Magnum Opus
What happens when a popular wine gets too popular?
In 1999, American chardonnay had reached its zenith. "ABC" clubs (Anything But Chardonnay) began to emerge, and the backlash against this beautifully complex white wine had begun. "The ABCs have a point," wrote wine columnist Barbara Ensrud. "...Rich, luscious, buttery chardonnays are dramatic but often so pronounced in oakiness that they are hard to match with food--and more often than not so high in alcohol (14 or 14.5 percent), they are tiring to drink." Clearly, the grape was losing favor, and flavor, until a select few vintners--Chateau Montelena, Far Niente, Freemark Abby, Grgich Hills, Chateau St. Jean's Robert Young Vineyard, Iron Horse, Robert Mondavi Carneros, and Trefethen--received praise for their exquisite chardonnays. Far Niente's offering, in particular, got the most attention.
Aging Tastefully
When Ensrud visited Far Niente that year and reviewed its chardonnay in the Wall Street Journal, she wrote: "Far Niente chardonnays age extraordinarily well. That day we had the 1995--its fig, pear and vanilla flavors [were] perfectly melded and delicious--and the impressive 1987 from magnum. The '87 took awhile to open up, but with air it bloomed steadily, revealing layers of smoky, toasted vanilla flavors. "Most remarkable, however, was the winery's first chardonnay from 1979. At 21 years of age it still possessed vestiges of honeyed fruit in a silken cloak of butterscotch." Remember being 21 and still in possession of such lithesome qualities? Today Far Niente (originally founded as a gravity-flow winery in 1885) continues to focus on only two varieties, chardonnay and its equally complex red cousin, cabernet sauvignon--flying in the face of more profitable (read: mediocre) mass-production philosophies. That, along with a proven money-where-their-mouth-is tradition of producing wines of "quality without compromise," continues to earn accolades for Far Niente (Italian for "without a care") from elite collectors and everyday oenophiles who care about taste, not trendiness. Sip, sip, hooray.
