Far Niente is a delightful Napa Valley winery from the 1800’s that was dormant until its rediscovery in the mid-1980’s by the Nickel family. The Nickels have turned Far Niente into a producer of delicious white, red, and dessert wines. While in Napa recently on trade business, I visited Far Niente and had some of their delicious wines. I’m not normally a fan of chardonnay, but
Far Niente 2005 Chardonnay is good enough that even I enjoyed it.
Composition
Far Niente 2005 Chardonnay is comprised of various grapes from the Napa region, with most of them coming from Coombsville. Coombsville is nestled in the hills to the east of Napa, and offers a cool, not too windy environment. The 2005 growing season started out with warm weather, then turned cooler, thus slowing down the growth of the grapes and extending the harvest time until September and October. Nonetheless, the grapes were still pretty good quality.
Aging
After fermentation, the juice that was to become
Far Niente 2005 Chardonnay was aged in French oak barrels for nine months. Sixty-eight percent of the barrels were new, and the remaining 32 percent had been used once previously. This is a cost savings measure which also affects taste. French oak barrels are the most expensive, and since chardonnay is a white wine, I can understand why they used almost a third previously used barrels, which produce milder oak flavors.
Color, Smell, & Taste
This clear wine is the color of straw. It smells like ripe melon and figs, with a complexity of slight spice, stone and dirt (er, earth), and has a pleasant nuttiness (hazelnut and almond, to be exact). It is not extremely oak-like, perhaps to the only nine month aging time and the use of some previously used barrels. It tastes smooth, a bit tropical fruit-like, and is not tart like so many other chardonnays. There is a small taste of minerals, and a long finish wherein you find a slight bit of toastiness. It is a delicious, refreshing wine.
Buying Info
A bottle of
Far Niente 2005 Chardonnay retails for approximately $50, and you can buy it online if you live in one of the states which allow interstate wine purchase and shipment. At $50 a pop, it is a relatively expensive wine, but the fact that a non-Chardonnay drinker such as me enjoyed it says a lot.
Related Reviews
Red Wines:
Bernardus 2002 Marinus Red Wine Blend
Quintessa 2003 Red Wine Blend
Echelon 2006 Pinot Noir
White Wine:
Honig 2006 Sauvignon Blanc
California Wine Country Hotels:
The River Terrace Inn – Napa, CA
Bernardus Lodge – Carmel Valley, CA
Wine Express
