Chardonnay Far Niente

Far Niente Winery is located in Oakville, an area famous for Napa Valley Cabernet, and home to our estate Martin Stelling Vineyard from which we’ve been producing our Cabernets since 1982. The abundant 2012 vintage is approachable, even in its youth, with bold, ripe, fruit and mouth-filling tannins typical of the Far Niente house style. After several cool and challenging growing seasons, the weather in 2012 was nearly perfect. March brought heavy spring rains, sustaining the vines through the season. Temperatures were ideal for budbreak, flowering and fruit set, and the summer months brought warm days and cool nights without extreme weather events. These conditions allowed the vines to establish a large, but balanced crop, which steadily ripened until our Cabernet harvest began in early October. Mother Nature held back on her fall rains, enabling us to bring in each block at optimal ripeness before the end of the month. The 2012 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon opens with aromas of mixed berry fruit, boysenberry, chocolate covered cherries, layered with hints of graphite and toasted oak. On the palate, a smooth entry is followed by intense, ripe berry notes. This wine is focused and silky through the midpalate, building to a finish with broad tannins and notes of cedar and toasted oak.