Far Niente Chardonnay 2007
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Robert
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Far Niente blends wines from its various estate Chardonnay vineyards to create its distinctive style. When young, these wines offer fresh fruit and a marvelous finish; with time, they slowly reveal the wine's complex nature through added texture, richness, weight, and depth. Far Niente Chardonnay has earned its reputation as one of the great white wines worthy of aging.
The resulting Far Niente Chardonnays are classically structured wines that are lush and round on the palate, while displaying the typical intensity of fruit and spicy oak aromas that have become synonymous with our "house style." While the finish is long and clean, the flavors become increasingly full and complex with time. Our experience is that these wines improve in the bottle for at least five years, although they can grow in complexity and depth for possibly ten years or more.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Pure, clean, rich and layered green apple, pear, spice and nutmeg give this a tight focus. Full-bodied, intense yet supple, with a long, fruity finish. Drink now through 2012.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Far Niente’s beautiful 2007 Chardonnay Estate offers up copious aromas of lemon blossoms, poached pears, and brioche, crisp acidity, a hint of tropical fruits, a greenish-light gold color, and medium to full-bodied, elegant, pure flavors. It should drink well for 3-4 years.
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One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.