Deep ruby color; plum, cherry, redcurrant, blackberry, spice on the nose; plum, black cherry, redcurrant, blackberry, oak, vanilla on the palate.
Dry; mild, supple tannins and acidity—softer, simpler wine than I anticipated. Lush and accessible without decanting. Ripe, pure fruits—which Post & Beam asserts is its goal. Medium body. Medium length on the finish. This is alternative to the bigger, heavier cabs that tend to dominate Napa offerings. 14.5% ABV
Napa royalty Far Niente launched Post & Beam as a second label in 2000. The name reflects the simple but elegant barns found throughout America. According to the winery, “Post & Beam wines represent craftsmanship, tradition, legacy and purity in winemaking. The winery is the latest addition to the Far Niente Family of Wineries and Vineyards, joining Far Niente, Dolce, Nickel & Nickel, EnRoute, and Bella Union.”
John Benson founded Far Niente (Italian for “without a care”) in 1885. Benson was the uncle of famed impressionist painter Winslow Homer. Noted architect Hamden McIntyre designed the winery building. Constructed against a hillside, Far Niente is a gravity-flow operation, no need for pumping of juice.
Far Niente operated as a winery until Prohibition in 1919. Abandoned, it fell into disrepair until Gil Nickel purchased the winery and vineyards in 1979, beginning a three-year effort at restoration and rehabilitation. Wine production resumed in 1982. The winery focuses only on cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. In 1998, a bottle of Far Niente Sweet Muscat 1886 was discovered in a private cellar. The bottle retains its original label and capsule and is believed to be the oldest intact bottle of California wine in existence.
Built on a hillside, wine caves were intended to be part of the original winery. They did not materialize until the restoration in 1980 when Alf Burtleson dug a 60-foot wine cave, the first to be constructed in North America since the turn of the 20th century. The caves were expanded over the years and today encompass some 40,000 square feet and house more than 2,500 French oak barrels.
Thirteen acres of beautifully landscaped gardens surround the winery. The gardens include thousands of southern azaleas that bloom each spring. Likely the largest single planting of azaleas on the West Coast, they can be seen from a mile away on Highway 29. The gardens were a natural for Gil Nickel, who with his brother, John, ran the family’s Greenleaf Nursery in Oklahoma, which today is the second-largest privately held commercial nursery in the U.S.
The winery has practiced sustainable agriculture for many years. The website notes the winery strives “to be ecologically friendly in all aspects of operations at our wineries. In 2008, Far Niente went solar in a revolutionary way with our Floatovoltaic™ system, becoming the first in the world to float a significant, grid-connected solar installation. Along with sister winery Nickel & Nickel, we are solar powered, net-zero users of electricity who annually produce more energy than we consume. All our vineyards are organically farmed; vineyard irrigation and frost protection use collected process water from winery operations. Lastly, we continue to recycle extensively at all our wineries.”
Far Niente Post & Beam Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018 is pleasant, largely soft easy drinker with plenty of ripe black and red fruit. It is throwback to simpler Napa cabs before the massive monster trend of the past couple of decades. This is second label from Far Niente winery. I expected more wow than I got because I certainly have gotten that with other Post & Beam and Far Niente efforts. This is tasty and inoffensive, but for QPR look for it discounted rather than at its winery price of $48-50.
Pair with grilled ribeye or other grilled beef; lamb; veal. It is such an easy, soft, fruit-forward drinker it seems built for comfort food—meatloaf, pizza, hamburgers, spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese—but it is priced for more exotic fare.
Far Niente website with several informative videos; worth a visit
