What's the deal with Far Niente?

WINE TALK
1

Had one last night at dinner. Thought it was excellent. I don’t see much on here about them. Thoughts?

2

Very interesting question!

For me, they occupy a smaller place in my consciousness because when they first entered the market, they were priced above my budget and have always lived at the edge of what my idea of wine value was…so I never explored their wines adequately.

3

I think the perception is that they sell their wine to prosperous tourists who enjoyed visiting their impressive facilities, and its sold like a souvenir of a great trip.

In 20 years of hanging out with wine geeks, maybe one time have I seen a bottle of theirs show up at a tasting, and I think even that, was contributed in irony.

4

Good wine, but there’s a lot of other reeeeaaalllly good wines at that price point.

5

When Far Niente wines were first released in the early 80s, they were priced at the high end of the market and the packaging was much more elaborate than others in the market. The embossed, gold printed labels and wood boxes gave one the impression they were paying for the package and not what was in it. It was also one of the first “lifestyle” wineries, where the Ferrari collection and big time events seemed to overshadow the wines. I bought their wine occasionally in those days, and it was fine, but it soon fell off my radar screen.

6

The cab typically needs 10 years or so to really shine and they do. I know a collector with an extensive collection and he lets them sit for a number of years before opening. This guy had a party about five years ago where he was opening anything in his cellar that night and he opened a cab from the late 1990’s that was awfully good and not overshadowed by anything else.

The Chardonnay can be very nice but I haven’t had the Dolce in years. Overall, their price points have always been aggressive and maybe why people have found substitute wines to buy.

7

Far Niente uses the fruit of the Martin Stelling Vineyard (the home vineyard). I have found the Cabernet Sauvignon Far Niente to be fairly easy drinking, kind of in the vein of the early 2000’s Joseph Phelps Insignia or Opus One.

Its subsidiary Nickel and Nickel bottles a straight Cab Sauv from this site as well, but the flavors are firmer, perhaps more oak-driven. The difference is not tremendous, save for the need to decant or let N&N reds breathe a little more before drinking, IMHO.

Also, there is a new, Napa multi-vineyard amalgam from the winery - Bella Union - but I don’t know anything about it.

8

Just paid a visit to Far Niente with some friends from Georgia (I’m a California native, but I’d never been to Far Niente previously) The winery was on our itinerary solely because we’d heard the property was beautiful (it is.)

I knew the wine was quite expensive and assumed it was probably not a great value, so I didn’t arrive with the intention of buying any. We reserved a tour and tasting for six people ($45/person.) I was the designated driver for the day so I aggressively used the spit bucket–but I could tell the wine was very good. In any case, our guests loved all the wines and insisted on buying us a few bottles as a thank you for hosting them in wine country.

Back home, away from the winery grounds, I opened 2014 chard and 2012 Cave Collection cabernet. The chard (at $67/btl) reminded me of a Pahlmeyer chard at roughly the same price. Very good, but not necessarily distinctive.

I absolutely should have waited to open the Cave Collection cab, but I was thirsty and felt I deserved to “burn” a bottle since I didn’t get to drink any during our tour day. I must admit I found it to be extremely satisfying, if a bit young. Reminded me of the high end Groths I used to like in the '90s, but with more grip. At $170, I would not call it a great value–but hey, the prices of big California cabs are through the roof anyway, so I don’t know that this price was any more out of line than, say, Joseph Phelps, Groth, or Stag’s Leap (the last of which, frankly, always disappoints me when friends insist we go there.)

Bottom line: As a tourist stop, I think Far Niente is certainly worth the $45 tasting and tour. Absolutely beautiful, and you will taste a very good representation of high-end California chardonnay and cabernet. As an overall wine value, well…If you are into paying nearly $200/btl for your California cabs, it’s certainly as good or better as some of the other names in this same category.

9

Coincidentally, just this week I saw a 2013 Far Niente Oakville Cab in the discount bin at the local Harris Teeter, which for the most part has a completely terrible selection even by grocery store standards. It was $115, so not even close to of interest to me, but at the time I thought, “what’s the deal with far niente?”

10

Based on my experience last night, it’s worth $115. $120 would be too much. [snort.gif]

11

Auction prices may be more attractive

12

Somehow I don’t have the energy to comment… [scratch.gif] [shrug.gif] newhere

13

In my opinion, Textbook Napa Cabernet Sauvignon provides much the same experience for <$25/bottle. Maybe a tad more caramel-oak, but still…

14

When we first opened our store, we carried Far Niente and the Nickel & Nickel wines. The wines were very good but required hours in a decanter or 10 more years in the bottle. They moved very slowly and were purchased mostly by people familiar with the wine and who were buying it to cellar for later consumption. There are some Cabs in or near the price of FN that may not hold up for ten years or pale in comparison to a FN of the same vintage.

15

I will have to agree that they are priced at the higher end of the spectrum. They have great name recognition for a special bottle for big cab drinkers. I have found some older examples 10-15 years less expensive then current release and they have performed very well.

16

Haven’t had one in years. Used to be the poster child for over-oaked wines.

17

If I remember correctly, Parker once described their marketing as “why pay less?”

18

I’ve had some of their older Cab’s from the 80’s and I have not been impressed. Mostly way past their best, unlike many other Napa cab’s at 1/2 the retail price point.

Nickle & Nickle is a better value at about 1/2 the price and IMO better wines overall.

19

If I remember correctly, Parker once described their marketing as “why pay less?”

Great line.

Too bad he doesn’t put out more like that.

20

I’ll have to try this.
My experience with FN, was “whoa” from the first sip. I don’t get that in a lot of wines.