2003 | Far Niente Estate | Cabernet Sauvignon

Description

Red Wine: 2003 | Far Niente Estate | Cabernet Sauvignon

Forward aromas of cassis, licorice, anise and tobacco, complemented by notes of black currant, are present on the nose. The plush, silky entry provides an opening to flavors of blackberry and black cherry fruit on the palate, with a dense core of chewy tannin.

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Producer: Far Niente Estate

Ratings: WA | 93WE | 94

Vintage: 2003

Size: 750ml

ABV: 14%

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Country/Region: United States, Oakville

Forward aromas of cassis, licorice, anise and tobacco, complemented by notes of black currant, are present on the nose. The plush, silky entry provides an opening to flavors of blackberry and black cherry fruit on the palate, with a dense core of chewy tannin. The fruit darkens on the palate, and notes of toasty oak with an underlying layer of black cherry emerge on the long, sweet finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: This blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc (14% alcohol) offers reserved aromatics as well as an opaque purple color. In the mouth it explodes with notes of creme de cassis, licorice, and subtle hints of oak and cedar. A classic, full-bodied, mid-valley Cabernet Sauvignon, it is richer, fuller and deeper than its shy aromatics suggest. It may only need more time in the cellar, but it is an impressive 2003 that should age for another two decades.

• Wine Enthusiast: In the wine’s youth, the aroma of new oak dominates, with that smoky, minty, spicy-char note. But in the mouth the fruit explodes in intensely ripe black currants and milk chocolate. The tannins are rich and softly complex. A complete Cabernet that is luscious now, but has the balance to develop, if you can keep your hands off it.

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.