Revisiting past vintages in our Cave Collection program is always a pleasure. I recently opened a bottle of the 1999 Far Niente Cave Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting a beautiful, 14-year-old wine from our vineyards in Oakville—the same vineyards that I get work with now—reminded me of how special and consistent this place really is.

The growing season in 1999 started out with a cool spring that developed into a moderate summer. Harvest was relatively late but the extra hang time allowed the grapes to fully ripen. This vintage of Far Niente is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.

Aromatically, this wine is extremely expressive: it has a great bottle bouquet with dark cherry, sweet tobacco and an almost earthy minerality. It continues to open in the glass with more and more layers. Upon entry, the wine moves across the palate with a silky texture and juicy cherry and earth flavors. The structured acid and fine-grained tannins add length and elegance to the finish and entice you to have just one more sip.

If you’re lucky enough to have this vintage in your cellar, this is an excellent time to open it up! And if you need to replenish your cellar, we have released an allocation this year.

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It's Chardonnay season, and Chef Trevor has shared this beautiful recipe with us, sure to tempt (and inspire) your tastebuds. Pair with 2011 Far Niente Napa Valley Chardonnay and get ready for summer!

Butter Broiled Lobster Tail

Avocado Risotto, Cherry Tomato Confit

Click here for a printable version.

Ingredients:

Lobster Tail:

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon tarragon, chopped

Salt, to taste

1 lobster tail, about one pound

Avocado Purée:

2 ripe avocados

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt, to taste

White pepper, to taste

Cherry Tomatoes Confit:

3 cups vegetable oil

1 small basket mixed cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

Salt, to taste

White pepper, to taste

Avocado Risotto:

5 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup Arborio rice

1 large shallot, diced

½ cup white wine

½ cup manchego cheese, grated

¾ cup avocado purée

1 bunch chives, chopped

Salt, to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

Lobster Tail:

Melt butter then add lemon juice, parsley, and tarragon. Set aside in a warm place so the butter stays melted.

Bring six cups of water to a boil in a two-quart sauce pot. Add the lobster tail, turn off the heat, and cover with a heavy lid. Allow the lobster to steep for ten minutes. While the lobster steeps, prepare an ice bath. When the lobster has finished steeping, place it in the ice bath for four minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut the tail in half lengthwise. Place the two halves of the tail, meat side up, on a cookie sheet and brush liberally with the herb butter. Place under a hot broiler for three minutes, then remove and set aside.

Avocado Purée:

Remove the skins and the pits from the avocados. Place the flesh of the avocados, the lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon salt in a food processor with blade attachment. Allow the machine to run for several minutes until the avocado is smooth and has no lumps. Stir in white pepper, to taste. Place in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent oxidation.

Tomato Confit:

In a medium sauce pan, add three cups of vegetable oil. Warm the oil to 350˚F. Set up an ice bath, and keep to the side. Add the cherry tomatoes to the hot oil carefully, and fry for 30 seconds or until the skins begin to peel. Quickly remove the tomatoes from the oil and place in the ice bath for about two minutes. Remove from the cold water and peel away the skins. Place in small bowl and add olive oil and sherry vinegar. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Set aside.

Avocado Risotto:

Bring vegetable stock to a simmer, and have a six-ounce ladle nearby. In a medium sauce pot on medium high-heat, add the olive oil, and then add the rice. Turn the heat down and lightly toast the rice grains. Add the diced shallot, sweat for 30 seconds, then add ½ cup white wine. Let wine cook out, stirring constantly. Continue stirring, and add 12 ounces (two ladles full) vegetable stock, allow to reduce by half. Repeat this process with 12 ounces of stock at a time for about 15 minutes or until the rice is al dente, “to the tooth”, which is a slight resistance when bitten into. Then stir in the manchego, and add the avocado purée, chopped chives, salt and pepper to taste. It may need a squeeze of lemon as well.

Lay out two bowls and spoon the avocado risotto in equal portions. Top with six to eight confit cherry tomatoes and the broiled lobster tail. Enjoy with a glass of Far Niente Chardonnay. Bon appétit!

Serves 2

Click here for a printable version.

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For those of you who witnessed this episode’s drama, I like to think of your enjoyment as an inherent part of our mission. Thank you for your participation, which brings the garden experience full circle.

Flowering began in early February with the giant camellia trees leading the way, followed by our signature azalea beds and on to the towering rhododendrons. We are now moving into the growth phase and keeping up is quite a challenge—feeding, pruning, sculpting, manicuring, and taming the wildness of this ancient Oakville knoll we call home. Working in unison with our partner, Mother Nature, we each have a hand in the balance of creation—growing together to perform on yet another season’s magical stage. 

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We’ve finally begun bottling the 2010 Dolce!  After nearly two-and-a-half years of barrel aging (about 922 days, but who’s counting?) this vintage of Dolce is ready for the bottle.

It’s been a long journey, but it’s not over yet.  This wine was harvested over several vineyard passes in the first two weeks of November – three years ago, that is.  We pressed to all hours of the night, clarifying the juice after cold settling over several days in tank. After a little blending – to create unique batches of juice with a sugar concentration in the 34-35°Brix range – we sent fifteen batches of wine to barrel for fermentation.  Primary fermentation lasted from three weeks (super-active yeasts) to six months (slow-fermenting yeasts).

Shortly after fermentation these batches were pale in color, almost straw-like, and had aromas of pineapple.  After the first year of aging in 100% French oak, the pineapple aromas disappeared and were replaced with notes of apricot and orange rind.  The subtle oxidation that occurs with oak aging allowed for this transformation of flavor, aroma and color – from pale to richly golden.

I’m not accustomed to making quick decisions with regard to Dolce winemaking:  I tasted every batch, every month, and made dozens of trial blends to finally arrive at the right combination of lots for this vintage.  I waited just before bottling to empty the barrels and created the blend from the best possible combination of the individual batches.  It’s very subjective, but my primary goal is to the find the blend that coats the palate with a lively, oily texture that persists well into the finish … and I found it for this vintage!

After bottling, the wine will rest in a temperature controlled environment for two years before we release it for sale.  By then it will be ready for consumption – but rest assured it could be aged for another twenty years to promote the development of its perfume and bottle bouquet, or rather, its unique personality amongst the vertical lineup of other great Dolce vintages.  Cheers!

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Party like it’s 1999? Well, the 1999 vintage of Napa Valley Cabernet was actually one of several from the decade that was crowned the “vintage of the century.” Growing seasons, harvests, farming techniques and winemaking practices conspired to produce a bevy of great wines, and the 1999 was, indeed, a wine to celebrate. 

It would be hard nowadays to acquire a bottle of 1999 Napa Cab unless you have a friend with a great cellar, you’re on the auction circuit or you’re a fan of our Cave Collection. The 1999 Far Niente Cave Collection Cabernet Sauvignon is one of several vintages we make available annually from our library. It’s a great way to acquire beautifully aged wines to replenish your cellar, or to revisit an old favorite. 

Keep an eye on our blog for an upcoming post from our winemaker about the 1999 Cave Collection Cab.

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We had fun looking back on the vintage and discussing what challenges that it presented to winemakers. 1998 remained cool through the first half of the year and then dramatically shifted to hot weather. What did this mean for winemaking? This meant stringent selection of clusters in the vineyard, careful sorting in the winery and blending only the best lots together. The result is a carefully crafted blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with 8% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot.

As the wine opened with our meal it offered aromas of dried blueberries, perfume, anise, nutmeg and light tobacco leaf. The silky-smooth entry developed into flavors of dried fruit with a long and lingering finish—a perfect complement to a delightful dinner with friends!

We have released an allocation of 1998 Far Niente Cave Collection Cabernet for your enjoyment. If you would like to replenish your cellar, you may do so online or call us at (707) 944-2861.

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If you’ve been reading our posts about the Far Niente Cave Collection–our library of Napa Cabernet–you’ll notice that we’ve skipped a vintage. Our last post was about the 1996, and this month we’re writing about the 1998. This speaks perfectly to the nature of the Cave Collection. Although we release a small allocation of vintages from the Cave every January, certain vintages regularly sell out before the next Cave release, and some sell out altogether. The 1997 vintage is of the latter. Not to worry, though, as the 1998 is a beautiful, aged Cabernet still available for you to enjoy.

We are blessed in this valley to experience fairly consistent growing conditions from one year to the next, which are particularly suitable to wine grapes. Some years, though, are more challenging than others, and as often happens, the vintage’s reputation across the valley seems to be made on the weather more than on the quality and potential of the wine. The 1998 growing season experienced a long, cool spring, followed by an almost immediate turn into hot, summer temperatures. While the vines had less time to develop than usual, the weather came into balance and the grapes benefitted from the warmth of the season, coming to full ripeness before harvest. Fifteen years later, collectors who have 1998 Napa Cabs in their cellars know that the vintage has produced a gorgeous wine. 

Keep an eye on this blog to hear Winemaker Nicole Marchesi’s impressions of the 1998 Far Niente Cave Collection Cabernet Sauvignon.

To replenish your cellar, you may order online or give us a call at (707) 944-2861.

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In the next few weeks, we will continue with our 2012 Napa Chardonnay, stirring and topping while at the same time preparing to bottle the 2010 Dolce. I’m also starting my next round of blending trials with the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon in anticipation of racking directly after the Dolce bottling.

And you thought winemakers had nothing to do after harvest!

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The wines were fabulous! The 2001 vintage is rich with apricot flavors and honeyed, silky texture. And the expression proved true: the smaller bottles showed more of a perfume of stone fruits yet the magnum retained an earthy and mineral quality that was notably stronger.

Why? If I can put on my propeller-hat and make a scientific observation, I would suggest that the effects of oxidation were less noticeable in the larger bottle because subtle aroma notes were reductive in nature. I venture it’s all driven by oxygen ingress at bottling or over the lifetime in the bottle thereafter. It’s with some certainty that I feel the greatest oxygen insult to wine occurs on the bottling line – not afterward, but that’s the subject of a book, not blog.

I have two hunches: (1) each bottle, no matter the size, receives the same exposure to oxygen during the bottling process. And, (2) given that the 375ml, 750ml and magnum bottles all have roughly the same geometry in the neck and with the cork, it’s reasonable to assume that the factors which influence oxygen ingress over time are about the same for all three bottle sizes. (Hunch #2 can be forgotten if there are significant temperature fluctuations during storage … but that’s another story, too.)

The concept we should all remember is that the 750ml has twice as much volume as the 375ml, and that for the magnum is four-fold greater than the 375ml. If the same amount of oxygen is introduced to the bottle early in its lifetime, then it’s simply the increasing volumes which dilute the effects of oxygen over time. Simply put, I would expect the 750ml to age twice as slowly as the 375ml, and the magnum four times as slowly. Of course, I assume that the storage conditions are ideal and the differences from cork to cork are small.

Enough. The wines were lovely, and I was pleased to see that the 2001 is still youthful in its fruit expression. I am confident that it will continue to age gracefully for years to come.

The Dolce display at Far Niente shows wines in a variety of bottle sizes (375ml – 3L) and in a variety of vintages. As Dolce ages, the color turns from honey to a rich amber.

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Not to be left out of the dance are the many mature flowering trees: pink and white dogwoods, Chinese perfume (fringe) trees and tulip trees, with deep purple-pinks and whites. Maples awash in deep crimsons, burgundies, blood red and velvety greens make their presence known. Even the mighty, live oaks along with the valley oaks get into the act with their long tendrils of flowers welcoming the rush of spring.

All in all, we are enjoying a feast for the senses here at our winery estate gardens—the perfect backdrop for savoring our Napa Cabernet and Chardonnay. 

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