2014 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

$140

Napa, CA

You may have seen an Instagram post of mine recently that detailed some freezing that occurred in my wine fridge. You may have also received a frantic text from me about such freezing. Lastly, you may have seen me crying in a corner in the fetal position due to such freezing. Well that freezing resulted in the rare opportunity to crack some bottles open ahead of their time. This Far Niente was one of them.

A little background…We came home on a Sunday after having been gone for the weekend to find the wine fridge at a frosty 32 degrees. The temperature was set to 57 yet the true temperature was actually 32! Apparently, according to the manufacturer, one should unplug their wine fridge periodically to defrost it. They recommend a period of 24-48 hours. Lesson learned. If you ever find yourself in a situation where your wine has frozen do not fret. It is perfectly fine to slowly defrost and let acclimate back to normal cellar temperature. However, if the wine has seeped out or pushed the cork out and been exposed to oxygen then the clock is ticking. The wine hasn’t gone bad, but you should drink that thing soon. 6 of my bottles had corks that had been pushed out. Wine had poured all over my fridge yet I was able to salvage most of the 6 and decided to drink them one by one.

The Far Niente, once slowly warmed to 65 or so degrees, was amazing. No discernible damage. Beautiful, big fruit that this wine is known for along with silky smooth tannins that were totally unexpected. I did run it through an Aervana which most likely mellowed it a bit. This wine is a splurge wine. One to lay down for years(unless it freezes…see above if you missed it) and open for a special occasion. However, if you must drink it now don’t worry. It’s killer in its youth.

Drink up ’cause you don’t know what tomorrow holds. And you definitely don’t know when your wine fridge is going to freeze your supply. Thankfully it wasn’t heat!

Finally, get back out to Napa and Sonoma. Stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and buy some wine!