Far Niente - Estate Chardonnay 2022

This historic Oakville property's rebirth began in 1979 when it was purchased by Gil Nickel. A scion of the Oklahoma family behind Greenleaf Nursery, Gil died in 2003, but the family continues to own and operate not only Far Niente but also Nickel & Nickel, Dolce, En Route, Bella Union and Post & Beam.

The Far Niente property is worth a visit for its spectacular gardens, Gil's collection of classic sports cars, striking cellars and the wines. The winery focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, offering a couple of tiers of each varietal. Chardonnay comes predominantly from the family's estate vineyards in Coombsville, but it will be augmented by a newly acquired Carneros vineyard. According to winemaker Nicole Marchesi, she's pared back the proportion of new oak in recent years, although, at 50%, it remains an important aspect of Far Niente's signature style.

Far Niente's Napa Valley Cabernet is rooted in Oakville but blends in components from Oak Knoll, Calistoga, St. Helena, Diamond Mountain and Stags Leap, while the Oakville Estate Cabernet is almost all from the Stelling Vineyard, next to the winery. Well-situated in western Oakville, with such illustrious neighbors as Martha's Vineyard and Harlan Estate, the vineyard is undergoing redevelopment with the advice of Thomas Rivers Brown. Row orientation will be changed and canopies redesigned to provide more dappled light.

In the winery, Marchesi gives the grapes a lengthy cold soak (about six days), then works the must hot and hard early in the fermentation before pressing after only about 15 days on skins, although this varies from lot to lot. Some tanks will go to barrel sweet and finish their fermentation there. Barrel aging in French oak varies from 16–20 months, with plenty of new wood (from two-thirds for the Napa Valley Cab to 70% for the Estate) and two intermediate rackings, plus a third prior to bottling.

Given the winery's decent volumes and excellent distribution, these are Napa Valley wines that readers can rely on finding in the market. More importantly, they're consistently excellent, and so they provide a valuable introduction to high-end Napa wines for many consumers.