2018 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

• Benchmark 95WE Napa Cabernet
• Critically Acclaimed Estate
• 94 Point Vintage, Wine Enthusiast
• Organic Farming Practices
• Free Shipping on 12 or More Bottles

About the Wine

The name Far Niente is synonymous with flagship Napa Cabernet. They are one of the few pre-prohibition estates that have stood the test of time and continuously delivered upper echelon Cabernet from one of the world's most premier regions. Ober the years Far Niente has had some highs and lows, they were forced to close their doors at the onset of prohibition but returned to their former glory with the help of visionary, Gil Nickel. To this day, Far Niente is consistently recognized as a benchmark producer of Napa Valley Chardonnay and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It's time to discover what makes Napa one of the best regions for wine production in the entire world!

The Far Niente Winery was established in 1885 by John Benson, a forty-niner of the California gold rush and uncle of the famous American impressionist painter, Winslow Homer. Artistry clearly ran in the family because Benson hired Hamden McIntyre, creator of the former Christian Brothers Winery—now the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone—to design the building. The building itself is a piece of art designed to both astound the eye, and the palate, since it functioned as a gravity flow winery, gently moving the grapes through each stage of production.

The wine combines select vineyards in Rutherford, Calistoga, and St. Helena that complement Far Niente's home in Oakville and embody their long-established house style. Cabernet has been a hallmark of Far Niente’s winemaking program beginning with its very first vintage in 1982. The marriage of these diverse vineyard sites has allows the finest expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine exemplifies our nearly four decades of mastery in growing and making Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The turbulent growing seasons for upcoming Napa vintages, 2019 and 2020 have produced more questions than answers. The quality of these wines will be heavily scrutinized and reviewed under every critic's microscope. The time is ripe to stock up on quality vintages like 2015, 2016, and 2018. The opportunities to capture wines from previous years are limited. 

Aging: 17 months in 65% new French Oak. 

Tasting Notes

 Red Wine. 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.8% Petit Verdot, 2.3% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Merlot, and 0.1% Malbec. 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. Focused and fresh, fine-grained tannins support the wine throughout, while the finish is silky, long, and lifted.

Critical Reviews 

This memorable Cabernet Sauvignon has small amounts of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec blended in. Aged 17 months in a majority of new French oak, it unfurls flavors of red fruit, dried herb, and clove over a core of youthful tannin and spicy oak. ~95 Wine Enthusiast

Composed of 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.8% Petit Verdot, 2.3% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Merlot, and 0.1% Malbec, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley was aged for 17 months in French oak, 65% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it rolls effortlessly out of the glass with notes of stewed plums, warm cassis, and black raspberries with touches of pencil shavings, dried Provence herbs, and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a real skip in its step, featuring bright, crunchy black and red fruits and a soft texture, finishing lively. ~94 Robert Parker

***Free Shipping on 12 or More Bottles of this Wine***