Far Niente : Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

Characteristics and tasting tips for the Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

Tasting

Colour
This wine displays a deep, dark colour.

Nose
The bouquet opens with vibrant aromas of blackcurrant, black cherry and dark plum. It then reveals great complexity through notes of dried flowers, graphite and herbs, along with subtle hints of caramel and toasted oak.

Palate
Broad and enveloping, the palate offers a generous texture supported by fine yet firm tannins and juicy acidity. Flavours of blackberry and spiced cherry unfold, leading to a long, mouthwatering finish full of tension, marked by nuances of cocoa, liquorice and menthol.

Food and wine pairing

This red wine pairs beautifully with roasted or braised red meats. It will particularly enhance refined dishes such as mini beef Wellingtons or slow-cooked pulled beef short ribs.

Serving and ageing

Approachable in its youth for lovers of tension, this 2023 vintage has an excellent structure that will allow it to evolve magnificently in the cellar. It can be enjoyed now or cellared until around 2043.

The elegance and depth of a Napa Valley red wine

The estate

Founded in 1880 by John Benson in Oakville, California, the Far Niente estate is renowned for its historic gravity-flow stone winery. Abandoned during Prohibition, the property underwent a spectacular revival in 1979 thanks to Gil Nickel. Today, the group is led by Shawn Conway and owned by private partners, including the founding family, GI Partners and Apax Partners. A pioneer in sustainability, with the world's first floating solar array, the house combines a rich heritage with ethical viticulture to produce wines of great elegance.

The vineyard

The grapes come from a mosaic of plots spread across Napa Valley. The estate farms more than five hundred acres of vines using a sustainable, environmentally friendly approach, certified Napa Green. Viticulture excludes conventional herbicides and pesticides in favour of biological control, cover crops and rigorous water management, thereby promoting biodiversity and soil health.

The vintage

Regarded by critics as a classic year for the region, this vintage produced berries combining fine ripeness with great freshness, without excessive heat, resulting in concentrated and perfectly balanced fruit.

Vinification and ageing

Winemaking draws on the estate's historic facilities. The grapes pass through a gravity-flow winery, which limits mechanical handling for gentle extraction, before ageing in vast underground caves carved directly into the rock, offering ideal temperature and humidity conditions.

Grape varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.