming blend of cherries and cassis, with hints of sage, mint and dried spices. A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot and smaller amounts of Malbec and Petit Verdot, all aged 16 to 17 months in French oak (two-thirds new), it's medium to full-bodied, with a slightly chunky, corpulent feel on the palate and a long, softly dusty finish.

• James Suckling: Lead pencil, black olives, oyster shell, iodine, and hints of chocolate on the nose and palate. Full-bodied with soft and round tannins. Refined and savory. Juicy and delicious already.

Producer Information

Far Niente Winery was established in Napa Valley, California, in 1885 by John Benson. It is a producer of premium Cabernet Sauvignon and one of the most storied California wineries. Benson was the uncle of American impressionist painter Winslow Homer and a "forty-niner" – he travelled to California in 1849 during the California Gold Rush that saw a huge influx of people into the region. Benson bought land in Oakville and had a gravity-flow winery built and vineyards planted. The estate was profitable until Prohibition (1920-1933) caused the winery to be abandoned. In 1979 Gil Nickel bought the winery and adjacent vineyards and began to refurbish them. The Benson name was kept until the words "far niente" were found inscribed in stone at the front of the winery – part of the Italian expression il dolce far niente or 'without a care'. A red wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon and a white wine made from Chardonnay are the only wines produced, and the first vintages (1979, ’80, ’81) were vinified offsite until the restoration was completed in 1982. The winery is now on the National Register for Historic Places. In 1998 a bottle of Far Niente Sweet Muscat from 1886 was discovered in a private California cellar. The bottle looks to be the oldest intact bottle of Californian wine, and the label is believed to have been illustrated by Winslow Homer. There are several vineyards in the Oakville appellation that provide grapes for the Far Niente wines. The Martin Stelling vineyard provides fruit for the Cabernet Sauvignon, and bounds Heitz Cellar's famous Martha's Vineyard, as well as Harlan Estate. Fruit for the Chardonnay comes from several vineyards in Coombsville, a cooler area just east of Napa town. In 1989, Gil Nickel founded Dolce, a California winery focused entirely on dessert wines blended from botrytized Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, in a Sauternes style. Several other sister wineries have since come into being including Nickel & Nickel, Enroute, Bella Union and, most recently, Post & Beam Winery.

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