Learys Liquor Cabinet
- Nov 12, 2022
- 3 min read

🍷 Four decades of mastery - Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon

This week, Armando takes us North on California Route 29. Travel with us 75 miles north of San Francisco to Acacia Drive. The long roots of the trees lining either side of the road have stories to tell.

Acacia trees have durable roots that prevent erosion and withstand extreme droughts. Reliable and sturdy, Acacia was first used in making incense, symbolizing resurrection and immortality. A tree with a rich history, just like the winery perched graciously behind the trees since 1885 - Far Niente Winery.

2019 Far Niente Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Bottle 💲124.99

Case💲109.99

Estate History

Far Niente is consistently recognized as a benchmark producer of Napa Valley Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Ours is an unparalleled level of time-honored winemaking traditions. Far Niente Winery sits nobly atop a crest in the heart of Oakville, Napa Valley.

From beautifully cultivated gardens that reflect a distinctive southern style, to sprawling vineyards, to historic wine caves, you can explore the full splendor of the idyllic Far Niente Winery while enjoying a seated private tasting of our world-renowned Napa Valley wines.

There’s not one aspect of Far Niente that isn’t touched by our passion and precision. From the moment we open our gates to your first sip of our wines, you are transported to a place and experience unrivaled in excellence.

Tasting Notes

Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon embodies our passion and commitment to making the very best wine possible. The result is classically structured Cabernets that are rich in texture, layered in flavor, complex, and long. Our Cabernets display the typical cassis and blackberry notes along with spicy oak aromas that have become synonymous with the Far Niente house style.

It’s a classic Napa Valley Cabernet, marrying fruit from Calistoga, Oak Knoll, Diamond Mountain, Stags Leap, St. Helena, and Yountville with our estate-grown fruit from Martin Stelling Vineyard. It’s ideal for having a few extra bottles on hand for when the occasion arises!

Vineyard Notes

The wine combines select vineyards in Rutherford, Calistoga, and St. Helena that complement our home in Oakville and embody our long-established house style. Cabernet has been a hallmark of Far Niente’s winemaking program beginning with its very first vintage in 1982. The marriage of these diverse vineyard sites has allowed us to craft our finest expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine exemplifies our nearly four decades of mastery in growing and making Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Winemaker Notes

An elegant perfume of mixed berries, baking spice, dried lavender, and thyme opens onto a full palate layered with expansive mixed berries, black tea, toasted oak, and spice flavors. Focused and fresh, fine-grained tannins support the wine throughout, while the finish is silky, long, and lifted. Blend: 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc

Critical Acclaim

Wine Enthusiast

96 Points

With a slight nose of reduction, this wine offers grippy tannin and sizable oak. Blueberry, currant, cedar, and sage give it an elegance and classic structure of understated power, finishing with notes of tobacco and clove.

James Suckling

95 Points

Aromas of dark plums, black olives, bark, dried herbs, and cloves. Medium to full-bodied with powdery tannins. Rich and creamy with chocolate and black fruit on the palate. Chewy finish with excellent length. Fresh.

Wilfred Wong of Wine.com

94 Points

The 2019 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon is a class act showcasing Napa Valley at its best. This wine expresses aromas and flavors of black fruit, fragrant spices, licorice, and a suggestion of oak.

Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points

Deep ruby-hued, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon has a textbook Cabernet nose of ripe red and black fruits, leafy herbs, tobacco, spicy oak, and loamy earth. Nicely textured on the palate, it shows the supple elegance of the 2019 vintage, has ripe tannins, medium to full body, and outstanding length. It's a beautifully balanced, classic 2019 to drink any time over the coming 15 to 20 years. The blend is 94% Cabernet, 4% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, aged 17 months in 65% new French oak.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

92 Points

Far Niente's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is based on Oakville fruit (about 40% to 50% of the blend), with smaller contributions from Oak Knoll, Calistoga, St. Helena, Diamond Mountain, and Stags Leap. The result offers a charming blend of cherries and cassis, with hints of sage, mint, and dried spices. A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, and smaller amounts of Malbec and Petit Verdot, all aged 16 to 17 months in French oak (two-thirds new), it's medium to full-bodied, with a slightly chunky, corpulent feel on the palate and a long, softly dusty finish.

Wine Spectator

91 Points

This leads off with singed vanilla, followed quickly by warmed cassis and plum reduction flavors. The toasty finish lets a tobacco streak in amid the fruit. Drink now through 2030. 23,300 cases made.