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Part 1: Wining.Fruit of the Vine
hen I see them I eel like I’vearrived in my own personalGarden o Eden. Their heightsare almost as inexplicable as their presenceover the unassuming elds they loom. Theyare weird. They are sentinels. They arethe giant, mysterious trees that mark thesouthern entrance into the great Valley oNapa, Caliornia. To me, they symbolisemy own growing appreciation o the richintrospections, gastronomic raptures, sensualcharms and just plain delight that Napa has tooer. They, as my Napa knowledge, grow witheach visit. I hope to never catch up.The oundation o Napa wines iscomprised, to no surprise, o grapes.
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Chardonnay, in the white column, is byvolume the world’s avourite wine. Many o herversions are airly neutral in smell, taste andsoul. Not really much to delve into, or refectupon. A vodka among white wines, unlessdone right. I you choose generic Chard over
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Keith Hoffman, in his two-part Napa Valley series, road-maps through sinewy vines and imbibes during delectable times on a recent tour through Napa’s wonderland.They don’t call it the Golden State for nothing.
all else, it may just be that you love oak. Perhapsyou might want to plant an oak tree and milkits sap over your morning crumpets. But thosemade with care have almost no resemblanceto the ubiquitous, oaked-up masses. As youcan tell, I’m not generally a an. However, Napa,France and other global locales do make somestunning works. In Napa, try Far Niente, whomake a sublime version. Other Napa whitesinclude Sauvignon-Blanc, Semillon and Viognier,and i it’s white you’re ater, you must try RobertSinskey’s Abraxas, and Conundrum WinesConundrum (with a heritage rom CaymusWinery). But here, we’ll ocus on the reds.
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Cabernet is the thick-skinned red heavyweightand undisputed champion o the world. Cab is themain ingredient in both Napa reds and the blendsthat make Bordeaux a global household nameand produces a wine o multi-layered and variedruit, spice and earth favours. Try Far Niente,Malk Family Vineyards, Spottswoode, Mondavi,Franciscan, Stag’s Leap, and Van der Hayden.
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Pinot Noir is the master o elegance. Shecan be an aromatic vixen, complex, inviting,thin-skinned, oten feeting, but alwaysthought-provoking. Incredible to drink, yes, butmake sure to spend more time breathing herin than you would or any other Napa varietal.Watch her perumes change over time. Likea great cigar, Pinot can trigger deep, neededintrospection. Or she can be boring as hell.Choose wisely. Try the Vandal Vineyard Pinotrom Robert Sinskey. So good it actually hurts.Many o the vineyards listed in the Cab sectionalso produce good Pinots.
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Merlot is the red equaliser used as a singlevarietal or a blending buddy that brings asmoothness, roundness, jamminess and a back-stage pass to both Napa and Bordeaux blends.When medically prescribed as a pure varietal,it may sometimes lack the complex, ‘layered’,favours o great Cabs and Pinots. However,Merlots can also be among the most enjoyableand drinkable wines in existence. Examples
 
rom France like Chateau Petrus prove thatMerlot can be king. In Napa try Duckhorn, Vander Hayden, Provenance, and Beaulieu.
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Even bigger than Cab in skin thickness andsmack actor is Syrah. Gorgeous purple todownright black wines can be made rom thisgrape, so it can sometimes compete with Cabor complexity and intrigue. As a result, it needsbig, avourul oods as a pairing as it decimatesu. Try Sequoia Grove and Laird.
Where the Magic happens
From the entrance, the grounds, to the classyfrst human contact, Far Niente states loud andclear that you’ve arrived somewhere special.The confdence isn’t smug; it actually ringso genuine entitlement. They make some othe world’s fnest Cabernets, Chardonnaysand a sweet wine called ‘Dolce’. All three willmagnetise your senses.Far Niente has an astounding 40,000square eet o caves—tangible evidencethat cave-aging is the way to go. Their ‘cavecollections’ o vintage wines are stored here,which is a great service or people wantingto buy older bottles. Plus, you can rest assuredthe wine was stored properly and didn’t suera summer sweating in someone’s lorry.FN Chardonnays involve no malolacticermentation, and the very highest standardsor grape selection are stuck to. And the endresult? The 2006 Estate Chard has the weightto seemingly coat your entire mouth or minutes;so round, ull and unreal when compared to mostChards. The 2004 ‘cave collection’ Chard waseven deeper. These are must-try Chardonnays.Regarding FN Cabernets, the processincludes spending a week ‘on skins’ to extractmore avours, and aging occurs only in Frenchoak barrels, with about 80 percent o thembeing new. The chestnut wraps you will see onthe aging barrels on tour historically were usedas a ‘sentinel’ or wood-boring beetles, but noware just a pleasant decorative touch.With the 2001 vintage, they began usingonly ruit rom their Oakville plots, and they addin small, varying amounts o Petit Verdot. The2005 is magnifcent—a complex, meaninguldrink with about 91 percent Cab, 4 percentPetit Verdot, and 5 percent Cab Franc. At mytasting, the 1998 ‘cave collection’ was broughtout to wow and to teach. It also served as anexample o FN’s previous blending styles,with Cab accounting or just 76 percent o theblend. Most wineries would never showcasea wine rom a ‘tough’ year or the valley, like1998. Incredible wines can be made in ‘o’years, no question, and Niente achieved
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A superb Far Niente varietal is a must-taste.
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Inner light. A magnifcent-lookingcellar stocked ull o Far Niente treats.
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